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  • San Jose Tour Activities
    • The Bird's Nest Tour
    • The Artist Bird Tour
    • The Hungry Bird Tour
    • The Glam Bird Tour
    • The Bird's Paradise Tour
    • Saturday Favorites Tour
  • Day Trips
  • Agents & Hotels
  • Travel Planning
    • Concierge Services
    • Bus Tickets
    • Private Shuttle Transport
    • Gay & Lesbian Fun
    • Outside Central Valley
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    • Safety
    • Helpful Travel/Fun Links
  • Best of San Jose
    • The Wise Birds
    • Gallery
    • News from the Barrio
    • Tour Reviews
    • Contact Us

news from the barrio

10 Reasons to Include San José in Your CR Vacation

10/29/2013

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San José, Costa Rica is no longer just for visiting the airport or passing through on your travels from one coast to the next. 

While we started to see a cultural shift 5 years ago the past two have shown a real change in locals' opinions of the city and their desire to work on its potential as an adorable, culturally vibrant and livable city. Many new projects are underway and we can't wait to see what the next two years will bring. In the meantime we have created a list of 10 reasons to visit San José now. 

1. Walkable
The entire size of the downtown area is about 2 miles in length. Streets are on a grid, and finally there are street signs to help visitors get around. There are 2 main pedestrian-only routes down Avenida Central and Avenida 4 for sightseeing. There are many historic and tasty treasures hidden on the side streets of these paths so we recommend any of our city walking tours to get a real look at the history and new developments of the city. 

2. Nighttime Views
San José sits in a valley and if you can get high enough you can see the lights rising up the mountainsides in every direction. Our favorite choice in downtown is the restaurant on the 17th floor of the Holiday Inn at Parque Morazan. The food is ok and a little more expensive than usual so maybe pop up right at 6:00 for sunset and early drinks and appetizers, or dessert at the end of the night. 

3. Affordable Shows
At any moment downtown you can catch concerts and theater shows for a reasonable price. The National Theater offers short performances Tuesdays at noon and Thursdays at 5 for under $8 a person. International acts perform at the National Stadium and Teatro Melico Salazar for usually much less than a ticket in the US or Europe. If you speak Spanish there are dozens of small theaters for live performance and stand-up comedy such as on the Teatro Urbano on the south side of the Plaza de la Democracia. Club Vertigo, El Lobo Estepario, Latino Rock, Steinvorth and Hoxton are also great for live music and DJs. 

4. Microbrew Beers
It has been an uphill battle for small brewers to bring beer to the local market between fighting the monopoly beer company La Cervecería and getting Ticos to try something new. Finally, gastropubs are opening and featuring these brewers. An entrepreneur just hosted the first Oktoberfest and this year saw the second annual beer tasting festival. Our food tour gets you 10% off a beer tasting sampler at one of the new gastropubs. 

5. Century-old Architecture
Downtown neighborhoods continue to clean up and many historic sites have experienced some form of restoration. A stroll through many streets in the immediate center and Barrio Amon can take you back in time to see the direct European influence and to appreciate the luxuries people had in such a small pueblo. 

6. Green Fashion Design
Downtown boutiques display costa ricans' environmental conscienceness via fashion design with recycled fabrics and materials. Tienda Eñe always provides a look at the newest trends in this field. 

7. La Sabana City Park
Originally the airport, this city park, now swallowed by urban sprawl, provides a green escape from the noisy city streets. One can run on the marked trails, speed skate on the rink, swim at the public pool or visit the free art history museum on the eastern end. On the weekends you can people watch or join others in pic- up soccer games or sponsored aerobic dance classes. 

8. Street Art
Growing as a popular art form, incredible graffiti murals decorate different areas of the city. A new program is even commissioning artists to paint the metal doors of downtown shops, turning ugly security panels into visual stories of San Jose. Works still exist from the Transitarte festival held 2 years ago at the Legistlative Assembly. 

9. Free Festivals
At almost any time of year one can find a free festival happening downtown. Every Sat. except the Christmas holiday season you can visit Parque Morazan and Parque Espana for free dance and art classes, and catch concerts. December to April are host to Topes, Festival of Lights, Rock el Farolito, FIA and Transitarte. 

10. Day Trip Hub
San José is centrally located in the country and if you have 5 or less days it might be easiest to base yourself in the city and take day trips out to volcanoes, birding, hiking, rafting and beaches. On a side note, we think the Arenal Volcano and Monteverde are two places to stay overnight. Many agencies sell these as a 1 day trip but it's 4-6 hours each way. For closer destinations see our recommendations. 




