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Festival Of Light

Parada de la luz Remember, NEVER go into town around Christmas. And, above all, never go to the Parade de la luz. I did this twice, and got robbed both times. It's a part of the traditional Christmas celebration in San Jose, and they make a big deal out of it. Not something I'd go out of my way for. This after having done it TWICE! - (17) more edit 2008-12-21 - rec# 509

Ellen and I had a chance to go to San Jose to see the Festival of Lights parade. Two years ago I was robbed after that parade. It's the most dangerous time of the year to be in San Jose, that night. But we'd have a chance to see the parade from a third floor balcony just across from parque central. So we risked it. The parade was to begin at 6pm. We got there at 4 and were given a meal by our host (thank you very much...). At 6 the fireworks went nuts, both from the parque sabana and a little south and west of us. The show ran for about 20 minutes non stop. The parade was beginning. Now parades in Costa Rica don't try to set any land speed records. By 8:15 the beginning of the spectacle had reached us. It was a wonderful vista. I took my camera, which might have been a bit of a stupid thing, but I wanted to try to get some pics. The camera doesn't really do very good night work and I was taking a big risk with theft. I had taken pants that I could hide the camera in and took a "throw away" wallet with just a little cash in it for taxi and food. We were able to watch the parade in the safety of our (almost private) balcony and had quite an enjoyable time meeting new people and seeing the action down on the street. I got several pics before the batteries went dead on me. Toward the end of the parade we were pretty tired and wanted to go home, so headed down to the street to make our way to the bus stop. At the corner we got pressed into a rush, I knew what was going to happen. I had my hand on my wallet, but still just felt it slip out of my pocket. I confronted the guy, but of course, the wallet had already been passed on and he knew nothing of what had happened. The only loss was an old wallet and about c5,000. Nobody checked the pocket with the camera because their attention was on the pocket with the wallet, as was my intent. I really need to listen to myself when I say "never to go town on the day of the parade." Sometimes I give good advice!