These ruins are right in my backyard, but of course it took me a year-and-a-half to get there to see them. However, it was worth the wait! The remains of this old church sit in the Orosi Valley (Cartago Province) facing the Tapanti Mountains.

There were also some amazingly beautiful birds and flowers there to enjoy. The church was originally built in 1693, making it the oldest church in Costa Rica. The grounds once also contained a school and monastery. It is a lovely stop if you're making your way around the breathtaking Orosi Valley.

Wow. I have so much I want to write about. But…I’m out of time. I’m headed back to Puerto Viejo with a volunteer. Things are finally calming down around the house a bit. We interviewed a security guard this weekend. I tell ya, that’s a conversation I never expected to have! “Hello sir. Do you have a gun? How big is it? Do you know how to use it? Can you promise not to shoot us?”

Tomorrow is a holiday here. Something about the Virgin of Los Angeles. They estimate about 2 million people will walk to the Cartago Basilica as a pilgrimage. That’s nearly 50% of the population here! They call it “Romeria” and the people making the pilgrimage are called “Romeros.” It’s quite the site to see. It’s hell on traffic though. People make some kind of promise to the virgin, make the pilgrimage and wait to see if a miracle occurs. Oh yeah, and when they get to the church, they crawl on their knees to the front of the church from the entrance. Pretty wild.

I went last night. There were thousands of people there with live music and food vendors. I took some pictures, but I’ll have to put them up later in the week. I just ran out of time. Have a great week!

As if Easter Week (Semana Santa) were not long enough, we have another holiday to celebrate today. It was actually supposed to be April 11th, but because that date landed in the middle of Semana Santa, we’re celebrating it today – making the holiday yet one day longer. As I read this morning on a blog by my friend, Empress Maruja, Semana Santa – in the Philippines and here in Costa Rica –  is like the Spring Break of our countries. Everyone is off to the beach, except the thieves who are smart enough to stay behind.

So just who is Juan Santamaria? He is a national hero here in Costa Rica. As the story goes, he was born poor, fought and died for his country. Supposedly anyhow. As the story goes, Costa Rica had been threatened by William Walker, a Southerner who planned to enslave whole Central American countries in the name of a Southern Confederacy.

Walker had managed to take over the Nicaraguan government in 1855 and to name himself “President” of this nation. Next, he looked towards Costa Rica in order to add it to his growing “empire.” Costa Rica’s president at the time, Juan Rafael Mora, gathered a makeshift army of peasants and set off to fight the enemy. The filibusters invaded the Guanacaste province, but the Tico army expelled and followed them into Rivas, Nicaragua. Here, they sought protection in a wooden fort.

This is where Juan Santamaria comes into play. He bravely volunteered to burn the fort, thus forcing Walker and his cronies outside. Walker was eventually caught in Honduras in 1860 and promptly shot, since he kept making attempts to take over the region over and over again. The legend tells that Juan Santamaria ran towards the fort carrying a torch, and although he was shot repeatedly, he managed to throw it and to burn the fort down.

Or so the story goes. There seems to be a bit of discussion about just how much of a hero he was.

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