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Best Day Trips from San Jose, Costa Rica - Part I

2/3/2013

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DAY TRIP I - OROSI - TAPANTI - HOTSPRINGS
6 - 10 hours
Budget $10 entrance fee (foreigners), $3 entrance fee hotsprings, buses $6, cab $40 roundtrip or Rental Car + Gas

Our news site is all about downtown San Jose, Costa Rica and why it's great to live or visit here. 

We focus the majority of our news on immediate downtown happenings. However, we've realized recently that a part of why it's so great to be in San Jose is because it is relatively easy to get to many other destinations for day trips, allowing you to escape the hustle and bustle of the city conveniently. 

So, this will be the launch of our Day Trips from San Jose Series. 

For the first trip I went with friends on a rather ambitious trip SE of the city. Our orginal plan was to take a bus to Orosi, then a cab to go hike in Tapanti National Park for a few hours, and finish in the hotsprings park, Balneario de Aguas Termales Orosi. That same morning my friend found a car, so we skipped the buses and cabs, and we were lucky we did. 

Previous write-ups made it sound like we could easily take a bus from San Jose to Cartago, and then Cartago to Orosi (which is pretty easy and takes about 1.5 hours). But the misleading part was that we could take a $10 cab from Orosi to Tapanti, maybe ten years ago this was the case but not now. After stopping in Orosi to see the rustic church which was recently restored and is the oldest building in the country, it took us 45 minutes in a car to arrive to the entrance of Parque Nacional Tapanti. That cab ride would easily cost $20 one way. Keep that in mind when budgeting time and money. It is easy enough to ask people in Orosi to point you to the park and to follow signs to arrive at the park. It is mostly one straight, yet bumpy, road. 

The Tapanti Park is well mapped, marked and easy to navigate once you arrive. As you can see in the map above there are 4 hiking trails. We chose to go to the Mirador first, which gives you a view of the waterfall. We caught several vistas of the waterfall coming in and I think they were all better than this Mirador. I'd skip this and focus on hiking the other trails.

We chose to do the Sendero La Catarata first. Catarata in spanish is 'waterfall'. This was an easy enough hike in sneakers but it was pretty slippery so I recommend hiking boots. This area of the country gets rain almost everyday so a rain jacket is a must as well. We quickly reached two different clearings at the river, the latter having a view of the waterfall. Here the rocks are an interesting green. It was pretty cloudy when we were there but on a sunny day it would be a great spot for swimming. 

All over this park are areas to grill some food and hang out for awhile. You'll see local families set up for a full day in nature, a great chance to make some friends along the way. 

Because the drive in and out took longer than we planned for, we had to make a decision to either hike another trail or hurry back to Orosi to get in some time at the hotspring park. Both Tapanti and the Balneario close at 4 p.m. We were feeling lazy so we chose the hotsprings! 

We drove back to Orosi, asked a few people to point us in the direction of Balneario Aguas Termales Orosi which was about 4 blocks west of the church and 1 block north. This hotspring park resembles a community pool. There are 4 different pools full of naturally heated water with different depths for children and adults. With only an hour left in the day, the site was clearing out but we could tell the place had been full of families. If you don't care to be around so many people you might consider a weekday option (during their high months, refer to site). The water was warm, but not hot. It might have been because it was the end of the day, we watched them drain the pools at closing so maybe in the morning the water is hotter. 


Overall it was a really nice trip. If you want to get all of those sites in with sufficient time at each stop I recommend leaving San Jose around 7 a.m. Tapanti is definitely worth the visit, I could sit at that river all day. 


To arrange your own day trip with a private driver email us at BarrioBird@gmail.com. 
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Historic Renovations Giving New Shine to Old Buildings

1/24/2013

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When I arrived to San Jose 4 years ago, I spent a lot of timing wondering side streets, finding old buildings that carried ancient soul, story and charm. My curiosity to learn their histories led me to start this city walking tour business so I could share that curiosity with visitors. 

Fastforward to 2013, and the majority of these buildings have been restored, bringing the rich history of the city out of the shadows and into the forefront for all to marvel and remember. 

As infrastructure and restorations move forward I continue to predict more pleasant walk ways with less chaotic traffic and signage, and more calm to take in the San Jose that existed 100 years ago and has a new face to put forward today.

The newest buildings to add to our restoration list are pictured here at the right. 

