This morning Tobey and Gary went to pick up the rental car and had quite the adventure with the UBER. Tobey entered the location the car company gave him but that put them in the middle of a neighborhood not near the airport! Tobey tried to get the driver to take them further but he made them get out! They walked down a couple streets and realized they were nowhere near the rental car location. The second Uber he called arrived three minutes later took them right there. They got the car and arrived back at the condo and we were ready to take off exploring.
Tobey was navigator and Gary was the driver as we made our way to Cartago. Founded in 1563 by Juan Vasquez de Coronado, it was the first successful establishment in Costa Rica. We found a parking spot just across from the Plaza Mayor. The Santiago Apostol Parish Ruins are also located there. Despite their beauty, they are not real ruins but an unfinished building, which was badly damaged by the 1910 earthquake and construction halted.
The site was declared a Cultural Heritage site in 1982.
According to an old legend, every foggy night in Cartago, it is possible to see a headless priest inside the ruins whose ghost must wander forever as a penance for desecrating a holy place.
We walked to the “Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles” (Our Lady of the Angels Basilica). The Basilica has been built, rebuilt and renovated, but the cathedral still stands in the same place it was founded: upon the rock where Juana Pereira first discovered the statue in 1635. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels is consecrated to the Virgin of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, a small representation of the Virgin Mary carrying the infant Jesus, said to have been discovered by a peasant girl in Cartago. Tradition claims that the little girl found the small statue on a rock and took it home. The next morning she found that the statue was not there but back at the rock, so she took it to the priest and he locked it in a small box. The next morning the statue was back at the rock. During the construction, the church was destroyed by earthquakes so many times, it was finally decided to move it to the location where the statue was found and they were able to finish construction. Many people think that the earthquakes were signs that the Lady of Los Ángeles wanted the basilica built there.There is usually a tour to visit patron Saint “La Negrita” or the “Little Black One,” a 15 cm tall statue of the Virgin Mary but it was closed today! There was a mass going on so we were able to look inside the church. The architecture is amazing!
We asked a young man in one of the stores for a lunch restaurant recommendation. Alejandro said he had a great place and walked us there. Our first thought was it must be his cousin’s restaurant, but he also picked up his lunch to go. It was delicious and the owners were very friendly. I had the fajitas lunch, Ann had the Beef Mechada, and Tobey and Gary both got Churrasco. The food was amazing!
After lunch we headed back to the car and on to Mirador de Orosi. It was free to visit and is a beautiful park with great views over the Orosi Valley and town of Orosi. Several families were there having picnics and enjoying the beautiful day, as well.
On to the town of Orosi. We went to see the Iglesia de San Jose de Orosi, which was built in 1743 and is the oldest church in the country still in use today.
There was a wedding going on so we could only look inside – and they had a sign saying no photos. There is a small museum next to the church so Ann and I went in. Admission was $500 colones (about 80 cents!). Many of the artifacts are over 300 years old.
Across from the church was a fun looking snack wagon. The had cotton candy and popcorn. We were all still full from lunch so we skipped the treats!
We had planned to go to the Ruins of Ujarras but it closed at 3 pm and it was already after 3! Plan B: we stopped at the market and got some items to make dinner and headed back to San Jose. The traffic was pretty heavy, but Gary got us home safely.
We played cards and Gary and Tobey fixed dinner. We will play a few more card games then plan on an early start for tomorrow’s adventures.
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