Irazu, Cartago, Orosi Valley, and Heredia

Every moment here continues to be an adventure. I would say that by now I feel entirely settled in my new home in San José. I haven’t necessarily developed a “routine,” but that is how I like things. Leave it up to spontaneity to create the best adventures.

            Although my study abroad program only had a single day of excursions planned for us, this past weekend turned out to be full of exhilarating escapades to markets, cities, volcanoes, and churches. 

Irazu

            On Saturday, CEA had planned a trip to the Irazu volcano, Cartago, and the Orosi valley. I had an incredible time exploring parts of the central valley of Costa Rica and learning more of the history of this country. Our bus exited the city around 9 AM and began to climb into the nearby mountains. The morning was cool and cloudy and as we ascending into the highlands you could see the valley below. The clouds came closer and closer to us and as we winded through the roads, water began to condense on the windows of the bus. Volcano Irazu erupted almost exactly 50 years ago this year and showered San Jose and the surround area in volcanic ash. The resulting rich soil has created a haven for farmers and their crops. Our bus passed copious agricultural fields as the vegetation opened up into the mist. The ascent was gradual and by the time we reached the top of Irazu, the flora had transitioned into a montane wilderness with herbaceous plants and shrubs growing out of the opaque volcanic ash. 

the Main Crater of Irazu

Poor man's umbrella plant

            We exited the bus at the highest point in the Irazu National park, about 11,260 feet above sea level. Irazu is the highest volcano in Costa Rica and has 5 craters. From that viewpoint we were higher than the clouds. Initially, we could see the main crater of Irazu that is almost 1000 feet deep and 3,500 feet in diameter. It looked like a strange rocky peak piercing the endless field of white clouds. We watched as the clouds began to cascade down the crater edges, eventually obscuring it entirely from our view. We were left standing a cloudy wilderness and 

so we began to walk down the primitive road to get a closer view of the crater. The vegetation was dense and rich. Many of the plants were in bloom and the brilliant reds, oranges, purples, and yellows of the flowers accented the deep emerald green of the surrounding leaves. My favorite plant on that mountain is commonly referred to as “poor man’s umbrella plant” (Gunnera insignis) and has gigantic circular leaves about twice my size. Walking through the volcanic forest made me realize that my favorite places on earth are montane forests; whether it is the afroalpine jungles of the Virunga volcanoes in Rwanda, the alpine tundra of the Rocky Mountains, or the volcanic montane vegetation of Costa Rica, I am in love with the peaceful and mysterious mountains of our world.

Coati

Soon, we reached a large flat volcanic plain that overlooked two of the craters of Irazu. Over the steep edge, you could see straight down into the main crater where a small strangely green and red colored lake resided. Since it is the dry season here, the lake looked more like a puddle stagnating at the bottom of the rocky precipice. I won’t even attempt to describe the view, for it is something that you must see for yourself. On our way back to the bus, we encountered two curious coatis wandering around the parking area in search for tourist leftovers. They were quite adorable little creatures.

Orosi Valley

Back on the bus, we descended the mountain. On our way, we stopped to take photos of the valley beneath us where you could see the city of Cartago sprawled out against the green hills. It was nearing lunchtime and we drove towards the Orosi valley, a picturesque small town. We veered off onto a dirt road and climbed up a hill to a small restaurant with large windows that boasted a spectacular view of the valley below. I ate typical arroz con pollo with mushrooms and bacon mixed in and papas fritas and Fanta roja for a drink. After our meal, we stepped outside to marvel over the view. A distant river wound through the center of the valley and was surrounded by rolling hills covered in orange flowering trees.

Iglesia de San Jose Orosi

We drove through the small town to the Iglesia de San Jose Orosi, the oldest church still in use in all of Costa Rica, dating back to 1743. It was a small building painted white with a simple bell town and red tiled roofs. A wedding was going on in the church while we explored the gardens. The interior of the church was wooden and modest, save for the elaborately painted and decorated pictures and artifacts that all date back to the 18^th century. A painting of San Francisco holding a skull was depicted next to a sculpture of Christ at the front.

