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This will keep you nice and dry plus lessen your chances of being struck by lightning since golf clubs sometimes do attract this celestial force. Some of the new hotels and resorts being constructed along the Pacific Coast will have excellent golf courses to attract more international and local golfers. The Club Cariari, Los Reyes, and the Costa Rica Country Club near Escazú are the most popular ones within a short driving distance from San José.
For bowling you must either belong to the Costa Rica Country Club, the Indoor Club in Curridabat, or the Tennis Club on the edge of Sabana Park. But they're restricted to club members. The two privately owned bowling alleys opened to the public are Boliche Dent in Barrio Escalante and the Metro Bowl in Guachipelín. International tournaments are frequently held especially at Boliche Dent where a very important one is held during the first or second week of October to celebrate Columbus Day previously called Diá de la Raza and, as of 2001, named Cultural Encounter Day.
Tennis can be played at various of the social clubs mentioned above and wherever there are large hotels in tourist areas either along the coast or inland. There are two municipal courts at Sabana Park and a private one, Academia de Tennis Orange is opened to the public at San Antonio de Desamparados on the south side of San José. Other courts are at the Lomas de Ayarco residential area on the east side. As with golf, try to play during weekdays to avoid the crowds or reserve space for weekends.
You can also watch several softball teams play on the west side of La Sabana Metropolitan Park on Saturday mornings. Most of the players are Nicaraguans as that's their national sport-not soccer. Hardball is played occasionally at the Escarré Baseball Stadium in the San Cayetano area. From time to time scouts from the major leagues in the States come to look over prospects and sometimes have found good ones, although baseball is still not popular in Costa Rica and seldom played.
Soccer, the National Sport
By way of spectator sports, you can attend soccer games on Wednesday nights at eight or Sundays at eleven in the morning. Futból, as soccer is known in Spanish speaking countries, is the national sport of Costa Rica and the greatest passion for a large part of its population. Twelve teams make up primera división which is the top national league. From an early age, children yearn to become star players and in later years many have become stars and contracted by teams in the States, Mexico, Europe, Asia, South and Central America where big money is paid to top players.
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