These are some of the houses and businesses that are along my 650 meter walk every day from the hotel to Radioterapia Siglo XXI clinic for my radiation treatments. Bear in mind that in the early days this neighborhood, called Uruca, was a “suburb” of downtown San Jose, a 10+ minute drive away now.
As in most urban development, some residential slowly turns to business and this neighborhood is no exception. I thought some readers would enjoy seeing what urban houses in this part of Latin America look like today. As a point of comparison, note that Costa Rica tends to be more modern and less traditional than Latin countries like Guatemala and Mexico. On this walk there is only one old house that would be considered “Spanish Colonial” with the tile roof and high compound wall. I think the neighborhood is interesting, but to help you not be bored, it’s a fast-moving slide show 🙂
Leaving the Best Western Hotel San Jose 
with the Subway across the street in what was once an office building. 
Down the sidewalk by BW Parking Lot 
Past Gold’s Gym hurting from Covid And mostly residential from here on. 
The occasional flowers help the neighborhood 
Replica of a historic “Stone Sphere” from Costa Rica’s indigenous pre-history 
House For Sale by Century 21 
A favorite walking section by a bigger house 
A more typical working family house 
“Modern Spanish?” – I’m not sure! 
More unpretentious houses, typically Costa Rican 
Several simple moderns 
House now Lawyer’s Office, between two homes. 
Not sure – Looks business 
Old Spanish Colonial 
Another flower along sidewalk 
House being painted, possibly to sell 
Apartments or Condos? 
Same Apartments or Condos 
And I’ve Arrived! My clinic! 
Radioterapia Siglo XXI – Much bigger than it appears!
San Jose, Costa Rica
And of course I have a gallery of photos from earlier visits to San Jose, mostly in the center of the city simply called San Jose, plus the specific trips to the city are in my CR Trips Gallery (mostly in earlier years):
- April-June 2021 – Radiotherapy & Best Western Plus, San Jose (under construction)
- November 2017 – Guided Tour of San Jose, Atenas Expats
- October 2017 – Ballet at Teatro Nacional, San Jose
- February 2017 – My 3-Day Solo Tour of San Jose
- May 2016 – Latin America Art Show at Children’s Museum, San Jose
- January 2016 – Healthcare Tour (San Jose + San Ramon)
- March 2015 – Day in San Jose with Kevin
- August 2014 – San Jose stops on “Live in Costa Rica Tour”
- August 2014 – First & Last Days in San Jose on “Live in CR Tour” (Including Parque La Sabana)
- December 2010 – Caravan Tour of CR – Day 1 San Jose -PLUS- Day 10 San Jose
And What Happened to Those Tours of San Jose?
Yeah – I know – at the beginning of all of this I said I would try to make 7 weeks of radiation in San Jose a vacation, taking some of the many tourist tours and of course visiting parks and museums which I always love. One simple word that I didn’t think of at that time: COVID19!
As I announced last week, Costa Rica had a spike in cases with the hospitals full and the Ministry of Health closed all restaurants/bars and other public places “not essential,” leaving only supermarkets and pharmacies. 🙂 So no museums or parks open for me to visit! 🙂 But I’m going to make the best of the hotel, room service and the big tree in their garden as my adventure for now! 🙂 You will know if I do anything bigger.
My “Spanish Word of the Day” is el ajetreo
“El ajetreo” means “hustle and bustle” which is typical of all big cities, including San Jose. Though occasionally that is fun or appealing, mostly now I prefer the quieter, more tranquil nature of a smaller town like Atenas! And that is partly my age now.
¡Pura Vida!
It is interesting to see the security barriers (fences; razor wire, etc.) that almost all residences and businesses use. Can you comment on that?
Larry, it is the same in all developing and third world countries. There are simply more poor people here who are motivated to eat and cannot make enough money to live, if they even have jobs, thus are motivated to steal – petty robberies. Yet a country like Costa Rica has a tiny, tiny percentage of murders and mass killing that the United States especially and some other rich countries have. And people do not own guns here.
You will see this kind of home protection by the rich in all Latin American countries, Asian countries, and African countries. In The Gambia every home had a wall around house & yard with broken glass stuck n the cement on the top of the wall. Plus most of us had night watchmen there, which you see less of here other than in big businesses. Poverty should be the issue we tackle!
Enjoyed it. I had to stop frame to enjoy it. Like taking a walk in a new setting.
Thanks Steve! That was my goal! You were walking through an old neighborhood in San Jose, beginning to be a little bit “gentrified.”
And yes, the automated slide shows do go too fast! The “galleries” in my site software have a slower optional manual slide show that I probably should use more. Still playing with the features. 🙂