We booked evening flights on our last day in Costa Rica so we could maximize our time with Owen. It was a great decision, and we had a delightful day with our eldest son. There were heavy rains most of the evening on Saturday evening, and we woke up to a cool and cloudy Sunday in Zarcero. I loved my morning yoga workouts on the patio with clouds coming up from the valley and whizzing by me. It was like those fast-motion cloud formation and dissolution videos, but in real time. The cool breezes, bird calls, and lush, tropical foliage made for a both a soothing and invigorating environment for my daily yoga practice. It would be an ideal place for a yoga retreat.
After packing the car, saying goodbye to our Uncle Jack, and tidying up our Airbnb, we drove the 90-minutes to the San Jose suburb of Alajuela. Nadia wanted to buy a speaker for Owen and pick up a few things, so we went to Walmart. Yes, Walmart is in Costa Rica, one of 19 countries internationally where they have stores. They are strong in the Americas, but in the last 10 years, they exited 8 countries, including the UK, Japan, and Brazil.
We found Garage 69, a sports bar to watch the World Cup Final. As one headline trumpeted, “Football Won!” as the Spaniards outclassed Argentina with their superior play and sense of sportsmanship. Argentinian behavior and dirty play were disgraceful. They were constantly complaining to the officials, purposely flopping to draw fouls, and grabbing, punching, and pushing Spanish players who were outplaying them. The atmosphere in the bar was fantastic, and the waitress gave Owen and me free shots of Chiliguaro. Guaro is Costa Rica’s national spirit, a liquor distilled from sugar cane that is a bit lighter than rum. Bartenders mix in tomato juice, cilantro, lime juice, and lots of Tabasco sauce to come up with the Chiliguarao. It tasted like a Bloody Mary and locals see it as a rite of passage for visitors.
This was the first time Nadia and I returned to Costa Rica in around 30 years. Nadia completed her freshman year of college at the Universidad Latina. We visited her old apartment, which has been converted to government and University of Costa Rica (UCR) offices. Her university is thriving, with Arizona State University purchasing it and offering a dual degree program, similar to the American University of Technology in Tashkent. I lived in the nearby Apartmentos Tairona and was studying botany at UCR and working at the Tropical Science Center. We didn’t meet then, but shortly thereafter, we met when we both worked at the Santa Cruz Cooperative School in her parents’ homeland of Bolivia.
My address was “50 metros oeste de Taco Bell” so we stopped at the famous (at least to us) Taco Bell for a photo opportunity. San Jose addresses start with a known landmark (Taco Bell, Fig Tree, etc.) and then use units of 50 meters (I thought of it as a 1-block) how far away and in which direction. The government has been moving trying to formalize their mailing and physical address systems since 2010, but the Ticos are slow to take it up. It is estimated that millions of dollars are lost annually in misdirected mail and driving around trying to find a location. I would think Google Maps has helped, but it is a quaint idosyncrocy that I hope stays. The locals joke that it is why they are always late for events.
The suburb of San Pedro in the mid-1990s was a cute area, and with the San Pedro de Monte Mall and the students of UCR making it hip. It was an up-and-coming area. 30 years later, it looked a bit dilapidated with crumbling roads and lots of graffiti. It was a bit sad that areas like San Pedro become worse over time. Both the Universidad Latina and the University of Costa Rica are doing well, however, and it was nice to revisit the area after so many years away. We finished the night by cruising through the City Mall in Alajuela, a large and beautiful commercial area near the airport.
It was bittersweet to say goodbye to our eldest son. It was such a fabulous week reconnecting with him and experiencing his life in the Peace Corps. We may not see him again until Christmas or next summer. We are proud of his development as a person and a professional.
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