The Orosi Valley

Today has been our day to be tourists! We hopped into a van this morning and headed for the city of Cartago, the former capital of Costa Rica. Thankfully, today is a national holiday in costa Rica, so the traffic was not very bad. Prior to their independence from Spain, the Guanacaste region (Northwest Province) was part of Nicaragua. On July 25, 1824, the people of Guanacaste voted to be annexed to Costa Rica, and the day is now celebrated as a holiday by the entire country. 

We drove through Cartago and came to the Orosi Valley, named for the indigenous people group that once inhabited the valley. We stopped at a spot that overlooks the valley and the town of Orosi before heading down the mountain.

Make a wish!

When we arrived in the town of Orosi, we headed straight for the church. Built in 1743, the Iglesia de San Jose de Orosi is the oldest Catholic Church still in use in Costa Rica.




The simplicity of the church only adds to its elegance, not to mention the amazing gardens surrounding the buildings. They're trying to raise funds to build another church for use today so this one may be preserved.

 Inside the Iglesia de San Jose de Orosi.

Our next stop on the trip was at a suspension bridge that the local people use to cross over the raging river that flows through the Orosi Valley. As our luck would have it, some whitewater rafters just happened to be passing beneath us as we took in the view.

We then had a few minutes before our lunch reservation, so we stopped at a local woodcarver's shop. It seemed very appropriate that the carvings were all made from the wood of coffee trees. The larger ones were made from the trunk of the tree, while some of the others were faces carved into the roots. The business was started by the father many years ago, and over time he taught his sons the trade, and it is now run by them.

Lunch was our final stop in the Orosi Valley before heading back to Cartago. We knew that we were going to a Coffee Plantation for lunch, but none of us had imagined that it would be even half as incredible as it was! Our table at La Casona del Cafetal overlooked a manmade lake that is used to produce Hydroelectric power. It could not have been a more peaceful place, and since it's a national holiday they just happened to have an all-you-can-eat buffet! After thoroughly enjoying ourselves, we somehow managed to waddle back to the van for the drive to Cartago.

Outside the restaurant, Leslie made friends with a local artist who crafts from river rock and volcanic stone.