TripTracker.net - Central American Tour, Reflections on San Jose

brendandroz

Central American Tour

Reflections on San Jose

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Jan 3 2010, 02:30 PM

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brendandroz

Journal

Location

Santa Elena, Costa Rica

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The bus ride out of San Jose prompted me to reflect on the character of the city. San Jose projects a palpable feeling of filth that other cities manage to hide—or at least to segregate. In Bangkok, you expect to be repulsed and there are parts of town designated for the baser pleasures. In San Jose, the filth permeates the city and the lines between districts are blurry, if they exist at all. Instead, there is ever-present evidence of the darker sides of the city. For instance, in Costa Rica there is a more lucrative side to the tourism industry that, in other places, generally goes unnoticed. Roz, early in our stay, cautioned me, “I know you don't intend to go clubbing, but, just so you know, night clubs here aren't night clubs.” The sex trade is big in this country and the signs of its pervasive presence are ubiquitous. Used condoms line the streets, suggestive 'Night Club' signs protrude above dark gated staircases that lead into windowless cement cubes, and discarded articles of clothing on the sidewalk prompt the imagination to speculate on the happenings in these streets at night. Since the distinction between red-light district and, well, green-light district is unclear, it does not seem that individuals can feel safe in any particular neighborhood. Consequently, barbed-wire is a standard accoutrement on any home. It is uncommon to see an establishment without either spiral razor-wire, high fences topped with speared tridents, or both. And at night there isn't a single storefront unprotected by a pull-down metal wall. Hostels require personal guards and are generally more of exclusive compounds than friendly neighborhood establishments. Our own hostel presented a two-story facade of orange sheet-metal topped with spiral razor-wire and the guard refused to even let us leave without first attaining the proper wristband identifying us as tenants and assuring our re-entrance—as if to say: you don't want to get stuck on the outside. Luckily, San Jose being a place where people tend to stay in rather than go out, we happened to be staying in one of the nicest hostels around. But, that being said, it didn't feel particularly dangerous on the outside and Roz and I quite enjoyed wandering the filthy streets. The other tourists, and the cops on the street corners, gave us a sense of security. And our interactions with locals were always positive. If nothing else, the place had character. Nevertheless, we were excited to get out of the city when we did, and we have now arrived in Santa Elena, which, so far, has given us quite the opposite feeling.

(B)

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01/03/2010
06:00 PM

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