The hostess is very nice and accommodating. She speaks simply and clearly so I can mostly understand her.
Wandering around Old Town
Intersections have someone directing traffic even if there is a traffic light. They are constantly whistling. Not sure what the whistles mean, but coming from every direction they are deafening at times.
Visited the presidential palace. The tour is free. You have to present a copy of your ID. They take it at the beginning of the tour and return it at the end, which they explain several times after taking it – in Spanish. The guide promptly almost lost mine by crumpling it up with the ticket receipts. The tour was in Spanish but the guide was kind enough to brusquely translate the highlights for me and the New Zealander.
My new dining room.
Retrospective Addendum¹
The house was mostly empty that day except for one German guy who was there in the morning. He was on his way out, but he explained the lay of the land to me during breakfast. It turned out several students actually stay in that house every week, but the last ones had either left or were away on weekend trips.
Costs¹
Cost today: $28.25
Cumulative cost: $278.31
¹ See this post on methodology.