Day 9 (September 18): National Theater and Mercado Central

     The first thing we decided to do on the ninth day of our trip was visit the National Theater, known as Teatro Nacional to the locals. The theater was convenient and only a few minutes away from our hotel. We had some trouble parking our rental car in busy San José, but we managed to fit in a tight spot. We wandered towards the entrance and were greeted by the statues of Beethoven and Calderón de la Barca, a poet of the Spanish Golden Age. We read the plaque in front of Calderón’s statue to learn more about him, and we discovered his full name was Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño!

    
     We were all amazed by the exterior of the building. Once in the building, we realized the inside was even more intricately designed than the outside! We decided to go on a one-hour tour to find out a little more about the history of the National Theater.

     During the tour, we learned that the demand for a theater started in 1890 when a European opera company toured Central America but couldn’t play in Costa Rica due to the lack of venue. We also learned that a tax was placed on coffee to help pay for the construction. The building was designed by Belgian architects and decorated by Italian artists, giving it an unmistakable European flair. The National Theater was finally completed and first used in October of 1897. It seats 1,000 people.

     After the tour was over, everyone was pleased to hear that there was a café inside. After treating ourselves to some coffee and pastries and marveling at the beauty of the theater, we decided we were ready to move on to something more exciting.

     We exited the theater and walked about half a mile over to Mercado Central, the main market. We had heard that Mercado Central was the best place to experience Costa Rica’s culture, so it would have been a shame to miss it.

     For about two hours, we strolled through the market checking out vendors. We had been warned that Mercado Central was a popular place for pick-pockets, but we didn’t have any issues.

     While we wandered, Bennie and Vlad purchased enough food to feed them for lunch and dinner and worked on their bargaining skills. Hannah, Amber, and I were more interested in the unique, handmade trinkets for sale. Everyone bought a few souvenirs and snacks before we tried what was certainly the highlight of the market, Los Helados. Los Helados was a spectacular ice cream/sorbet place situated in the heart of Mercado Central. Everyone agreed it was some of the best ice cream we’ve ever had.

    

     We were all exhausted from standing all day, so we headed back to the hotel. On our way back, Hannah was able to take a great picture of the National Theater lit up at night.

-Kerri