The Polish embassy is housed in a mansion in the exclusive Barrio Escalante section of town, under the administration of Ambassador Kazimierz Duchowski, a carreer diplomat on his first assignment as chief of an embassy staff.
His title is impressive. Officially, Duchovsky is the Embajador Extraordinario y Plenipotenciaro de la Republica de Polonia en la Republica de Costa Rica.
From his base in San Jose, Duchovski also serves as ambassador to Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and soon Panama.
The embassy open only 18 months, is no less impressive than the ambassador`s title, decorated and furnished elaborately in the style of Poland.
A recent visit with the ambassador began with a shot of one of Poland`s most famous exports, Wyborova vodka.
Downing it in one shot, the ambassador let out a hearty sto lat, meaning "100 years".
Duchovski said Poland has strong economic reasons for establishing a diplomatic presence here. Trade between the isthmus and Poland is substancial and his country is a big consumer of Costa Rican bananas and coffee. Large numbers of intravenous feeding devices, of which Poland is a major exporter, and purchased by Costa Rica.
The value of Costa Rica`s export to Poland totalled $2.3 million in the first 11 months of 1992 and the ambassador expects the figure to grow to $5 million a year within the next two years when Costa Rica beginsimporting Polish-built Fiat 500s. Italy`s Fiat soon will be producing 500.000 of the popular little car in Poland a year.
Costa Rica also exports house plants to Poland and imports Polish-made fishing vessels. Duchowski said that the history of friendly relations between Poland and Costa Rica dates back more than 100 years when a contingent of Polish officers and soldiers trained and fought alongside the army of Costa Rica in the 1856 campaign against filibuster William Walker.
Costa Rica`s Housing Minister Cristobal H. Zawadzki, was born in Poland and Security Minister Luis Fishman`s family has several Polish members. Teodoro Picado Michalski, who was Costa Rican president from 1944 - 1948, was of Polish descent.
There are many other Poles in Costa Rica, including Ernesto Guttieres, who owns the auto agency Polones and manufacturing concerns. He was formerly Poland`s honorary consul in Costa Rica. In addition, Costa Rican government officials have travelled to Poland recently to further cement relations and both countries regard this friendship as a top priority, the ambassador said. Costa Rica has had an embassy in Poland since October, 1990.