La Fortuna, Alajuela — September 14, 2024

September 14, 2024. La Fortuna, Alajuela. I walked into the plaza at dusk, under a sky the color of wet slate. A dome-shaped tree sat at the center, trimmed so tight it looked sculpted,. String lights in red, white, and blue ran overhead in long triangular rows. A tiered fountain with a pale blue basin held the middle of the square. On the walk in, I'd passed a cluster of tropical ginger, cones stacked like scales, yellow-green at the base, deepening to red at the tips. One quiet idea stayed with me: a town square is a kind of canopy too. Same shape as the big feathery tree on the edge of town — wide cover, soft light, everyone underneath. If you pass through La Fortuna near sundown, sit by the fountain for ten minutes before you go anywhere else.