Continental Divide 
the towns and villages along the route and the inhabitants 
turn out en bloc to see what passengers and news tihe train 
brings* At Turrialba native women wander along the waiting 
train offering [tempting slices of rich, juicy pineapple to the 
traveller. 
Turrialba, incidentally, is the limit of the Negro "pene¬ 
tration” and from here onwards the newcomer will be among 
people wholly Costa Rican; people whose fair complexions 
testify to their unadulterated Eurqpean origin, culminating, 
in San Jose, in a city not vastly differing, as regards its in¬ 
habitants, from any city of Europe or North America. 
In the 62 miles to Turrialba from Limon the train has 
climbed some 2000 feet but in the succeeding 30 miles it has 
to climb steeply another 3000 feet, or 100 feet per mile, no 
mean grade taking into consideration the twists and turns 
which have to be negotiated. 
The view throughout this section of the journey may 
aptly be described as gorgeous. The whole valley of the 
Reventazon river may be seen at one sweep of the eye with 
the rushing river itself appearing as a tiny, narrow ribbon of white 
foam a thousand or more feet below the train. 
At this high altitude one becomes aware of an invigorate 
ing, cool snap in the air as the tropics are left behind and the 
train attains 'the central plateau, or the Meseta Central as it is 
known where the climate is more or less constant the whole 
year round, justifying Costa Rica's claim to be the land of 
eternal spring. ^ 
Cartago, 90 miles from Limon, and the republic's former 
10 
•Xv>.y 
Typical Costa Rican landscape 
capital, a thriving city of 8000 inhabitants, is passed at a 
height of 4760 feet and shortly afterwards comes the inevitable 
thrill of crossing the Continental Divide at 5137 feet on a 
ridge which links the Rocky Mountains of the North with 
the Andes of the South in one long, unbroken chain. From 
this highest point there is a gradual descent to San Jose (Pop. 
65,000) which stands at 3870 feet above sea level and where 
our journey of some five hours ends. 
As the visitor rides in his taxi from the Atlantic railroad 
station to his hotel he senses at once that he is in a city which, 
conforms to all modern standards. Clean, wide, asphalted ave¬ 
nues,, flanked by spacious, shady, green parks and modern buil¬ 
dings; the people dressed in dark clothes insted of the expected 
white drill; flower gardens at every turn of the hand; all tend 
to make the visitor feel at home right from the moment of 
arrival. 
This feeling is enhanced on arriving at your hotel, 
one of the best in Central America, every square inch of 
which was designed with only one object in view—the 
comfort of its guests. There is nothing "foreign” about the 
hotel; it is a home from home where just as much English 
as Spanish is spoken. And this equally applies to the whole 
of the capital for nearly all the shopkeepers, waiters, chauf¬ 
feurs and hotel clerks speak English, making for easy unders¬ 
tanding between the visitor and the native. 
However, you are in San Jose, the nation's capital, at 
last. You refreshed yourself after the train journey, you 
have dined amid flowers to the accompaniment of a first-class 
orchestra playing lilting Spanish music, and been fascinated 
by the beauty of the Costa Rican senotitas present, and you 
are now ready to explore the city and its environs. 
Let us see what San Jose has to offer. 
il 
