Thursday

Yes, it was time for Ben to get a haircut. Ben's new name is Gregito which means "Little Greg".
Today we started out by driving to Cartago to visit the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles. Cartago is located near the Irazu volcano, 22 km from San Jose. It was once the capital of the country until 1823. There is a long story about how this Basilica came to being and it's patron saint - ask us and we'll share it with you later. The Basilica features a "holy water" fountain in which people come from near and far to use the water for healing and good fortune. We saw many people filling bottles, drinking, and rubbing the water on various body parts for healing. The fact is that this water actually comes straight from the city water system and was tested by a local news team and was found to be contaminated with.... well lets just leave it at "contaminated". In the basement were displays of amulets that were bought and donated to the patron saint. If one was healed of a condition or disease one will purchase a silver amulet of that part and donate it to be put on display as a testimony to the healing powers of the saint. There were walls and walls of these on display.