When I was chosen to be an exchange student back in 1984–you know, in what now seems like the “olden days”, I was elated.
Shortly after the adventure started, I found myself wondering if I had been given the short end of the stick when I found out that others in the group were headed toward beach towns to spend their school year. One even brought a surfboard! That didn’t really seem fair.
Several students were scattered around the San Jose area, and more in Alajuela and its surroundings. Only four in our group of thirty students (including myself) had been chosen to spend the next twelve months in Cartago.
It was February, and the days were pleasant and sunny, and the evenings cool. They were much chillier than I imagined for Costa Rica, and this was summer! Classes hadn’t started, and the rainy season hadn’t even kicked in. It never occurred to me to pack a couple of sweaters. What I didn’t know was that this cooler climate, in the so-called “tropics”, would soon come to grow on me.
Cartago Is Known for Cooler Temperatures
Cartago is famous for its cooler climate and its drizzly evenings. Her residents know better than to leave for the day without taking a jacket or a sweater for late afternoon into the evening. Coming in from points north, you can feel it in the air as you ascend the hill to Ochomogo before arriving in Cartago. Roll down the window, and there it is. You can breathe better already.
When the low nighttime clouds and mist descend into Cartago, they float through the streets, giving off a mystical, eerie feeling. The lights on the side of Irazu Volcano appear to twinkle, and the now foggy lamp posts look like something straight out of an old, nostalgic painting.
The chill keeps you moving and warm, and coziness envelopes you once you arrive home (or stop by one of Cartago’s many unique coffee shops)!
Sometimes, during a cold front (many times this is the Christmas season), Cartago will go through periods of low evening temperatures in the mid to high 50s; coupled with drizzly rain and wind, that’s some pretty raw weather, even for this seasoned New Yorker.
Having traveled to Costa Rica’s beaches, I enjoy the tropical temperatures, too, but there’s something very magical about Cartago’s climate. I don’t know, maybe it’s the same way people feel about Seattle or London.
They call Cartago “La Cuidad de las Brumas”, which means “City of Mist”, and I wouldn’t change that weather for anything.
As an added plus, the lower temps make for good sleeping. And although Cartago still has plenty of insects and critters, I’ve never seen a scorpion, and there are definitely fewer creepy crawlies than in other parts of the country.
So, wherever you decide to stay in Cartago, whether a hotel or AirBnb, don’t be surprised to find spare blankets at the end of your bed. And that’s a good thing!