Well, we had a fabulous time out on the coast, the pacific coast. I promise I’ll have some cool pictures for you all. But first, let me tell you that the trip over the mountain was beautiful as well the weather. We stopped in Ortina and had a great lunch of sopa. I met a spanish speaking parrot whose favorite word it seemed was “Hola!”..

We crossed the Rio Tarcoles and seen some AWESOME crocodiles. I mean there was some monster “cocodrilos” there. The driver stopped so we could take pictures. It was HOT and they were just laying about. The microbus we hired was top notch, air conditioned. But when you stepped out, it was evident the temperature difference from there and San Jose.

In Jaco, we stayed at a nice place owned by a Dutchman called “La Mar de Luz” which had a nice pool there. The beach was nice and the water WARM. The only thing I didn’t like was all the rocks there, but other than that, it was great weather for the day. The first evening it rained. It was like the sky opened up and it came down. I was beginning to think our Canopy tour was going to be rained out. It rained until almost dawn and stopped and the most beautiful day greeted us. Our ride came and took Julia and I off to the jungle and our canopy tour.

You may remember “Medicine Man” with Sean Connery? Where he traverses the canopy on cables? Well, that’s what we did. We were fitted into our harnesses and given a safety lesson. Then we were led up the trail stopping at interesting points of interests to learn about the fauna. Then we climbed the “Costa Rican Stairmaster”. Our guide says 2000 steps and it seemed like he was right, but I wasn’t counting. I am so glad I did all that cycling and lifting. I did really well. When we achieved the top platform, we were shown how we were to be tethered to the cable of which in places was well over 100 ft off the floor. We learned how to watch the hand signals, apply the brake. Then we one by one went across. It was awesome! We sailed platform to platform some we were really cooking!

We ended up on one that led up to a three level tree house 80ft up. There was one traverse we had to swing like Tarzan that was cool, but the best and last ride was a 400 meter span. I loved that one! Then we had to rappel down to the floor at the end. We had a blast with another young couple from Florida and at the end we were treated to a melody of fruit, juice and water. We wrapped up 3 nights in Jaco and then headed to Quepos which is further south.

Quepos was very nice. We had a little cabina that we shared with a rather large Geco that treated us to a chirping session every now and again. The beach was better, smooth sand, no rocks. We took a tour of the jungle park there and ended up in a secluded little cove. I took so many pictures of different creatures like spiders, crabs, deer and sloths. We seen monkeys too. Julia and I went swimming in the surf and in the evening we shot some fantastic sunsetting. Our last night rained like a monsoon, but the morning was clear and sunny.  We had breakfast and waited for the bus to take us back to San Jose. Our driver was kind enough to stop at Tarcoles again, and it seemed the crocs were more mobile today. I got some awesome shots with my 70-300mm zoom lens.

Back in San Jose, we took a trip to the bank and then the Mercado for a nice dinner. We shopped a bit and then came back to the hotel. That’s about it, our trip is coming to a close. We leave to come home on Tuesday. I can say I have had a wonderful time here in Costa Rica and would come back in a heartbeat.

I’ll add some pictures in a bit.

Thanks for reading!

Welcome to Sarchi

Friday was great, we went to Sarchi and had a fantastic time. Sarchi is known for their making of furniture and other types of Costa Rican souvenirs. I took some nice shots of the place where they make “ox carts”. These were used at one point to move goods from one point to another. Their pretty much a novelty now and are made of all sizes. Dad and I saw one made like a bar for drinking. I thought that would be nice in the

Famous Ox Cart

den, but $1100 plus $600 for shipping was a bit rich for me, so we stuck to smaller stuff. Afterwards, we had a nice lunch that consisted of a “cansado” of pork, rice, plantains and ensalada” with a refresca natural. The food here is incredible. Dad made a deal with a cab driver that hung around for us and took us on a nice tour of both Grecia and Sarchi. He joined us for lunch and was a real good driver and guide. Driving here in Costa Rica is an interesting experience. But after a couple bus and cab rides, I’ve pretty well given my trust to them. They seem to know exactly what to do and when. Which in our country, we’d just call them “nuts”. Here, it’s a way of life. I can’t get over the country, green and beautiful. I can’t help but wonder what it was like when Dad was growing up. He’s been doing a great job in taking us all over, showing us the places where he lived as a kid.

