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San Jose, Costa Rica

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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.