The Town of San Ramon

San Ramon was founded in 1845 by people who were not satisfied with the way government was running San Jose, the Capital, so they decided to trek wayyy away, like 20 miles, and founded their own town. It is called the cradle of Poets and Presidents, as many of the country´s finest in both areas were born here. The list includes Don Jose (Pepe) Figueres, who served from 1948 to 1952 (only one term for Presidents in Costa Rica) but in that short time he abolished the army, installed a new constitution with concepts such as Social Security, nationalized health and turned army barracks into schools. A museum bearing his name graces the town.

There is a lovely domed cathedral and central park, a mall with a 3 screen cinema and food court, with BK, Mickey D, KFC, Church´s, Dragon Chinese, and ice cream, plus 3 banks, lots of shops selling clothes, shoes, even a GNC vitamin shop. There´s also a supermarket at the Mall, plus 3-4 more in town, a regional Hospital with 50 beds, the Western Campus of the University of Costa Rica with 2,000 + students, several elementary, middle and high schools, 4 gas stations, lots of restaurants and bars, doctors and dentists galore, lots of hardware store, a covered / all weather farmer´s market on Friday and Saturday, car lots, motorcycle shops, mechanics, well, you get the picture, it´s all here. One hour from San Jose and one hour from the closest beaches, this area of the world, at 3,000 feet ASL, is airconditioned, with a boring yearround temperature in the 70´s (rarely 80´s) during the day, and 60´s (rarely 50´s) at night.

However, there are some things missing: traffic, pollution, expensive boutiques, high end restaurants, Starbucks, and I still can´t get Dr Pepper, RC Cola, grits, scrapple or Twinkies here.

We have several hotels, from the high end La Posada, at $40 a night with breakfast and Internet included, to more modest digs at the Hotel San Ramon, and at Gran Hotel, half that price and no breakfast.