Tacata Tacata Tacata!

Starting the day off on May 14th at 12:00 AM might have not been the best idea... but our group got to experience the "social" life here in Costa Rica. This bar has the same technology for playing music like we do at home in the states. It is a computerized jukebox that can play any song you request. Our group had a lovely time dancing and got to socialize with some of locals. Then we headed back to the hotel for a short nap and started our day off again at 6:30 AM. We went through winding roads and our bus driver was going as fast as he could (even around the curves) to try and get us to see the Irazu volcano in time before the clouds came in. Unfortunately, we did not get to see the volcano as the clouds showed up just as we were walking up the mountain. Below is a picture of what we should have been able to see today but the big white fluffy clouds were hiding this beautiful scene. An interesting fact is the last time the Irazu volcano erupted was in 1963 which is the same year John F Kennedy visited Costa Rica. He was the first U.S. President to visit Costa Rica and sadly in that same year he was assassinated.

Even though we did not get to experience this beautiful site, we did have fun site seeing on the mountain tops. We saw the local livestock and family pets as well as breath taking views of the cities below. I have met many wonderful people on this trip and last night/early this morning I bonded with the talented Miss Liz. A fun fact about Liz is she was a member of the Golden Band from Tigerland (sorry Mom I made friends with such a huge Bama hater)! 

Then we headed to the Central Market in Cartago. This was a pretty neat place with different shops, smells, and food. Fernando introduced us to exotic fruits that were surprisingly really tasty. The shops in the market included a variety of different products such as fish stores, dog food venues, and shoe shops. 

Our next stop was lunch. My oh my was this an adventure! The first street we took had a landslide that blocked the road, so we had to turn around and try a different route. The second attempt was a fail due to the fact that our bus was too tall to make it on the bridge. Finally we arrived at our destination after our third attempt. This place was absolutely beautiful! The name of it is Casona del Cartago but I like to call it the Secret Garden. It is no surprise that couples come and have their weddings at this destination!

Our last stop was the ruins of the ancient cathedral and the Cathedral de Los Angeles. Before arriving at these destinations I was tired and just ready to take a nap. My attitude sure changed when we arrived and heard the stories behind the ancient cathedral ruins. There are several reasons why this cathedral never was finished being built. First reason was because the weather kept interfering with the building process. Then there was a massive earthquake. The last reason the cathedral was never finished was because the mayor killed the priest after having several arguments about the cathedral. The worst part of the story is that the priest and mayor were brothers. Our last stop was at the Cathedral de Los Angeles. A neat thing story about this place is on every August 2nd, over one million people walk from San Jose to Cartago to give thanks and ask for favors at the Cathedral! 

 

This day is coming to an end but I decided to change it up. Even though I'm not homesick yet, I was in the mood to have an American night. Alex and I grabbed Wendy's, came back to our hotel, and we are now watching the Big Bang Theory! Don't worry we are still keeping this educational by putting the close captains in Spanish! To close this blog on a fun fact, Costa Rica got rid of its army in 1948 to put more money into the educational system. Most Costa Ricans know at least two languages and many graduate college with multiple degrees!