Beauty Infuses the Capital

I’ve witnessed the transformation that San Jose has undergone over the last few years. While guidebooks and naysayers suggest that visitors would best leave the city at the first opportunity, I have long held that the intense energy that urban centers hold is well worth exploring. Today, in a Spanish-language editorial, the Costa Rican daily La Nación agreed.

Among the points discussed in the piece are the resounding successes of the pedestrian boulevards on avenida Central avenida Cuarta. Foot traffic has increased along with shade, commerce and a sense of community. Now, with the newly inagurated Paseo de los Damas along the north side of the Parque Nacional, the urban experience is becoming progressively more pleasant, easier to navigate and worth sticking around the experience. Sculptures are popping up; parks are wonderfully lit at night. And work has started on a Chinatown in the city’s southern part of downtown.

Visitors will still experience a bit of culture shock, of course. Traffic remains brutal, and much of the local architecture can certainly be characterized as Third World Modern. But the pockets of pleasntness and beauty are expanding at a palpable rate, and I for one am happy to head downtown every chance I get.

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