Among the 20 or so things you're not supposed to miss in Costa Rica is the Calle Real in Liberia. It's supposedly the "best example of colonial architecture in the country."
So we pulled out our guidebooks and joined about ten puzzled tourists milling around with their guidebooks. We passed to and fro, up and down the Calle Real—which is a strip of ordinary bars, backpacker hotels, muffler shops, cheap eateries, and hardware stores.
What we didn't realize is that winning the prize for colonial architecture in Costa Rica is like winning the Puerto Rican All-Commonwealth ice hockey title. The Calle Real has perhaps two small buildings left over from colonial times, and they probably weren't very important then. Other than that, it's just a street.
Liberia is a nice town. It has a small plaza bedecked with flowers, a number of good but cheap eateries, and three bus stations (Costa Rican towns never have just one). But we're happy to be pressing on.
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