Sarchí and San José

Our last full day in Costa Rica we headed back to San José, but made a few stops along the way. We passed through a community called Naranjo on our way to Sarchí. Naranjo’s main economic activity is coffee production, and lately they have been competing in coffee competitions. Sarchí is a community of artisans who create authentic Costa Rican crafts, jewelry, and furniture. We stopped and bought souvenirs, had lunch, and went to a presentation on how the traditional Costa Rican ox carts were created. The ox carts were extremely important to the development of the economy in the Central Valley region. Ox cart wheels are made of sixteen wedges angled 22.5 degrees each to achieve the circular wheel. The ox cart machinery is run by a water wheel. And then the designs are free hand painted by the artisans.

                                                

We arrived in San José mid afternoon and took a walking tour. I would like to try to explain San José traffic to you but I don’t have words to adequately describe it. And the pedestrian traffic is just as bad as the automotive traffic. We walk at a brisk pace through the crowded, tangled maze that is the city market. Then we stroll for half an hour through the plaza, spending a little time in the Teatró Nacional where I ran into my zumba friend from home Sandra Thompson!