Irazu, Orosi & Basilica

---

Today was another full day of the sights of Costa Rica. We started out bright and early (7 AM) and headed to Irazu Volcano. The drive up to the top was beautiful. The countryside was all green and much better than the city of San Jose. It was amazing to look down on the surrounding cities as we got higher.

When we got to the park, we had breakfast at the small cafe. However, the entire time we were bothered by a raccoon type animal that obviously made cleaning up after tourists it main food source. The little guy was not afraid of anything. He actually climbed right up on the picnic tables. Besides the little animal bothering us, it was also quite chilly. It was a big change compared to yesterday. I had a fleece sweatshirt on and I still was kind of cold, especially when the wind was blowing.

Once I ate my breakfast, I set out to look at the craters. All I can say is wow. It was amazing to see the craters and the clouds below us. It was surreal. The principal crater was the best. The green/blue color of the water was breathtaking. It was completely worth it to fight the cold to see it.

After the volcano, we headed to the Orosi Valley and the town of Orosi. The scenery was once again breathtaking. The quaint town is also the home of the second oldest church in Costa Rica and the oldest still in use. It was built in the 1500's. It was interesting to see all of the history that the small building held. After seeing the church we headed up to a restaurant that overlooked the entire valley. It was a great setting for another delicious Costa Rican meal. Today I tried the fish casado. It was a welcome change from all the chicken I have ate over the past week.

Upon leaving Orosi Valley, we headed to our final destination, La Basilica de Los Angeles. People make a pilgrimage to the basilica every year in August, some even crawl on their hands and knees. Several people actually crawled on their knees from the back of the church to the altar when I was there. It was a beautiful site, even though it was awkward to be there when people were worshipping (not in mass though). Along with that, there were numerous people trying to sell things outside the church from rosaries to toys and even some camera cases that we are pretty sure were stolen at some point in time.

I took many pictures today, and while some are up on my flickr page, not all of them are. I would have reached my monthly capacity already so I picked a few good ones to put up there. However, you can still see all of my photos by copying and pasting the two links below into your address bar and that will lead to my facebook albums.


Orosi Valley & Basilica - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2267040&l=69279&id=16919173


Irazu Volcano - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2267026&l=0e927&id=16919173

---