Some Pictures of the ride up. (Not bad for being shot from a cab):

Sugar Cane

Coffee

CR Countryside

Souvenir Shop

The Artist

Many pilgrims come to Cartago annually, to visit the national’s principal church, the enormous Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles, on the feast day of the Virgin of the Angels (August 2). The church has a statue of the black madonna known as La Negrita, who supposedly had great healing powers. The sick come to her statue in hope of a miracle from La Negrita.

According to folklore in Costa Rica, her statue was found by an indigenous girl in 1635. She brought it home several times, but it mysteriously reappeared at its original site. The rock where she found it is now kept in a backroom in the basilica and is revered as a sacred relic and object of inspiration. The rock is supposed to be in the same location it was when La Negrita was found, but it has been moved as the basilica was rebuilt (see below). It is common for pilgrims to touch the rock in reverence.

We had a wonderful day yesterday. After a great breakfast with Mom and Dad, we waited for my cousin to come and then went to the bus station to get a bus to Cartago. The road goes up some pretty steep hills, but the countryside was amazing. Although Dad lamented that most of the area is urbanized, it was still fun to imagine what it looked like when he was a kid. We went to the Basilica that I posted above. What a beautiful place and we took lots of pictures. But the thing is, I took them in large size, and the file size is too big! So, I much reduce them and I just don’t have the time right now. I will try to get that done, because this church is beautiful. Especially the ones from where the water flows from the rock.

Well, today we’re heading to Sarchi. A mountain community where there is all kinds of things to buy made in traditional Costa Rican fashion. I can’t wait. Dad hired a cab for the day which we’ll meet at my cousin Inez’s house in Alajuela. We’ve had a wonderful time, and I feel tremendously blessed to have prayed and refreshed myself with the water from the rock and to have celebrated the Mass on the same day.

It was an interesting flight. Leaving Houston which was experiencing a hurricane of the coast, we had some rather bumpy air to fly through. As we made our way, gradually the Captain made some speed adjustments along with the altitude and soon we were in some great air to fly in. The flight was a little over 3.5 hours long and for this leg, we were seated next to the door which afforded us some extra leg room.

It’s funny, I brought all this reading material and I didn’t look at hardly any of it. Rather, I slept for almost 2 hours, and then spent the remaining part reading my “Word Among Us“.

As we approached the airport, we could now see the countryside. It had been 33 years since the last time my Dad, Brother and I visited here together. The decent was gradual, gently banking and descending and finally a very smooth landing. As we waited to deplane, I thanked the God of Goodness for a fantastic flight and for this new experience for my wife and I. Going through Immigration was a breeze, and then the same for finding our baggage which proved to be an easy task, we grabbed carts and loaded them up and off to Customs. They scanned the baggage, took our declarations and we were through. Arriving at this time was a blessing, even if it required us to leave Seattle at midnight.

My cousin Ana, was there to greet us and had a mini-van ready to carry us to our hotel. El Hotel Grande Costa Rica is a historical landmark here, built by the coffee barons in the 1930’s. The culture here is much different than the states. The sights and smells are different as well, but the people we’ve encountered are number one, very friendly and eager to help get us situated. Our rooms weren’t quite ready, so we had a late lunch and caught up. I couldn’t get over the hotel though! It’s very cool! I love old buildings, they are like time capsules, with amazing stories to tell. Afterwards, rooms ready, they helped us get settled and we rested a bit. Then Dad took us on a tour of the city. We stopped at the casino and played about ten bucks, which Julia had the hot hand. She won probably 30 bucks back. We left on a win and finished touring the city.

