Libby_or_Bust

Recommendations:
In San Vito:
1) Hotel Cabinas Rino. Pretty clean, hot water (!) shower, great location, friendly staff, really good included breakfast (gallo pinto with eggs or cheese or natilla. Go for the natilla), only $12 per person per night, super cheap laundry service ($2 per kilo).
2) Panaderia Flor. This place is nothing short of amazing. Big pink awning, you can smell its delectibleness a kilometer away. If forced to choose, I would say go for the refried bean and cheese pastry in the second glass case in from the door (you might think it pathetic that I know exactly where said pastry is located. That only means you haven’t been to Panaderia Flor.) Sweet-wise, I enjoyed, well, everything. Except for this weird cheesy squishy thing. Make sure that you ask, because there are quite a few versions of squishy cheesy, and some are way better than others. The arroz con leche makes you wonder why it took you so long to get to San Vito.

In Alajuela:
1) The hotel Cortez Azul, run by my first (and hopefully not last) Costa Rican friend, Eduardo. He looks like a Spanish pirate and does these amazing mosaics all over the house — what’s not to love? Plus, he has this ancient dog… no, really, he was like the mascot on the first Spanish galleons to land in Central America. His name is Marino, which means “really old f*cking dog” in Spanish. Or “a whale’s vagina;” agree to disagree. But seriously, it’s a really nice place to stay, $10 per person/night, centrally located, and I feel safe there.
2) Goodlight Books, a used bookstore south of Cortez Azul. Pretty wide selection, really nice people who run it, good vibe and cafe area. I haven’t tried exchanging, only buying, but the prices weren’t extravagant. Even if you don’t need a book, just go and check out what’s sitting in the far corner of the sitting area; you’ll know what I mean when you get there.
3) The cemetary on the north side of town, right by where you get the bus to the volcano. It’s huge and beautiful; I could spend all morning walking around and looking at the names on the white-tiled tombs. In fact, I have. Great place for reflecting and being alone.
4) Parque Central. Shade, people-watching, the guy on the northeast corner selling icees with tres leches. Perfect.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, March 4th, 2007 at 10:51 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.