February 18 – A Volcano, a Valley and some Gardens

We off seeing some countryside today.  We had a drive though some nearby towns and countryside…

on our way to visit the Irazu Volcano.  The volcano as three craters.  The first we saw along the trail was the Diego de la Haya crater. 

We also saw the main caldera (could not see the third crater from our walking trail).

There was a massive flat area that looked to have volcanic gravel on it.

On the way down the mountain the guide saw a nearby volcano “erupting”.  It was actually setting off gases.  This helps relieve the pressures so that it doesn’t build up too much and the really erupt.  We stopped right on the road to take pictures.

We had a short snack stop.  The place was decorated with the calling cards of visitors.  So Paul put one of our cards on the wall.

There were good views of the surrounding countryside.

Then it was to the town of Cartago…

where we visited the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels.  The story goes that while gathering wood a young girl found a rock looking like a Madonna, took it home and hid it in a safe place.  The next day she found another and took it back…and the original one was not in the safe place.  This happened a third day so she went to her local priest who decided it was a sign from God to build a church at the sight where she had found the rocks. 

Our first visit here was to an area under the basilica where a large rock, with a small rock Madonna on it, marks the spot where the Madonnas were found.  

Then we went up to look around the front...

and interior of the basilica.  The interior was quite beautiful.

There was a lot of stained glass.

There was a steady stream of supplicants traversing the long aisle of the basilica on their knees.

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More Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels
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From there we visited the Lankester Botanical Gardens.  The original gardens were established in early 1900’s by English botanist Charles H. Lankester.  It is now run by the University of Costa Rica as a research center. 

It is a major center for orchid research and the exhibition area had a large number of blooming orchids from massive to very tiny.

We took a walk through the grounds.  The center houses over 3,000 plant species. 

There were many flower beds in bloom.

Mary was particularly taken by a tall bush with vibrant turquoise "blooms".  Turns out it is a Jade Vine (or Emerald Vine or Turquoise Jade Vine).  It is a Strongulodon Macrobotyrs and is a member of the pea and bean family.  You can see the "bean" connection when the plant is just beginning to blossom.

We found a web of the Golden Orb spider.  The silks of it’s web is five times the strength of steel and more flexible than nylon.  There is research going on to try to develop a commercial process to manufacture the silk to use in bulletproof vests and many other applications.

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More Lankester Gardens
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From the gardens we visited the Ruins of Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Limpio Concepion.  These are the ruins of the oldest church built in Costa Rica (built in 1693).

The gardens in the complex were lovely and colorful.

There was a lot of moss hanging on trees and walls.  Looked like Spanish moss like we have in the US. 

We had lunch on the outdoor patio of at a restaurant with great gardens and lovey views overlooking a reservoir.

We saw fields with tall poles and wires linking then all on vines growing on them.  Some looked like a solid mat.  Turns out that is how the grow squash...the trellises keep the vines off the ground so that the squash doesn't touch the ground, where it might rot.  How fascinating.

On the way back we saw a lot of orange flowering trees…Poro Gigante.

We also saw a rainbow.

It was a great day of sightseeing.  Lunch was so late that we opted to skip dinner.  We were in bed pretty early as we leave early tomorrow for our trip south.