What is there to do in Liberia, Costa Rica?

We had come directly from Nicaragua and after a long but surprisingly smooth crossing we found our next bus which was much more comfortable than the chicken buses. Costa Rica was in our good books already.

In no time we were in Liberia. We found a hostel for the night and I slumped into a relaxed daze. In this state of quiescence, where my brain had thrown banks of mist over external stimuli and internal concerns,  I asked Brendan to go and check the bus times for the next day as it was important to catch the first bus in order to make the rest of the buses to La Fortuna. I realise now that sending Brendan to check the time of said bus was a mistake. In my briefest moment of nonchalance I had trusted Brendan with organising travel arrangements. How naïve. How foolish.

When we awoke in the morning we were the only people left in the hostel. There was something wrong. I went and checked the times and we had missed the only bus. So what could we do in Liberia for a day?

MaxiPalí

Palí supersize. Palí to the max. PalíXtreme.

Note: Palí is a supermarket chain seen in Nicaragua and Costa Rica and we regularly visited them for cheap food and cheap alcohol. They were in a constant in our chaotic lives. A supermarket equivalent of a mother’s hug or a lighthouse in a stormy sea.

These shops were always useful for us and on this occasion it was just around the corner from the hostel. Combine this with the fact that we were losing our minds in this tiny city, MaxiPalí became an major attraction to us. However, after numerous excursions to MaxiPalí you feel like you’ve seen it all. Pasta, rice, beans, pastry, it had it all but we wanted more. What more could we want? Were we grasping for a level of entertainment that was just unattainable in Liberia?

To see whether Liberia can live up to our lofty hopes and dreams, read on.

The “Museum”

This isn’t as ominous as it sounds.

As we were exploring the city centre we always walked past this large square building taking up one block. Intrigued, we went and asked the policeman standing outside the arched entrance what it was. He told us it was a museum and we could go in and have a look. Loving a good museum, we couldn’t pass up this golden ticket.

Maybe I’ve been to some weird museums in my life, but aren’t museums supposed to have exhibits?

Turns out we were walking around an old prison with many of the rooms on the ground floor just hosting offices that were closed. In light of this, we climbed the steps to the top of the walls. We were greeted with some not so stunning views of rooftops. We did however get the opportunity to learn of Billy’s love for Erika through the medium of vandalism. It touches my heart that people would go to such lengths to express their feelings up in the watchtower of a former prison. And they say romance is dead.

After getting a little hot in the midday heat and realising that we had exhausted all entertainment opportunities at the top of the prison, we went below ground to have a look a the cells. These were pretty interesting but there’s only so much to see in a dark cell as I’m sure the inmates here would have attested to.

The Main Square

A frankly gratuitous number of benches, a pavilion and some nice trees.

A Park

I feel like I’m running out of stuff to say about Liberia now? Does it show?

Some Kids Playing Basketball?

Ok, I give up.

Final thoughts

Option 1: Get the right bus.

Option 2: Maybe just get a different bus somewhere else. Anywhere else.

Option 3: Drown your sorrows in mountains of food and drink from MaxiPalí when you do neither of the first two options.