La Verbena, San José

"Let's paint the urinal fuchsia. Men love fuchsia."

La Verbena, somewhere near la Clínica Biblica in downtown San José, struck us as having no ambition; boring decor, a boring bar lady who spent her time with her back turned against the clients in order to watch TV novelas and generally very little entertainment available. On the positive side, there was a decent, although way too loud, jukebox by the door.

Bar La BohemiaAvenida 12, Calle 5, San José

According to the IWCRP counter statistics, a lot of people visit our blog after having googled phrases like "WC porn". Well, here it is: a naked lady in the bathroom. Pubes and all. Enjoy.

La Bohemia is our new favourite bar in down town San José. Despite its slightly dodgy surroundings, this bar has managed to maintain the same cozy atmosphere it must have had when it opened in 1946. The furniture and decor certainly has not changed, and a lot of today's clients were probably present at the opening over six decades ago.

La Bohemia is located at Avenida 12, Calle 5; that's 100 m south of the Cartago bus stop and Bar la Nueva Lira

Erick's Copas, San Pedro

Erick's Copas, formerly known as la Araucana, is one of few decent options for the thirsty around the University of Costa Rica. Over the past couple of decades, large, noisy, crowded bars with a very young and silly clientele have taken over la calle de la amargura, where students traditionally went to seek inspiration.

Erick's Copas is about 100 m east of the northern end of la calle de la amargura, and offers good bocas, cheap beer and a friendly staff and clientele. Highly recommended, along with the nearby Bar Copas.

Bar El Cruce, Tibás, Costa Rica

From the outside, El Cruce appears to be a classic hole in the wall.

On the inside, El Cruce is not much more fun than visiting terminally ill elders in the hospital.

Bar El Cruce in Tibás is one of those places we've driven past several times, always wondering what's inside, imagining the most deliciously horrid shithole of a bar, filled with the most depraved scum society can offer. So we were greatly disappointed when discovering that, despite its uninviting exterior, it's just a regular bar with no personality and no ambition. A few middle aged people, only half drunk, watching the news on one of the TV screens. No hysterical hookers stabbing customers, no shady business going on in dark corners. A terrible disappointment indeed.

Bar The Rolling Stones, Tibás, San José, Costa Rica

The Rolling Stones is the best bar we've seen in Tibás so far. Located about 300m west of the park, open from early enough till midnight. Uncontroversial rock music, playstation, relative tranquility. The bartenders actually know what a gin tonic is, and the gin is actually good (tanqueray, beefeater's, not cacique extra concha).

The owner is from Scotland, suffered from homesickness one day, and bought the toilet from the film Trainstopping.

The urinal is from a scottish ghost-movie from the 1920s

Closing time, seen from the IWCRP point of view, after several delicious gin tonics

San José Safari. 10: Baja San José, Costa Rica

We recently discovered Baja, one of very few options for a really late drink in San José. Baja appears to be open 24/7, and is a slightly better option than nearby Chelles for those who decide it's too early to stop drinking.

We met a dancing, drunk Santa Claus outside Baja, and he was not a hallusination. That's what he claimed, anyway.

San José Safari. 9: La Chicha, San José, Costa Rica

La Chicha is one of the new nightlife hot spots in San José. A good atmosphere and decent prices makes it different from the average club.

San José Safari. 8: Bar Copas, San Pedro, Costa Rica

Bar Copas is a splendid little oasis only about 100 m from the living hell that is la calle de la amargura near the university. After places like El Pulpo, Mosaikos and la Villa closed down and were replaced by places like Terra U and who knows what the other ones are called, it is increasingly difficult to find bars that satisfy the exquisitely critical academic taste, namely those with cheap beer.

Fellow safarians outside Copas

A lovely blue colour makes you think you are in heaven

San José Safari. 7: Il Pomodoro, San José, Costa Rica

The seventh stop on the guarotour was a birthdayparty at Il pomodoro in San Pedro behind the Outlet Mall. Decent italian food, slightly pricey, perhaps, but not a bad place. Stage seven usually means taking other people's food without asking, so this was a surprisingly classy choice.

