Costa Rica … Eating RAW Turtle Eggs.
We arrived in CR around 2pm and spent around 2 hours getting through customs. From what we have heard that was pretty quick. We rented a car at the airport with the plan being to spend one night in San Jose, the capital, then roadtrip around the country. The CR currency is the Colones but most places here also except US dollars so we brought some of each. We got to our hotel around sunset and headed out to get a bite to eat and walk the city like we always do. We stopped McDonald’s to do our currency comparison and a Big Mac meal here costs $5.85. By 7 pm we noticed the city was turning into a ghost town so we headed to our hotel and called it a night. Turns out that was a good call. We were told the next morning by locals that very few people live in the city so businesses close and everyone leaves at night, including the police. Everyone told us it is not a safe city at night. Several people came up to us on the street the next day and warned me that I should remove my gold chain or it would get snatched.
The following morning we hit the gym then headed out to do a walking food tour. This is our new favorite way to start our trips to a new country. We meet new people, learn about the food, history and culture, plus get lots of advice from locals. Our guide was a lot of fun and the group was small (only 6 others). The foods on this tour weren’t my favorite but the tour was fun, informative and well worth it. The highlight for us was when our guide heard we were adventurous and he found us a local delicacy….raw turtle eggs!!! They take the raw turtle egg and put it in a shot glass with Sangria and chillis. Bottoms up. Texture was a bit rough but the flavor was actually really good. We will be looking for this treat again. There’s a very large Italian community and cultural influence here so we also came across some amazing pizza. After our tour wrapped up we jumped in the car and headed out of the city. We plan to spend the last few days here before flying out. Next stop the Caribbean coast.
