This Saturday I was invited to join a Servas meeting here in Costa Rica :) We were more than 15 members attending the meeting, and two of us were foreigners visiting the country!
It was really nice to be able to meet so many members of Servas and exchange contact information.
I also got to try out my spanish, listening to the meeting and practicing to speak the language.
They also played a game of bingo ;)
The host of the meeting, Carmen Mora, was a really sweet lady!
She had made some nice little gifts for everyone :)
So today was the independence day of Costa Rica! Yesterday they had some entertainment and speeches in the park. A tradition for the day before the independence day is to make a farol, which is a box with a light in it.
There were many different farols, and they gave out prices for the best and most creative ones.
Today it was possible to see the Costa Rican flag everywhere (they have actually been around for the whole month).
It is a tradition that all the schools participate in parades around the local churches and their parks.
There were many different outfits to see in the parades, but this is the most traditional outfit of Costa Rica.
One thing the parades are well known for are the marching bands! They have been practicing since school started in February, and I have been hearing them practicing the last few weeks. The most common instruments in the bands are drums and liras.
A lot of the bands also had some other instruments. I really don't know the name of this instrument, but it was cool ;)
Here is a video of the most popular performance in the parade.
And here is an example of the loud noise they can make with their drums!
After the parade in Moravia was finished I moved on to Coronado, known for its old gothic church. The parade was pretty much longer, and there were much more people than in Moravia.
Here is another traditional outfit used for Costa Rican dancing.
There were a lot of nice and different traditional Costa Rican dances to see today.
Some of the bands also had brass instruments.
And some of the musicians played on several drums ;)
In addition to music and dancing there were some cheerleading teams that would have short performances :)
In front of the bands there would be more students dancing to the music. This was the last school in the parade in Coronado.
I had a great day with a lot to hear and see! The sun was also shining, so I got a little sunburnt :P
Every Saturday morning there is a market called "la Feria" in Guadalupe, nearby where I live. I haven't really had time to check it out before, but today I got a nice guided tour by Maja and Jorge :)
This is just the street we entered in, to the left is a big parkinglot filled with different vegetables and fruits!
I got some introduction to new fruits and vegetables, and also how I can pick out the best ones ;)
The prices are so low!!!
This guy is pressing juice out of sugar canes.
They were also selling fresh juices in plastic bags ;)
There are so many new things to try :D ¡Pura vida!
Today I was invited with Meche and a couple of friends on a road trip!!
I believe the girls were planning on a trip to Volcan Poás, but I guess I spoiled the plan since I had already visited the volcano... :( I guess they decided to go somewhere else for me. We went to Laguna de Fraijanes, which also is up the mountain in Alajuela! We had a nice trip, and saw some nice things :D
We stopped by a popular tourist shop where people from all over the world are welcome to paint on the wall! The walls were almost filled.
I found a little white spot where I got to paint something Norwegian ;)
Costa Rica is known as the country with no army since the civil war in 1948. It is one of the most peaceful countries in Central America!
"Costa Rica is Peace, Love, Joy, Life!"
On our way back down the mountain we stopped to buy some strawberries and condensed milk (fresas con leche condensada). It is soooo good :D
¡Gracias chicas por un genial viaje! Espero que podamos algun dia :)
