Costa Rica: Cartago

After we went to Irazu, we went down to Cartago at the foot of the volcano. Just the drive down was beautiful. Going from temperatures in the 40s and extreme fog to sunny weather in the 80s made me like Cartago even more.

The first thing we did in Cartago was visit the basilica.

While we were standing  outside the basilica, our guide pointed up to the volcano where we had just been less than an hour earlier.

The reason this church is a basilica and not a cathedral is because there has been a sighting of the virgin Mary. Apparently she appeared to a girl in the town hundreds of years ago. The story had something to do with the figuring below. I don't subscribe to the beliefs of the Catholic church, but it was interesting to hear the story. 

We got to go inside during a mass and it was gorgeous. They even played the organ while we were in there, which made the experience even better.

After the cathedral, we went to a restaurant outside of town. We ate outside at a restaurant with the most beautiful gardens.

The food they gave us was beautiful and delicious.

This is what the omnivores got.

I got pretty much the same thing, except for the pickled heart of palm instead of fish. It was all very good, except the texture of the heart of palm was a little weird. I loved how the rice came in the shape of a pyramid, but the best part was the little square of fried cheese that came with the plate, which squeaked when you chewed it, just like a pair of rubber boots!

For dessert, we had coffee flan. I'm not a huge fan of flan, but this was actually really good!

After lunch, we walked around the gardens. I spotted the Blue Mora, which is a symbol of Costa Rica. The outside is camouflaged, but the inside is the most beautiful and vibrant color of blue I have ever seen. Unfortunately, I couldn't snap a photo of the butterfly while its wings were open.

The rest of the gardens were peaceful, gorgeous, and almost magical.

On our way back, we stopped at a shop owned by two brothers who sold their wood carvings. I didn't get anything, but the carvings were quite impressive.

Our last stop on the way back to San Jose was at an overlook. In the picture below, in the center of the frame, you can see the oldest church in Costa Rica. I think it would have been very interesting to get to walk around in the church, but maybe next time!