East vs. West

Let's finish up our look at the Park. I know you have been dying to find out just what is on the East and West sides of the Park since we have already looked at the North and South sides. So let's satisfy that unquenchable desire for knowledge.

But first, here is a bus in the Square.

What does that say? Here is a closer look:

60 Passengers? Oh, much like your narrator, the bus is quite modest and we know for a fact that you can put more than 60 people on a bus at one time. In fact, this number is a much more accurate estimate of the number of people you can cram standing up in the aisle of a bus.

On the West side of the Park is a long row of shops under a portico. There are a couple banks, a book store, an artesania market, a guitar shop, coffee shops, etc.

The East side of the Park is dominated by the Cathedral of San José. Given this countries history of earthquakes, the edifice you see today is not the original construction which was begun in 1545. The first church was toast in the 1583 earthquake. The second building made it through the 1689 and 1717 earthquakes but was toppled by the one in 1773. What you see today are two restored chapels that are known as the Church of San José. If you go around the corner, you can see some of the ruins of the previous structure. Maybe we will make it around the corner in a future post.