Strange hedges, queues and ox carts in Zarcero

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We sadly took a taxi from the peaceful lodge, into La Fortuna, which was about 20 klms from Arenal Volcano, and the township we originally planned on staying in. So very pleased that we didn’t as it really was a long strip of resorts, guesthouses, travel agencies and shops. The birds at the lodge had been much better company! We were dropped at the bus station - the only one I’ve ever been to that had a large supermarket on site - which proved handy as we had to wait an hour for the bus which was going to take us to Zarcero, an agricultural town (it is the biggest area in Costa Rica for organic farming) set in the mountains about 50 klms from Alajuela where the international airport is situated. It took four hours to reach Zarcero - a really cheap trip again on local buses (only a few dollars) and when we reached the mountains we could see very little as the area was shrouded in low clouds. We did notice that in all the gardens there were small wooden crosses, draped in purple fabric, in preparation for Easter.
It was getting dark as the bus pulled in to Zarcero - it was much smaller then we expected - as you could see all the countryside surrounding the town only a couple of blocks away from each side of the main street. I hadn’t booked accommodation but thankfully the only hotel in town had a room for us. Zarcero is on the tourist trail for its topiary garden produced from cypress bushes and maintained and constructed by a local man for the last 3 decades. Shrubs in the park have been trimmed into the shapes of various animals, including some that are quite abstract and bizarre. A long low row of arches was particularly appealing and it was through these arches that we walked to our hotel on the other side of the square. On one side of the plaza stood the church, very pretty, wood outside made to look like brick with wooden pillars inside painted to represent marble.
We like little towns and this one was lovely - friendly and attractive. We stayed two days there and enjoyed watching all the locals - many old men in the white cowboy hats and cowboy boots chatting in tiny cafes. The park was constantly full of people taking photos - I guess that they must have been day trippers from San Jose. There are many tiny villages surrounding Zarcero and we decided to spend a day exploring some of them by local bus. Their seemed to be no real bus schedules so we joined the queues of people -in very orderly lines - along the footpath. The people in Costa Rica are very polite and patient when they queue - you can wait for a long time but there is never any pushing in or rushing onto buses when they do arrive. We had to change buses quite a few times during the day - lots of queues…. The whole process would have been easier if there were actually signs up telling you where the buses came in. The only signage was hand written pieces of paper taped on walls out side shops (and the obvious lines of people). Buses to every village went from different stops and none that we caught (it wasn’t a circular route - we had to reverse our steps to come home) left from the same spot that they arrived at! One day when being able to speak Spanish would have been very handy. Everybody was very friendly and at one stage a policeman took us to the stop - it was funny as he just kept walking into the traffic - stopping the cars with his hands. Once we got there we had at least an hours wait but a lot of fun in the queue. The policeman kept driving past in the police car and waving to us. The bus was obviously very late as every time a bus turned the corner (and there were dozens of buses) the whole queue would peer at the destination and then shrug and grin or laugh when they realised it wasn’t the right bus. A good day out!
We visited Grecia famous for it’s full metal church. It was made from metal bought over from Belgium as individual slabs in 1987 and bought up to Grecia from the coastal port of Limon by ox cart. Where it was riveted together, painted a terracotta colour and given a white gingerbread trim. It had some lovely stained glass windows and big chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. All the churches were decorated for Easter as they were draped with purple banners. The main churches in Costa Rica (as in Guatemala) always front a plaza and this particular one was very attractive as it had working fountains (a rarity as they are more often empty and full of rubbish) which were right in front of the church. The rest of the plaza was a construction zone though as they were replacing the old cement seats with new cement seats. To us there seemed to be no real difference between the new and the old.
Another queue, another bus took us onwards to Sarchi. The church here was pink but unfortunately closed so we couldn’t see all the many paintings which decorate the interior. Sarchi is noted for its woodworking artisans and the streets were lined furniture shops. Most of the furniture was far too ornate for our taste but it all was beautifully made. The paintings in the church are copies of another famous industry in the village - the making of wooden ox carts, once used widely all over the country, today they are mainly used for festivals. At one time each region in Costa Rica had its own particular design thus enabling people to know where the owners came from by the pattern the wheel made when it turned. The pattern is formed by the highly detailed painted pattern - check out the photos. The carts today are still a symbol of Costa Rica. Today the tourist market in the village is full of miniature carts plus dozens of other painted wooden items.
A walk, more queues and a bus ride bought us back to our cosy hotel in Zarcero where we found the owners decorating their front fence for Easter. Next morning we left by local bus for the short ride to the city of Alajuela, a sister city to San Jose where we planned on spending our last two nights in Costa Rica before flying into Quito in Ecuador for Good Friday.

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Photos

The full metal church in Grecia
The church was made from metal imported from Belgium

Comments

[Pam]

Shrubs
Those shrubs - they are soooo striking and as green as - shame the winter has to come and spoil them We enjoyed the 5day break over easter but as usual it all goes too quickly when you are trying to do catch up jobs around the home - we have another long weekend this coming weekend, just for our 40th wedding anniversary on 1st May - Many thanks for the splendid job you are doing with your blogs

[French Furniture]

comment on the hedges and queues
These shrubs are very striking and green. Its really good job done by contributing useful information to readers.