Atenas Oxcart Parade Today!

And this small child stole the show as she led her toy oxen in pulling a toy oxcart!

In fact there seemed to be more of an emphasis on the children this year in what has always been a family affair to celebrate and remember the important part boyeros (oxcart drivers) played in the history of Costa Rica as the first land shippers of coffee and bananas to the two big port cities for shipment to the U.S. and Europe.

The parade still had the colorful oxcarts! And the big oxen!
And most included the whole family as usual. A Family farm affair!
But many were led by children this year as the Oxcart Leader or Boyero.

And a few even had young oxen!

While others had their hands full!

But all accepted their responsibility with pride! 
Goat Carts were in parade this year for the first time, led by kids of course!
Pun intended! 

And there are more Women Boyeros each year! 

And the whole time the Central Park is filled with tents, entertainers, arts & crafts, food & drink vendors, a playground, and plenty to do if you get bored with the parade.

A Rooster on Stilts!
and . . .

. . . and another on foot, representing Gollo, a big furniture/appliance store.

Someone leading the children in games before the parade started.
And of course all the food, drink, balloons, etc. available to buy! 

The parade always starts with police and horses, one carrying the
Costa Rica Flag:

Red, white and blue patriotism!

I watched the parade with 3 friends, Anthony, Jean and Carolyn and then afterwards we went to La Finca for pizza and pasta. A fun day! And if you want to see photos of the bigger oxen being led by men and other views, see my photos from last year’s parade at:  2015 Oxcart Parade  on this blog.

Another happy day in Costa Rica!

A Little Costa Rica Culture Enroute

Our Lady of Angels Basilica in Cartago (I drove by on way to Turrialba)
The Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (Our Lady of the Angels Basilica) is a Roman Catholic basilica in Costa Rica, located in the city of Cartago and dedicated to the Virgen de los Pardos, officially known as Virgen de los Ángeles (the Lady of the Angels). The basilica was built in 1639 and was partially destroyed by an earthquake. The basilica has since been restored and constitutes a unique mix of colonial architecture as well as 19th century Byzantine style, the current building dates back to 1939.[From Wikipedia] Once a year there is a pilgrimage of thousands from all over Central America to this Cathedral, all walking!

I stopped by around 11 Sunday morning & it was packed,
standing room only with a crowd standing and listening outside the door.

It is my personal observation that Ticos are not only mostly religious but what I would call “Christian in their behavior” or relationships toward each other and outsiders and a very moral people.

This horse with his rider and cart came to lodge to pick up trash today.
Talk about a juxtaposition of cultures!
In rural areas it is still common to see people riding horses for transportation.

Sticker Shock Twice Today! And Carretas!

Sarchi is just 21 km (25 minutes) north of Atenas and where these famous
painted oxcarts (carretas) are made, plus it’s the furniture making capital of Costa Rica
where I will buy furniture if I ever move to an unfurnished apartment.
I made this photo in Sarchi in 2010. Soon I’ll photograph the Atenas Oxcart Parade.

Today was another big step in my process of moving to Costa Rica. I sent the required documents for my Pensionado Residency application to my Costa Rica attorney. He will soon begin the application process so maybe I’ll have my residency by next summer. Today it brought some sticker shock at DHL. First, to send the stack of papers I’ve talked about earlier (Birth Certificate, Police Background Check, Social Security Letter, and U.S. Embassy Registration) by Registered DHL Express Courier, it cost $71. What?! Well, it is a very important package, that must get there safely, not get lost, and I spent almost that on getting the contents. Soooo, I just rationalized my acceptance of it!  🙂

My second sticker shock came when I asked the DHL man how much it would cost to send a 50 lb suitcase to San Jose, Costa Rica (thinking it would be cheaper than excess baggage on the plane). We estimated suitcase measurements and punched it all in his computer at 50 lbs. to find it would cost around $1,400! Wow! And I thought American Airlines excess baggage was expensive! I will check at least one other shipper, but it looks like I will move to Costa Rica with whatever I can get in 5 suitcases. I wanted to simplify my life and this will actually help me do that as I prioritize what is important and what I can live without. This fun adventure continues! And thanks to Robbie for this cool quote:

One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.”— William Feather, American publisher