Our next stop was Cartago and the Basilica de Nuestro Senora de los Angeles, the same church I had gone to on my Spanish field trip. As an interactive activity, Leo (one of the CEA directors) split us into pairs for a scavenger hunt around the basilica. We had one hour to complete 20 questions both about the church and community, and all in Spanish. I was paired with Hayden, who speaks relatively well in Spanish and the two of us set off around the church to find all the clues. Some questions pertained to history of Cartago and the Basilica, while other required that you take pictures or obtain random objects such as a newspaper from yesterday and a packet of sugar from a nearby restaurant. We asked several people in Spanish to help us answer the historical questions. I drank the holy water (fortunately I found out later that it is safe to drink, although not formally purified) and somehow got a taxi man to awkwardly shake my hand. It was pretty hysterical. Hayden and I ended up coming in second place—so close…

Basilica de Los Angeles

By the time we were finished at the church, it was nearing 5 o’clock. We drove back home and almost immediately Diego (my host brother) marched into my room proclaiming that we were going to a movie. We looked up the schedule for the Multiplaza theatre in the Zapote neighborhood and discovered that the next showing of "Life of Pi" in english was in 20 minutes! Michele hopped out of the shower and Gustavo (another host brother that lives in a nearby neighborhood in the city) drove Macey, Michele, Diego, and I to the large mall. We got in a long line and paid for tickets. Apparently when you purchase tickets in cinemas here, you choose your exact seat in the theater. We ended up sitting in the front row, however the movie was lovely. Diego (who we have nicknamed "Diegs") even bought us carmel and butter popcorn. When we got back home, mommy made us a delicious dinner of papas, arroz, pollo, and copious verduras. 

Shaking the taxi driver's hand

On Sunday, Anita, Lainey, Michele, and I were planning on going to a famous coffee plantation in Barva called Café Britt with Graham, a friend I met through my cousin Matt on my second day in the country. Leo had helped us figure out the bus system to Heredia, where we would take a taxi to the plantation. Sunday morning we woke up around 8 to discover that the plantation was full booked in tours for that day. We decided to take the risk and head down to Heredia anyways and hope that they would open up spaces for us. We walked downtown (I actually can find my way around here…fancy that!) and after some confusion found the bus station where we climbed onto a red and yellow charter bus called “Busetas Hereditas” that cost only a dollar. On the drive to the third largest city in the country, Graham called to inform us that the possibility of securing a tour at Café Britt was highly unlikely. Since we were already on our way though, he agreed to meet us for the day in Heredia. The bus stopped downtown in the city (which really felt more like a town to me) right by the central market. The market was quite similar to the one in Cartago with rows and rows of stalls and restaurants and fruit stands, although since it was Sunday only about half of the cubicles were open. We wandered through the maze of vendors until Graham found us and we set off to explore the city. We went to the central park which is adjacent to the main cathedral. Many ticos were simply sitting on the benches and talking or relaxing in the warm summer air. A group of cheerleaders were practicing their routines in front of the church and we decided to sit and relax tico-style. After a woman kindly told us to move because a coconut could fall on our heads, we found a lovely bench in the park. Apparently many ticos do this on Sundays, it is their day for rest. We then walked through the town to a small soccer stadium where teams of high schoolers were playing. We then meandered to a Caribbean restaurant Graham recommended called “Mami.” The food was excellent and I ate some of the typical Caribbean cuisine, including “rice and beans,” squashed and fried plantains, and “frogwater” (which is really a lime and ginger flavored drink). After our meal we went to a tico ice cream store and tried a typical ice cream slushy concoction composed of fresh fruit, powdered milk, flavored crushed ice, and some sort of sweet sauce topped off with ice cream. We went back to the park to enjoy the afternoon. I felt like I was really experiencing the tico culture, despite the fact that the coffee plantation had not worked out. What a relaxing day!
           When we arrived home, Diego took Michele and I with him to his church on Sunday evening. The church was a short walk up the hill in the direction of my university. A pentecostal church, it was fascinatingly different than what I am accustomed to. It was quite a large sanctuary and when we arrived, there was a band playing loudly on the front stage with flashing bright concert lights. They sang songs for almost a half hour. I actually recognized some of them... although they were in spanish. I found it quite fun to sing in Spanish. I am coming to love this language. Strangely, the preacher that day was a guest pastor from the Copenhagen that spoke in english! How convenient. Diegs wore earplugs and it didn't take long for me to realize why. The pastor worked himself up into such excitement that he was yelling and people were collapsing on the ground and yelling back at him. The chaos was immense and it was hard for me to understand what in the world was happening. At the end, he gathered anyone who wanted healing to the front and people were shaking and dropping to the ground every time he touched someone. Interesting to say the least...
          On another note, if you asked me what my favorite part of Costa Rica is, I would immediately answer my host family. Of course I love the culture and the beauty of this country, but I can't get enough of my host mother. And my uncle Jose and brother Diego are equally interesting to live with. I don't know how I am possibly going to leave here, but when I do, I am certain that I will come back.