Semana Santa and Jacó

Sorry this post is coming late.... but, hey, we have been sort of busy! Semana Santa, on the other hand, was not so eventful. Although, we did get to participate in one of the towns more lively holy week processions. The procession began with a church service at the cathedral in Santa Ana central and made its way slowly and hour and a half up to another cathedral in a different part of town. The procession was lead by the drum beats of a small band of men fully adorned in Roman solider costumes. A few hundred people showed up to follow the soldiers and walk among the wooden sculptures of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saints Peter and Paul. Amidst the people a minivan outfitted with large speakers and microphone lead us faux pilgrims in hymns as we walked. It was a serene and meditative experience as most people walked in silence hand in hand our arms around their children and loved ones, and while some of group members didn't complete the walk in its entirety, I am glad that a few of us stuck it out.

Later in the week, lacking plans for Easter, we decided to make our way to the nearest beach, Jaco. While I have never heard anything to nice about Jacó from Ticos I found myself pleasantly satisfied with our day spent there. Unlike Costa Rica's nicest beaches the shore is mostly lined with high rise condos and hotels. There are, however, a few smaller places offering more plenty comfortable and more economic lodging options. Restaurants tend to be a tad more expensive but if you look hard enough you can find some great places right on the beach serving high quality seafood at decent prices. At night we walked the main drag and wandered in and out of the shops, each one selling the exact same goods, and pondered how they individually made enough money to support their owners. All things considered Jaco makes for a perfect day or two day trip from San Jose if your looking for a beach seeing as how with the new highway it is less than an hour away.

Better yet that Jaco was our morning spent at Playa Herradura, Jacó's quiet neighbor. Herradura is home to merely one luxury resort on its northern end with virtually no civilization along it's southern few kilometers. Only 20 minutes north of Jacó, it is a great place to get away from busy tourist industry and truly enjoy Costa Rica's sun and sand. While the central Pacific beaches may not be the best they are the easiest to get to and from when you are in the San Jose area, and Herradura is a great example of a more typical Costa Rican time you can spend there.