Road Trip to San Carlos

I have now traveled around the entire province of Alejuela. On Sunday morning my family surprised me with a road trip to San Carols, a city two hours north of San Luis. They told me they were taking me to “conocer” the volcano Arenal. In Spanish “conocer” means to be familiar with and to know a certain place or person. So when they told me I was going to “conocer” the volcano, I assumed we were actually going to the volcano.

We started our journey at 9:30. Our first stop along the way was in a city called Sarchì; the home of the largest carretera in the world. A carretera is a cart that was used in the 1800s to haul the first coffee crops in Costa Rica. They were elaborately painted with colorful designs, like the larger than life size one I took a picture of on Sunday.

We then proceed through a town called Naranjo; the center of furniture making in Costa Rica. The town in very small, but there are at least 75 stores that sell hand-made furniture. I can´t even imagine the tough business competition there!

At this point we were at the top of a mountain and proceeded down a narrow, curvy road. As we swerved around the path we were surrounded by protected forests and biological reserves covered with clouds and fog. It was gorgeous. When we reached the bottom,  just soon enough before the curvy road affected my stomach, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant owned by a group of women who make typical Costa Rican cuisine. Their warm, homemade tortillas with picadillo de yuca were heavenly!

We then made our way to Pital de San Carlos to greet my sister who is living here for her rural stay. However, unfortunately she was not there. However I did get to “conocer” her house and town. It is unbearably hot here and I became grateful for the cool, fall like weather of San Luis.

At this point we were very close to the Volcano Arenal, and I thought we were going there next. However, we turned in the opposite direction of the volcano. My family simply pointed to the volcano in the distance, which looked like any other mountain, and said, “Now you know the Volcano Arenal.” I laughed and had to agree with them because I did see the volcano.

Our final stop was at the house of an aunt and uncle. The house is tucked away amongst orange trees, coconut trees, plantain trees, guava plants, yuca plants, papaya trees, and sweet lemon trees. We all indulged in the rica and fresca comida (rich and fresh food)! Faynier asked me if I wanted to live in Costa Rica for the rest of my life. I told her if every day was as tranquila as this day, then yes! But not to worry friends and family back home, I do plan on returning to Minnesota in December.

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