San José, Costa Rica

San José ("Saint Joseph", Spanish: San José, pronounced: [saŋ xoˈse]) is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation. The population of San José Canton is 365,799,^[2] though the metropolitan area stretches beyond the canton limits and comprises a third of the country's population.

1 History
2 Education
3 Districts
4 Transportation
5 Cuisine
6 Climate
7 Landmarks
8 Sister cities
9 References
10 External links

History

Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San José is one of the youngest capital cities in Latin America by year of conception, though it was not named capital until 1823.^[3] Today it is a modern city with bustling commerce, brisk expressions of art and architecture, and spurred by the country's improved tourism industry, it is a significant destination and stopover for foreign visitors.^[4]

San José exerts a strong influence because of its proximity to other cities (Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago) and the country's demographic assemblage in the Central Valley.^[5]

The city lies at a mean elevation of 1,161 m above sea level, and enjoys a stable climate throughout the year, with an average temperature of 25 °C (77 °F) and annual precipitation of 1800 mm, more than 90% of it falling in the rainy season from May to November.^[6]

Education

University of Santo Tomás, the first university of Costa Rica was established here in 1843. That institution maintained close ties with the Roman Catholic Church and was closed in 1888 by the progressive and anti-clerical government of President Bernardo Soto Alfaro as part of a campaign to modernize public education. The schools of law, agronomy, fine arts, and pharmacy continued to operate independently, but Costa Rica had no university proper until 1940, when those four schools were re-united to establish the modern University of Costa Rica (UCR), during the reformist administration of President Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia. San José serves as the headquarters of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The city is served by Juan Santamaría International Airport, 23 km west of downtown, in the city of Alajuela.

Districts

1 San José is divided into 11 districts (distritos):Catedral,Carmen, Hatillo,Hospital, Uruca, Mata Redonda, Merced, Pavas, San Francisco de Dos Ríos, San Sebastián, Zapote. The districts are divided up into a number of neighborhoods (local name: "barrios").^[7]

Transportation

Buses Private bus companies connect different areas of the city with each other and the suburbs. Services to other parts of the country are provided by private companies which have stations or stops at random locations spread all over the city center. There is no central bus station.

Train Trains run to Heredia from Estación Atlantico and Belen (just south of Alajuela airport) from Estación Pacifico. These only run on weekdays. There are plans to extend services to Alajuela and Cartago. ^[8]

Taxis Taxis are fairly cheap and fares are determined by meter (taximetro). From the airport, orange taxis are available that require registration inside the arrivals hall.

Cuisine

Costa Rican cuisine (comida típica) is not spicy, but it is tasty and simple, and in San José, it is easy to find. Costa Rican food is wholesome and reasonably priced. Throughout San José, the most popular food is the national dish of gallo pinto, which is a mixture of fried rice and black beans. Gallo pinto is usually served for breakfast with tortillas and natilla, a thin sour cream. Costa Rican restaurants serving traditional food at an affordable price are called sodas and usually offer casados for lunch and dinner. A casado (which means "married" in Spanish) consists of rice, beans, and meat, and normally comes with cabbage-and-tomato salad, fried plantains, and/or tortillas.^[9]

Climate

San José City lies in the Torrid Zone and is in a tropical rainforest. However its elevation gives it a mild climate. Under the Köppen climate classification it features a Tropical wet and dry climate that borders on a subtropical highland climate. The temperature ranges between 15 and 30 °C (59 and 86 °F). Relative humidity averages 68.2% (with extremes of 55% in March and 78% in October)^[10] and the daily range tends to be between 60% and 90%, with the humidity typically dropping to the lower end of this range near mid-day and rising again during the night. It rains on an average of 170 days per year^[10] but half the rainfall pours down on only 15 of these days. The rainy season is from May to mid-November, but cloudiness and rainfall can occur during the dry season. There are approximately 2040 hours of sunshine per year.^[10] The weather is also very windy; this may decrease the apparent temperature.

Climate data for San José, Costa Rica
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	25 (77)	26 (79)	28 (82)	30 (86)	30 (86)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)	27 (81)	26 (79)	26 (79)	25 (77)	27.3 (81.1)
Average low °C (°F)	15 (59)	16 (61)	17 (63)	18 (64)	19 (66)	19 (66)	19 (66)	18 (64)	18 (64)	17 (63)	16 (61)	15 (59)	17.3 (63.1)
Precipitation mm (inches)	15 (0.59)	5 (0.2)	20 (0.79)	46 (1.81)	229 (9.02)	241 (9.49)	211 (8.31)	241 (9.49)	305 (12.01)	300 (11.81)	145 (5.71)	41 (1.61)	1,799 (70.83)
Source: BBC Weather^[11]