A day trip to Cartago - 22/05/2011

Our last day in Costa Rica was to be spent in the town of Cartago - previously the capital city and situated at the base of the Irazu volcano.  A drive into the hills, interesting ruins and a magnificent cathedral were something we were looking forward to.  At a mere 40 minutes outside San Jose, we were under no time pressure.

We caught a tico bus in San Jose (after spending a bit of time buying gifts at a local market), and were soon winding our way south-east on the Pan-American Highway.  Cartago is higher than San Jose, and at 1435m has a cooler climate, which was noticable once we stepped off the bus.

The town itself was severely damaged in a series of earthquakes between 1822 and 1910, and one of the first stops we made was the ruins of the Santiago Apóstol church.  The town square is situated next to these ruins, and a gorgeous garden has been planted within the roofless walls of this once great building. A sobering reminder of the great forces of nature that can reduce human structures to rubble in seconds.

Santiago Apóstol ruins...

A garden amongst the ruins...

Continuing our walk, we headed east towards the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles - a huge white cathedral built in 1639.  This too was seriously damaged by an earthquake, but has since been beautifully restored.  The cathedral has a fascinating history, having been consecrated to a small black stone statue of the virgin Mary.  Standing outside the main entrance, it was odd to see lottery ticket sellers doing business with people just leaving the Sunday service.

Basilica de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles

Crowds leaving the Sunday service...

By this time we'd worked up an appetite, so we headed for a local pizza restaurant (not being in the mood for beans and rice).  By the time we'd walked out, storm clouds were threatening, so we decided it was time to head to the bus station.  Soon the rain started bucketing down in true tropical fashion, and lasted the whole trip back to San Jose.  We'd timed our visit to Costa Rica just right - the rainy season was about to begin in earnest.

Until next time....
Adios

A day trip to Atenas - 19/05/2011

Our trip back to San Jose from Monteverde on Monday was generally unremarkable (apart from the gorgeous views as we descended from Monteverde) and around 4 hours later we arrived back on the yellow brick road of Kap's Place. We spent the next couple of days resting, blogging and catching up with Gary on his recent trip to Panama.

We had heard from a number of people that one of the most pleasant areas to live in Costa Rica is a small town called Atenas.  In the 90's this place was brought into the spotlight by National Geographic magazine as having "the best climate in the world" for humans to live, with the balance of temperature and humidity bieng "just right".  At around an hour and a quarter outside San Jose, we decided a local bus ride would be the way to go.  So on Thursday 19th we trundled off to the bus station known as the "Coca-Cola Bus Station", which as the name implies, was built on the site of an old Coke factory. Keeping our eyes peeled for the notorious pickpockets, we soon found our bus to Atenas and hopped aboard.

Atenas

Hard at work...

The ride took us north-west out of San Jose, on the Pan-American highway that we'd been on a few times already and soon the chaotic city streets gave way to lush green hills.  We turned off to the west and wound our way through picturesque valleys and steep hairpin bends until Atenas announced itself with the "Monument to the Oxcart Driver" just outside the town.  Atenas was originally built on the historic "camino de carretas" (oxcart trail) which was used to transport coffee.

Planning to take over the world....

Stepping off the bus revealed a surprising level of humidity, despite reports to the contrary.  We spent some time walking around the small town, which is built in typical fashion around a central park.  We had the obligatory lunch of beans and rice at a soda overlooking the park, and continued on until we came across an estate agent.  An enlightening chat with Dayana the realtor revealed how expensive properties in the area are - mainly due to the influx of "gringos" from the USA over the years.  Apparently the hills surrounding the town are just high enough to take the edge off the heat and humidity - hence the population of expats.

Out to lunch...

A coffee in another little streetside cafe and soon it was time to catch our return bus to San Jose. Back on the Pan-American highway the traffic quickly became horrendous - a collision between a motorcycle and a Mack truck being the cause. Another sobering reminder of the gung-ho attitude of drivers in Costa Rica.

Hasta luego...