Edificio Macaya was originally a hardware store opened in 1906. Remembering that most goods were imported, these warehouses would be filled floor to ceiling with mostly european products to buy. 

The building is still in the Macaya family and due to poor property management they have been unable to or unwilling to pay for the continued neccesary maintenance of the property. The Patrimonial dept. invested $25,500 in the restoration of the facade. You'll notice the railing in the original photo, this had completely fallen apart and so that and other elements were reconstructed. 

Edificio Herdocia is a familiar building for those that have to cross east to west through downtown. Situated on the north side of the post office, this building was designed 30 years later by the same Spanish architect of the post office, Luis Lack Llagostera in 1945.

Restoration work has begun on the exterior. The pink and cafe colors on the side might be an experiment to see which color will be best for the entire facade. This building features some the traditional neoclassic elements we see on many of the downtown buildings from the early 20th century including the false columns down the side. The completion of this building will make the adjacent plaza (one of my favorites) an even nicer place to visit and relax in the sunshine with a coffee from the new cafe also located in the plaza. 

If you are interested in learning more about the architecture in San Jose we recommend taking our Bird's Nest Tour. 




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The nearly completed facade, Jan. 2013
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The original facade, 1910's
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Inside view of the hardware store about 100 years ago.
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Edificio Herdocia currently getting a face lift.
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Costa Rica's Gold Museum Awarded 1 of 800 Best Buildings of 20th Century

11/14/2012

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The English editorial, Phaidon Press Limited, has just honored the Museo del Oro/Numastic Museum in its recently released list of most important buildings of the 20th century. 


Serendipitously, the museum has been celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and has finished a remodel that includes handicap access, new electrical system and interior upgrades. 


The building is unique in that it is the only underground building in Costa Rica and is also an inverted pyramid. The 'roof' is the famous Plaza de la Cultura which is home to many cultural events througout the year and is next to the National Theater. The museum has also improved its cultural outreach over the past two years hosting coin collector fairs, concerts on the plaza entrance, and new art exhibits inside. 


An exhibit on the buildings creation and construction will open next Fri. Nov. 23rd.

We visit the most interesting architectural sites in San Jose on our Walking Tours $22 - $25. 

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Architectural Updates Continue to Marvel with Invidual Beauty and Collective Clashing

11/14/2012

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Iglesia de la Soledad
La Iglesia de la Soledad is one of the few churches undamaged by earithquakes, maintaining much of its orginal architectural elements of the neo-baroque movement. Last year the church was fundraising on Facebook in order to make necesasry updates to the facade and electrical systems. 

A few weeks ago work began on the exterior and here we can see the front face with a beautiful new paint job and the addition of gold trimmings. As work continues this church regains its original luster. 

The past 3 years have seen some remarkable restorations of more than 20 buildings in downtown San Jose but the same marvel persists in all cases. Buildings are individually restored but entire blocks continue to clash in a 'visual cacaphony'. For example this beautiful church is 50 meters from the recently completed "Barrio Chino" pictured below, each individually interesting but difficult to imagine next to one another. I've decided San Jose's lack of themes is its theme. 

To see some more of the best architectural clashes in the city book our Bird's Nest Tour for $22. 

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Barrio Chino
The gateway to Barrio Chino is now complete. What's left is the filling in of new commercial space in the same block. To date you can still find a corner bar, fabulous bakery, hardware store, street pizza, ice cream and a Claro store. 

Unfortunately nothing chinese greets you at the entrance to this new piece of architecture but if you wonder far enough south you will find chinese restaurants, supermarkets and trinket stores. 

For more history on why there are Chinese people in Costa Rica and why this new gateway was created book our Bird's Nest Tour for $22.

Macaya Hardware Store

The Macaya Hardware Store which now houses a large variety of souvenirs is the most recent downtown building to receive goverment funding for restoration work. 

In the first photo on the right we can see the decay that has affected the facade. Below we can see the restoration work underway including the complete reconstruction of the rooftop railing.

This building has several features that defined San Jose architecture during the early 20th century. To see the building in person with a private guide book our Bird's Nest Tour for $22. 

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    By Stacey Auch.
    Stacey is the founder of Barrio Bird Walking Tours and an original advocate of San Jose's revitalization. She has opened 4 businesses all with a focus on sharing San Jose secrets and tips with locals and visitors. 

    You'll want to subscribe to this blog above if you want to enjoy the best of San Jose, and you'll definitely want to book a walking tour!

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