Shopping A-Z

Art Galleries

Art lovers should check out Molly Keeler's one-day Art Tour (tel. 359-5571 or 288-0896; www.costaricaarttour.com), which includes scheduled visits to the studios and personal shops of prominent local artists working in a wide range of media.

Books

For English-language novels, field guides and general guide books, and natural history books, head to either Seventh Street Books (tel. 256-8251; Calle 7 between avenidas 1 and Central), or Librería Internacional (tel. 253-9553; www.libreriainternacional.com). Librería Internacional has several outlets around San José, including storefronts in most of the major modern malls.

Handicrafts

The quality of Costa Rican handicrafts is generally very low, and the offerings are limited. The most typical items you'll find are hand-painted wooden oxcarts. These come in a variety of sizes, and you can ship the big ones to your home for a very reasonable price. If you want to stick to downtown San José, try the outdoor market on the Plaza de la Democracia, although prices here tend to be high and bargaining can be difficult. If you prefer to do your crafts shopping in a flea-market atmosphere, head over to La Casona on Calle Central between avenidas Central and 1.

Notable exceptions to the generally meager crafts offerings include the fine wooden creations of Barry Biesanz (tel. 289-4337; www.biesanz.com). His work is sold in many of the finer gift shops around and at his own shop , but beware: Biesanz's work is often imitated, so make sure that what you buy is the real deal (he generally burns his signature into the bottom of the piece). Lil Mena is a local artist who specializes in working with and painting on handmade papers and rough fibers. You'll find her work in a number of shops around San José.

You might also run across carved masks made by the indigenous Boruca people of southern Costa Rica. These full-size balsa-wood masks come in a variety of styles, both painted and unpainted, and run anywhere from $10 to $80 (£5-£40), depending on the quality of workmanship. Cecilia "Pefi" Figueres makes practical ceramic wares that are lively and fun. Look for her brightly colored abstract and figurative bowls, pitchers, coffee mugs, and more at some of the better gift shops around the city.

Scores of shops around San José sell a wide variety of crafts, from the truly tacky to the divinely inspired. Here are some that sell more of the latter and fewer of the former.

Leather Goods

In general, Costa Rican leather products are not of the highest grade or quality, and prices are not particularly low. Del Río (tel. 262-1415) is a local leather goods manufacturer, with stores in most of the city's modern malls. It also offers free hotel pickup and transfer to its factory outlet in Heredia.

Liquor

The national drink is guaro, a rough, clear liquor made from sugar cane. The most popular brand is Cacique, available at every liquor store and most supermarkets. Costa Ricans drink their guaro straight or mixed with club soda or Fresca. When drinking it straight, it's customary to follow a shot with a bite into a fresh lime covered in salt.

Costa Ricans also drink a lot of rum. The premier Costa Rican rum is Centenario, but I recommend that you opt for the Nicaraguan Flor de Caña or Cuban Havana Club, both of which are far superior rums. Note: Because of the trade embargo, it is illegal to bring Havana Club into the United States.

Several brands and styles of coffee-based liqueurs are also produced in Costa Rica. Café Rica is similar to Kahlúa, and you can also find several types of coffee cream liqueurs. The folks at Café Britt produce their own line of coffee liqueurs which are quite good and available in most supermarkets, liquor stores, and tourist shops; the best prices I've seen are at the supermarket chain Más * Menos. There is a Más * Menos store on Paseo Colón and another on Avenida Central at the east end of town, just below the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica.

Music

A CD of Costa Rican music makes a great souvenir. Many gift shops around the country carry a small selection of Costa Rican music. Editus is an inventive trio (guitar, violin, and percussion) that has several albums out. They've won two Grammy Awards for their collaborations with Rubén Blades on the albums Tiempos and Mundo. You should also see discs by Cantoamérica, which plays upbeat dance music ranging from salsa to calypso to meringue. Jazz pianist Manuel Obregón has several excellent albums out, including Simbiosis, on which he improvises along with the sounds of Costa Rica's wildlife, waterfalls, and weather; as well as his work with the Papaya Orchestra, a collaboration and gathering of musicians from around Central America. Papaya Music (www.papayamusic.com) is a Costa Rican label that produces and distributes an excellent range of local music, including everyone from Obregón to Malpaís, a local pop-rock band, to a broad selection of traditional folk music, including one of my favorite local discs, Dr. Bombodee, by the Costa Rican-born calypsonian Walter "Gavitt" Ferguson.