We've got wheels!

On Feb 13, we got up very early to go with Ray and Michele to the airport.  Ray was leaving for a few days in the states and we were picking up a rental car.  After driving through San Jose, we were glad to arrive back at the slower-paced Orosi valley. 

Our Dihatsu Terios 4x4

After a long nap, the car-sick medicine makes me very sleepy, Eric and I drove down the mountain and over to Orosi.  Our first stop was the town square and the Iglesia de San Jose de Orosi.

  

This church is the oldest functioning church in Costa Rica.  It was built by Franciscans from 1743 to 1766. 

The church is filled with many beautiful works of art from the 1600's and 1700's.

This church had a lot of life-sized statues of Jesus, saints and Franciscan brothers.  In my opinion, they detracted from the historic beauty and richness of all the artwork and altar pieces.  The life-sized statues may be important to the Costa Ricans, as we see them in most of the churches. 

                                     

The church yard was filled with beautiful hydrangeas.

After touring the church, we went into the downtown area of Orosi to buy a few groceries at the Super Anita (the local grocery store). 

Orosi mural

We also stopped at a coffee shop to enjoy a cup of locally grown coffee.  It was outstanding!  It has really been interesting to see how the coffee is grown, harvested and processed in Costa Rica.