Cartago and Ujarras

Trip to Cartago and Ujarras

On February 1, before heading out to Cartago with Michele, our host at Finca Good Life, Eric and I  walked up to the edge of the rain forest to see if we could see any toucans.  Ricardo who works for Ray and Michelle told us that he had often seen toucans at this spot in the mornings.  Sure enough, we saw two yellow-eared Toucanets.  Toucanets are a bit smaller than toucans. 

Our first stop in Cartago, the former capital of Costa Rica, was the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. 

This Cathedral is the most important in Costa Rica. 

The interior of the cathedral is very beautiful.

Legend has it that on August 2, 1635 a mulatto peasant girl called Juana Pereira found a small figurine of a dark-skinned Virgin Mary on a rock.  The statue, called La Negrita was put away in safe custody  twice and mysteriously returned to the rock both times.  The basilica was built to mark the spot.  Destroyed in 1926 by a massive earthquake, it was rebuilt in 1929.  Here is La Negrita in a shrine above the main altar.

Underneath the Cathedral is the Cripta de la Piedra (Crypt of the Rock) a shrine where the rock that the Negrita statue was supposedly found on is located. 

The carved rock statue that is sitting on this rock now was carved by Ricardo who works for Ray and Michele.  

Every August 2, devout Costa Ricans join in the Dia de Nuestra Senora de la Virgen de los Angeles procession.  Thousands walk the 15 miles from San Jose' to Cartago - many crawl much of the way on their knees. Locals say that the roads leading to Cartago can be treacherous at that time with so many people with strollers and in wheelchairs filling up the narrow, winding roads. 

Devotees descend to the subteranean Cripta de la Piedra to touch the rock and collect holy water from the undergound spring.  The water is said to have curative powers. 

After leaving the Cathedral, we headed to Wal-mart for our weekly shopping trip.  This Wal-mart is very nice, but just as in the states the aisles are hardly wide enough for two carts to pass.  The exciting part was they had plenty of checkers and we didn't even have to wait in line to check out.   

On the way back home we stopped for a beautiful view of the Orosi valley with the village of Cachi and Lake Cachi. 

We stopped just outside of Cachi at a beautiful park in Ujarras.

We heard a flock of parrots creating a racket in the trees and later saw the flock flying overhead. 

The park contains the ruins of the Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Limpia Concepcion completed in 1693. 

The site previously housed the shrine, La Parroquia de Ujarras.  According to legend, a converted Indian found a wooden box containing a statue of the Virgin Mary.  He carried it to Ujarras, where it suddenly became too heavy for even a team of men to lift.  the local priest considered this a sign from God that a shrine should be built there.  When pirates lead by Henry Morgan attacked the region in 1666, local inhabitants prayed at the shrine for salvation.  A defensive force led by the Spanish governor routed the pirates and in gratitude they built a church in honor of the Virgen del Rescate de Ujarras (Virgin of Rescue).  Damaged in a flood in 1833, the church was abandoned. 

The grounds were very peaceful and we enjoyed admiring the huge, old trees.

 I wouldn't mind coming back for a nice picnic sometime. 

After a wonderful morning, we stopped for lunch at one of Michele's favorite places in Cachi for empanadas. 

Michele was a fantastic tour guide and we had a great day.

Tomorrow we are going to the large farmer's market (feria) in San Rafael, near Cartago, for fresh fruits and vegies.