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San Jose was built on the profits made from
coffee. It was a sleepy backwater of the Spanish empire until the
golden beans made their way to Europe in the late 19th century.
Coffee planters imposed a tax on themselves to build Teatro Nacional, San
Jose's most beautiful building.
Downtown is crowded with pedestrians
and traffic. We visited Teatro Nacional (the National Theatre) and
then strolled past businesses, markets and small urban parks to the Museo
Nacional (the National Museum) which is housed in a former army barracks
that was the scene of fighting during the civil war of 1948 where we saw
exhibits of the Spanish history in Costa Rica.
At 3,700 feet above sea level, San Jose enjoys spring like
temperatures year-round.
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