More about Costa Rica-Part 2

I thought the gold, the carvings and the pottery done in pre-Columbian times was very advanced. We were able to see specimans quite close, not like most US museums.
For example, the metates, a kind of grinding stone, were laborately carved. The metates I have seen in the southwestern US are very plain, mainly a hollowed out spot in the center of a flat rock used to grind corn with another rounded stone. The advanced methods used by the indigenous people was quite impressive. I believe they used the lost wax method to create many of the gold objects they created. The gold was often mixed with copper because it had a lower melting point. I wondered how many centuries it took to develop and create so much skill at producing these objects. In addition, they were skilled at trade and used semi-precious stones that could only have been acquired by trading.











In San Jose, the landscape was fairly urban. We did travel in some areas where the people lived very poorly. Since I was an architectural photographer in another life, I find unique buildings interesting. This is a metal building, one of two we saw, that was imported from Belgium. It is currently being used as a girl's school. Education is mandatory through the 12th grade, so the literacy rate is an amazing 95%.



This is the central park in San Jose, people stroll through the area, admire the interesting plants and enjoy the serenity of the day.

More to come in part 3.