Parque Nacional de Diversiones

Theme park! This past weekend I experienced Costa Rica's one and only Parque de Diversiones. Having grown up 1 hour from the world-famous Disney World, I have quite a bit of theme park experience and consider myself somewhat of an expert on the matter. The Parque de Diversiones was much smaller than the pride of Orlando, but had all the components of a great theme park built for a great time.

Right at the entrance of the park was their only roller coaster. Bright yellow with a couple twists, turns, and corkscrews, the Anaconda gave a welcoming vibe and was our first stop. My first surprise was the fact that there was no line at all! We walked the trail right up to the ride and got on without a wait.

The Anaconda slowly climbed the track, making a very disconcerting clicking noise throughout the whole ascent. We got to the top, I looked at the mountainous scenery and ...weee!! we sped down the track, flipped through a corkscrew and left my stomach behind, a few more turns and the 20-second ride was over. It was really nice not to have to wait 2 hours for a 20 second ride like I used to at Universal Studios.

One of my favorite parts was the bumper cars. Even at my ripe old age of 21 I still enjoy smashing a bumper car full force into strangers. We zipped through the line, hopped into the carts and waited anxiously to be able to start. We got the green light, I stomped on the gas and puttered to a slow and disappointing start. I finally gained enough speed and was off - an unstoppable force bludgeoning my way through the masses. My goal was to hit the people I knew more than they hit me. I can't say that I was successful, I did succeed in thoroughly enjoying myself... and bruising my back from smashing against the seat every time I crashed. The electricity stopped, we jumped out of the carts and ran back to the line like little kids. No wait :). We went another 10 or so rounds in a row - I love Costa Rica.

We had lunch in a traditional restaurant in an old-fashioned town modeled after an 1800s era Costa Rican town. I had a view of the picturesque chapel with the mountains in the background and ate a tamal. Except for the Disney prices, lunch was perfect.

We took an old-fashioned train around the town and ate coffee fruits right off the trees. I  bought a tooth-rotting traditional candy, which was every kids' dream come true. The roosters crowed, the peacock posed, and the goat comped away on a branch wedged in the fence. We walked through a 118-year old home with 3 rooms, an ancient piano, iron, and sewing machine. I noticed the lack of bathrooms and the presence of buckets next to the bed and decided that I prefer modern luxuries to old fashioned simplicity. I really enjoyed getting a feel for ancient Costa Rican life.