Submitted by Elias Tapia on the 2024 Winter SPAN program in Costa Rica…
This last week we went to Irazú Volcano and the Ujarrás of Cartago. They were so pretty and I was simply in awe of the vast beauty of Irazú volcano. The volcano is almost 11,000ft in elevation and a lot of people actually live and work on the volcano itself. The soil is rich from volcanic eruptions and many people farm coffee, potatoes, and cattle. You may ask, “why would someone live on an active volcano?” it is this mentality called “It won’t happen to me”; the people are aware that Irazú is still an active volcano but there are also multiple people who are constantly monitoring the volcano’s potential activity.
The Ujarrás of Cartago were really cool too. It is an old Church, probably one of Costa Rica’s first churches and first potential settlement (it did not succeed). It was made a historical national monument in April of 1920, but it is estimated that it was first built in the 1500s. There are so many kinds of birds and parakeets that live in the trees surrounding the Ujarrás. Many locals seem to relax and enjoy the scenery surrounding the Ujarrás as well, and there are a few pools in the area that the locals also enjoy and relax in. (Submitted on January 18, 2024)