March 31
Today Victoria, our host, Ray and Ella, a couple our age
from Canada
and Ron and I headed out with Fernando at 7:30. Fernando is one of Carlos’
employees. We hired him to take us in a van to Zarcero which is known for its
topiaries and to a hot
springs resort. You can Google both places for more photos.
We stopped for a coffee break along the way then hopped back
in the van and we were enthralled with the scenery.
We went over the top edge
of the mountains above the central valley and what wonderful sights we had. One
area was completely terraced on some of the steepest hillsides imaginable. They
were vegetables and fruits of all descriptions being grown here. We tried to
get some shots from the moving van so the photos are not as good as we wanted
but when we travel with others we are not comfortable making photo stops while
others have to wait.
When we arrived at Zarcero we spent 30 minutes walking
around the park with a wondeful mosaic wall and the topiaries. Whimsical animals and designs were everywhere. There was even a "Thomas" train.
Then inside the church that was on the square. It was quite cold with the cloud cover and the wind. None of us had brought a jacket. It was a lovely simple church and a number of parishioners were waiting to give confession. Unlike other churches I had been in, I was surprised to see the priest sitting in full view of the parishioners and the confessor sitting with him. I had been under the impression that the confessors had more privacy and anonymity. Not here at least. Because this is Holy Week church activity is at a high.
We drove for another hour or more and arrived at the resort.
We paid our fees then drove to the parking lot where Fernando and Carmen, his
friend, left us off. We then walked for about ten minutes through the loveliest
walk on a paver walkway. We were in a dense, moist jungle with a running creek
along our side. The hot springs
were a series of pools marked with the temperatures in Celsius. We choose 43
degrees, about 109. It was wonderful to sit in the pool and look up at the
canopy above us. Twice I spied a blue morpho butterfly, always a treat.
Although there were others there, almost all Ticos, it never felt crowded. We
enjoyed ourselves for about 90 minutes then changed and headed back to the
resort where we had a nice buffet lunch.
As we were nearing Escazu Victoria who is very spontaneous,
asked if any of us had been to Sarchi. Nope. So we took a quick turn off the
freeway and headed for the small fun town of Sarchi . Sarchi is known for its furniture
manufacturing and for its fancy ox carts historically used on coffee plantations, These are very special carts that are
highly painted in bright colors, often with a red or blue background. The ox
cart factory was started in 1923. They still have the original hydro power system to
run a series of belts that operate saws and other equipment. It was
fascinating. They had an extensive shop with all manner of souvenirs but none
that we needed.
We have bought very few items on this trip as we literally do
not have the room for such. I only bought two gifts besides the jewelry I
always buy in bulk in Sri
Lanka for women friends and family.
We got home at 6:30. Ray and Ella were dropped off at the
grocery store to pick up some bread and we dashed home to put together a salad
and heat up the soup I had made the day before so we could all enjoy a meal
together. It was a full day and loads of fun.
April 2
We stopped by the store near our house to get oil and eggs
for the brownies we were making for tonight’s house dinner Victoria is making for us: chicken, squash
soup, salads and bread. When we arrived we were tired and famished so lunch was
the first order of the day then a quick nap for me and Ron made the brownies.
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