Feeling better after a night of sleep, I was inspired to make the grandest Costa Rican breakfast yet of the trip: an over-medium fried egg, gallo pinto (leftover rice and beans mixed together), fresh papaya, tomato, avocado, toast, fried platanos, and little cups of yogurt with granola. And coffee, of course. We tried the instant chai that Cristina found at Wal-Mart. The powder smelled weird, kind of fruity. It reminded me of ground up children's multivitamins. But once hot water was added, the aroma of cinnamon spice was predominant. Verdict? Not amazing, but decent.
After washing up the dishes (we established that someone different washed up after each meal) we loaded up and headed to Volcan Irazu (Irazu Volcano). The drive was slow in the Rush, as the mountain roads were steep and windy. But Lord, what a perfect day. Sunny and clear. And once we got half way up the mountain, the air was crisp and cool, but not overly cold like I remember Irazu being the last time I was there, 25 years ago.
Oh, Poas Volcano is completely closed due to volcanic activity. So for this area, Irazu is it.
Note: this is our fourth day in Costa Rica, and the third day of absolutely no rain. We theorize it's because I've faithfully brought an umbrella on each outing. So as long as I carry the magic umbrella, the rain will stay away.
Cristina and I made one critical mistake today. We didn't put on sunscreen and we forgot our hats at home. Amateur move, Johnny. Needless to say, we got burnt to a crisp. The thin air (the crater area is about 10,800 feet), sunny day, and cool air combines to lull you into a sense of not needing protection. My red forehead is throbbing as I type.
After walking around the crater area for a couple of hours or so, we headed back down the mountain, stopping to buy some fresh cheese from a dairy farmer (delicious) which we ate some of in the car (he kindly offered to cut it into shareable portions). Then we stopped at a little restaurant called Linda Vista, which Ramon the Elder took us to 25 years ago. It seemed pretty much the same, their shtick being business cards and mementos from customers tacked all over the walls, as well as currency from around the world. We put Cristina's business card up, of course.
The food was excellent. Ramon's rental car was scheduled to be delivered to the house at 6, so we couldn't linger too long, especially if we were going to make a stop at the Basilica in Cartago.
On the way down the mountain, Sofia was trying to teach Anna some good pick-up lines in Spanish that Anna could use with her boyfriend, just for fun. No one could think of anything good, until Bella chimed in with "Want a green card?" Bella for the win!
The cathedral in Cartago is the most holy place in Costa Rica. It's construction is directly linked to the story of Costa Rica's patron saint: the Virgen de Los Angeles. Here's the story in a nutshell. In the 1600's, a young lady was collecting firewood and came across a small doll on a rock near a creek. She took the doll home and put it in her room. The next day it was gone. She went back to the same spot collecting more firewood, and there was the doll again. She took it home again, and this time locked it up so it wouldn't disappear. The next day it was gone again, found at the same spot on the rock. She told the local priest, who locked it up in the church. When he was preparing things for the next mass, he noticed that the doll was gone. Guess where it was. Yeah, on the rock. So they built a shrine over the doll on the rock, and eventually the cathedral was built on that spot. The creek that flows by the rock is considered holy water that hundreds of years later, people come by to collect in bottles, or bathe the parts that ail them.
We did a brief tour of the cathedral and Cristina bought a couple of small statues of the Virgin for her office. "I'm not Catholic anymore, but I'm getting my Catholic on today." And we all bathed in the holy water. I splashed it on my sunburn, which immediately faded away! Not really, but the cold water did feel good.
Eduardo called to say that they could deliver the car as late as 9, so that freed up our time at the cathedral. It was then moved to Monday morning.
We drove by the ruins of the first cathedral, which was unwisely NOT built at the spot of the Virgin's rock, and was destroyed several times by earthquakes until the priests decided they'd better just build it near the Virgin's rock. Been standing sturdy ever since.
On the way back to the car, a stray dog followed Mami, right on her heel. Cristina wishes Maz would heel like that, so we joked that we might need to take the dog home since she was so taken with Mami.
Back at home (after a long traffic jam due to a gnarly accident on the highway) I told everyone to do dinner on their own (eat up leftovers), while Cristina and I went to get a few groceries before heading to our next Airbnb on Monday. So we had date night at MasXMenos. A little girl stared at Cristina and asked her mommy why that woman's face was so red, which Cristina explained in Spanish. Yeah, it's that bad.
Back at home again, we ate and washed a couple of loads of clothes, while watching Transformers and that movie where Jamie Foxx is the president. And I got caught up on my blog.
Tomorrow, we pack up and head to San Gerardo de Dota. It's about to get rustic.
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