The soul of Il Pomodoro

San José Safari. 6: Soda y restaurante la Vasconia, San José, Costa Rica

In the middle of the heart of darkness known as downtown San José, we found this pleasant mid-scale chinchorro, offering decent bocas, mariachis and even a lottery with good possibilities of winning a beer or a drink.

Victor from Puriscal joined the safari at stage 2, and has now reached the point where it seems natural to sing mexican lovesongs.

Le exterieur

Le urinal

San José Safari. 5: A bar in San José, Costa Rica

I have forgotten the name of this dancehall in downtown San José. We came a bit early, so there were few guests and no band yet. It appeared to be a good place, though.

The entrance

Happy guests posing for YOU!

The Urinal

San José Safari. 4: Bar la Gaviota, San José, Costa Rica

La Gaviota was one of the stranger places the IWCRP delegation visited during the safari. Its location in the southern part of the centre of San José makes it a natural hangout for Nicaraguans, and there were about two hundred of them there that night. We talked to one who was particularly drunk for about half an hour, and did not understand a single word. There was a very lively atmosphere, not a bad place at all.

Another hole-in-the-floor urinal in another hole-in-the-wall bar. If you don't drink, you pay 100 colones in the bar to use it.

Not a very succesful picture, but it's not the kind of neighbourhood where it's advisable to walk around taking pictures

San José Safari. 3: Bar La Nena, San José, Costa Rica

A jewel just south of the Iglesia de la Merced, boasting a jukebox with the IWCRP anthem and best song ever made, el diario de un borracho. That's something you don't see every day, unless of course you go to bar la Nena every day.

Bartender and satisfied clients

The Urinal. The ladies' room is protected with a padlock.

San José Safari. 2: Bar en el Mercado Central, San José, Costa Rica

Second stop: the bar inside the Mercado Central in San José. Good atmosphere, rather unpretentious, one might say. Again, this is not the kind of place where you're likely to meet a lot of women; the WC on the picture below is the only one in the bar, and it does not have a door.

Bartenders

Lovely WC

San José Safari. 1: Bar la Barata, San José, Costa Rica

The first stop on the safari was bar la Barata, next to the Alajuela bus stop. A classic little chinchorro, the only woman in the bar except the scantily clad ones on the wall was thrown out by the police.

Bar La Barata seen from the Alajuela bus stop. Iglesia de la Merced in the background

Bar la Barata: the entrance

Bar la Barata: the WC. A very small room where your head touches the roof, your shoulders touch the walls and you piss in a hole in the floor.

MALBA, Rolling Stone (Tibás, San José, Costa Rica), Unknown Soldiers (Buenos Aires and Uruguay), Fish and Jesus

Our freelance photographer Don Eduardo sent us these wonderful pictures. We are eternally grateful, and the $ 50.000 paycheck is well deserved.


Unknown Soldier #1


Fish, Bergen, Norway


Jesus Christ, our lord and saviour.


MALBA, Buenos Aires.


The Rolling Stone, Tibás, San José, Costa Rica


Unknown Soldier #2, Buenos Aires


Unknown Soldier #3, possibly somewhere in Uruguay


Unknown Soldier #4, Buenos Aires

Acid Bar, Tibás, San José

Acid Bar in Tibas is a fine little place, especially if you like loud heavy and death metal. Very good, friendly atmosphere, though; low risk of involuntarily taking part in satanic rituals. Good food, too. Highly recommended.

Open 16.30 - 24.00 Monday - Thursday and 16.30 - 2.00 Friday and Saturday

Address:
100 mts este, 100 mts sur Cementerio de Tibás

Rafa's Bar, Barrio California, San José, Costa Rica

Rafa's is the perfect place, there's no better bar in the world. It's located 25m south of the old caribbean railway station and opens every day from 11 am till 1 am, except sundays, when it opens around noon and closes around 10 pm. A beer costs 575 colones and the booze can be purchased by the bottle in order to lower expenses further. However, Rafa's is not your average chinchorro; instead of being filled with elderly, drunk lunatics, it attracts mostly students.