One of my favorite spots in San Jose, Costa Rica is the plaza between the central post office and the Club Union. The Old World-style architecture here offers a happy visual respite in a city with a penchant for concrete boxes festooned with metal bars.
There’s a nice coffee shop in the Correos (Post Office) building on the left, and the plaza is a central meeting place for office workers, street vendors and retirees. To the south is the pedestrian mall Avenida Central; to the north is a sketchy neighborhood where wayward tourists face hostile glares from the less-savory element that lurks outside the discount stores and cantinas.
Just behind the Correos you see the high-rise headquarters of the Banco Nacional. In the foreground the plaza is undergoing a facelift, although it looks like the payphones will make the cut. Just above the phones you see the Costa Rican flag proudly flapping in the winter breeze (yes, it’s currently winter here and it’s marvelous).
Let’s walk through this video together. It starts with a couple of police officers in front of the world’s favorite fast-food joint. As we pan to the right, you see a kiosk that sells lottery tickets, scores of denizens taking a load off, a street preacher (she’s in a blue skirt in front of a statue) and some old friends. If folks look like they’re bundled up, it’s because it’s very cold, at least for here - perhaps 65 degrees, which is a pretty severe cold snap for the tropically inclined.
If you listen, you’ll hear plenty of birdsong, the rumble of traffic, the preacher’s message and the gentlemen speaking in their Josefino accent, all elements that combine to make for great people watching and a glimpse into what life here is really like.
