Two Capital Stories: a Headless Priest and Bubbles in Prison

We explored Cartago, the former capital of Costa Rica as well as San Jose.   The Fogg family invited us along on the adventure as we walked around fun historic sites in both cities. 

At one time, Cartago was the original capital city of Costa Rica, founded in 1563.   Nearby Volcano Irazu erupted and destroyed Cartago in 1723 and earthquakes in 1841 and 1910 left little of the original architecture intact.  Although it is no longer the capital city, (San Jose took the honor in 1823), it continues to be a prestigious Roman Catholic center for the country. 

The beautiful, bone white Basilica de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles was rebuilt and many people make a pilgrimage to see “La Negrita,”  a small black rock with an impression of the virgin Mary.  When we visited the cathedral, we saw people walking toward the rock on their knees, thus ending their journey in penitence.  We respectfully avoided getting in their way, but I wanted to stop them and tell them about Jesus, the only mediator between God and man, who finished the work on the cross.  There’s nothing left to pay! 

Another place we visited was a ruin of a shrine to St. James that remains in disrepair after the earthquakes.  Beautiful gardens surround the walls, but without the roof, it feels ghostly.  The legend that a headless priest lurks there at night adds to the ambiance.

We took a bus from Cartago to San Jose and walked through the downtown shopping area to the outskirts of town.   There, we toured a prison built in 1909 that was restored and converted to a children’s museum and theater.  We didn’t know it at the time, but the theater would be where Sabrina would perform with Ballet Magnificat, a Costa Rican dance company. 

The cost to enter was only about $3 per child and well worth the cost.  The place was like a labyrinth of rooms connected to more rooms and hallways and winding staircases.  It was like a maze with each room containing new fun stuff like a control center for a space station, a mini grocery store, or flight simulators, or magnets, or a giant sand box “archeological” site. 

Outside there was a huge bubble room where you could create a bubble around your body or simply blow giant bubbles.  There was an old helicopter to climb into, a small farm, and more that I don’t remember because I was too busy playing. 

My favorite part was the bathrooms which were former cells with the original iron bars.  I don’t know why, but I laughed with wicked delight when I discovered that we could sentence the boys to life and easily lock them up in the cell while they were still washing their hands.

We still have much more to explore in the city, but this was enough for one day.  I actually prefer walking on the wild side and head for the volcanoes and rainforest if I get a free weekend.