Back at the hotel, the fading light made for some interesting photos. Dodging the scattered showers, I was able to get some interesting shots. The thing about the weather is that now is really winter here, but it feels like the weather in Miami or Hawaii. Temps in upper 60’s - 70’s and humidity hovering around 80-90%. It’s warm! The rain is brief, then clears. Yesterday, which was Wednesday, we went to see a cousin of my Dads in Alajuela. We took a bus and man was that an adventure! We had to go back to the airport as we forgot a bag that belonged to Mom. But the bus was amazing as well as the driving down here. Not for the faint of heart! I mean that dude drove through the smallest of openings and it’s cool the way they signal with there horns. Up in the States, people honk and others get mad! But here, the horn is another device to let others know your intentions. I have yet to see someone react in road rage. It was a lot of fun, or at least I think it was.

Seeing my second cousin was a very emotional thing. I haven’t seen her since I was 15, and it’s only been a year since my cousin Matías passed away. My cousin was a very special person, RIP. He was, I am told a Deacon, and EMHC taking communion to the sick and homebound and spent hours praying with and for them. I miss him very much and am sorry I didn’t get to see him again, but I know I will someday see him. Dad took us on another tour, this time in Alajuela where he grew up. We visited the grave where my Grandparents and Matías are interred. Here, they are above ground in tombs, and each are owned and kept by the family of the deceased. Right now, Matías lays interred in his casket in the main tomb, my grandparents remains are kept in small boxes seal right outside. The next in line would take the main tomb and so on. This goes on like this. We spoke to a gentleman that cares for them and are having some work done to ensure it’s kept in good shape. I knelt for a moment thanking each of them for their presence in my life, and the love I still feel for them. I let them know I pray for them and will continue until we see each other again. I miss them very much.

Afterwards, we had some lunch then went back to see Inez once again and pickup our stuff. Dad hired a cab to take us back to San Jose. The man was a longtime friend of the family and Dad made a deal with him to take us to Sarchi on Friday. Today, which is Thursday, is when we are going to Cartago. There is a church there I want to see. Julia and I had a nice dinner last night. Our waiter, a very nice man, was very patient as I tried my español in ordering our meal. Afterwards, we had drinks and went up to bed. A great day, lots of fun with more to do, en la mañana..

It’s about 6:24am here, and I can here the thunderstorms going on outside. Time to go to the Gimnasio, and get my cardio in. Hope you enjoyed the update!

Waiting to start our first leg of our trip. We’re all checked in and just kicking back. I thought I’d journal a bit. The drive over went well, traffic was light heading north towards Seattle. We spotted the long term parking then circled around to have some dinner. That was nice, enjoying the evening just chatting about things we want to do once we arrive in Costa Rica. We left for the airport and found a close spot to park in the hourly parking. Then we went to the check in counter. We’re amazed they didn’t realize we were over 5 hours early, but checked our baggage. Then Dad and I went to take the car to long term parking.

Kind of funny, Dad took a wrong turn and we ended up back on the freeway heading for South Center. A quick exit and we were turned around, but then we failed to get off again, and ended up going back towards the Arriving Flights section. But there was another quick exit and back we were on International Blvd, and heading back towards the parking lot. They were kind enough to shuttle us back after we parked. Back at the airport we found Mom and my wife Julia. We chatted some, had coffee and then checking the paperwork our seating was hosed up, so we had to get that fixed up. Security was a breeze and now we’re just waiting. Our first leg will end in Houston, we’ll lay over a couple hours then continue on to San Jose, Costa Rica.

Just fascinates me, we leave at 09:00am on the 5th, and get there at 11:58am on the 5th.

I will post more from Houston.

-Sleepless in Seattle

Catholic Encylopedia:

St. Christopher

(Greek christos, Christ, pherein, to bear. St. Christopher is one of the most popular saints in the