Submitted by Laura Choquette on the 2016 winter session program in Costa Rica sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
For this past excursion on Sunday, we went to the province of Cartago. In the morning, we drove a long way up a mountain to get to the Irazú Volcano. Before we got there, we stopped on some road where we had a beautiful distant view of the Turrialba Volcano. It was interesting to see the smoke coming out of the top especially because we learned that the Turrialba State Park has been closed due to its high activity. We then walked in one of Irazu’s craters. Afterwards, we walked up a hill for about a mile to Irazu’s highest point. This was one of the coolest moments of my life. It will be hard to top this. The view we got to see is indescribable. You can say I probably took about a million pictures that day and none of them do this place justice. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to see the Pacific and Caribbean sides of Costa Rica. Then, we ate lunch next to a beautiful man-made lagoon.
After lunch, we saw the ruins of one of the oldest churches in Costa Rica, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción. Then, we went to the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles to finish our day. I bought my Mom a little bottle of holy water from the fountain that is said to have performed miracles for people. I think what surprised me the most on this excursion was the Basilica. It was one of the most beautiful and impressive buildings I have ever been in. Just setting foot in the building, I had to take a moment to sit and pray. I loved seeing the people going down the middle aisle on their knees. It got me really thinking about how impressive and courageous it is that every year people make the pilgrimage from all over the country to this church. It surprised me a lot because I didn’t have any expectations of it before we went there.
I was also surprised by myself. I kind of conquered a fear that day. I get scared very easily and when I was told that it’s about time that a major volcano eruption happens didn’t help. But I told myself that I will probably never have another opportunity to be on top of the beautiful Irazú Volcano and calmed myself down. Usually, I’m not able to do that. Irazú, the ruins and the Basilica are all important to Costa Rica. Irazú is one of it’s national parks that brings in tourism to the country which helps its economy. The church that is now ruins and the Basilica both contain famous legends about their creations that Costa Ricans believe to be true. They even celebrate the one that goes along with the Basilica, la Romería, on August 2 with a pilgrimage.
The Irazú Volcano was probably included in this excursion because its one of Costa Rica’s most famous active volcanoes and tourist attractions. We got to learn about its different craters and eruptions. We also got to see first hand what its like to be on a volcano: something unable to be learned in the United States. The ruins of Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción and the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles were probably included because we were learning in class about religion in Costa Rica and because of how important they are to the culture of the Ticos.