Filibustering Around San Jose

We thought Sunday would be a good day to filibuster; we didn't' yet know what it meant but there was plenty of it going on in the past.  More of it later.

After breakfast at 7, comprising fresh fruit,  scrabbled eggs, rice and beans, toast and coffee we set off to explore the capital. First stop was Parc Espana where we hoped to see a chunk of the Berlin Wall and a statue of Christopher Columbus; we found neither but it was a nice green park!

 On to the city centre and coffee at Alma's one of the 'most beautiful cafés' in the city located in the National Theatre. Ceiling frescos were all part of the charm.

From there we decided to walk the length of the city centre, taking in all the shops and sights to our planned lunch stop.

  We passed a couple of McDonalds, a couple of Burger Kings, KFCs, and  Pizza Express on our way to Machu Picchu a locally renowned Peruvian Restaurant. There I had sea food soup followed by king Prawns and Amanda, octopus in olive oil and avocado followed by a chicken stew.  It tasted better for the long walk and beers to go with it.

After lunch we wandered back along Avenue 1 which is parallel to the central avenue we'd walked before. The whole road system is a grid of straight lines which makes it very easy to follow the map. 

We remarked on the lack of obvious tourists and tourist gift shops and then we found a whole street of them! A glorious riot of colour and trinkets and souvenirs from key rings to bags, wooden carvings, paintings on feathers, real butterflies, t shirts and all the usual stuff. Davie bought a Panama hat and very fetching he looks in it don't you think? 

We were making for the Parque Nacional. Meant to be the nicest park in San Jose. Right in the centre is a dramatic statue of of the Central American nations driving out the American filibuster* William Walker! We also saw the statue of Juan Santamaria, one of Costa Rica's national heros. 

Filibuster William Walker launched several expeditions into Latin America. For a time he ruledNicaragua, although he was eventually forced to return to the United States. In 1860, he was captured and executed in Honduras.

*A filibuster or freebooter is someone who engages in an unauthorized military expedition into a foreign country to foment or support a revolution. The term is usually used to describe United States citizens who attempted to foment insurrections in Latin America in the mid-19th century, but is also applicable in the modern day.

Filibusters are irregular soldiers who act without authority from their own government, and are generally motivated by financial gain, political ideology, or the thrill of adventure. The freewheeling actions of the filibusters of the 1850s led to the name being applied figuratively to the political act of filibustering in the United States Congress.^[1]

Unlike a mercenary, a filibuster leader/commander works for himself, whilst a mercenary leader works for others.^[