Cartago, Costa Rica

The Basilica de Los Angeles

We went to Cartago, Costa Rica today, it is just about a 40 minute drive from San José it to us 45 minutes as we left from Coronado.  It is a pleasant drive on the highway and the pavement is mostly good.  You do need to watch for potholes though and watch your speed.  You need to watch your speed because the have speeding camera's set up and you will get a ticket for speeding and will not know it unless you look in the newspaper or at the end of the year when you pay your marchamo.

Cartago is the old capital of Costa Rica and is a pleasant place to spend an afternoon exploring the city.  The Basilica de Los Angeles is the national church and is located in downtown Cartago.  There is plenty of activity going on in and around the church.  In the park in front of the church there are plenty of vendors selling cold treats and for those wishing to take a chance with the lottery there are plenty of vendors selling lottery tickets.  For those who like being the city but don't like big cities like San José, Cartago is a place to check out it is a small city.  Cartago has a colonial feel to it yet is modern in other ways.

The Ruins of Cartago

There are a number of restaurants nearby also.  We had lunch at Restaurante Ton Hoi http://www.restaurantetonhoi.com/ which has a very good Arroz Cantones called  Arroz Frito Ton Hoi at this restaurant it is basically the house fried rice.  It is only about 3 blocks east of the Basilica de Los Angeles.

Basilica de Los Angeles

Park in front of the Basilica de Los Angeles

Lottery vendors in the park

Stained glass inside the Basilica de Los Angeles

Inside the Basilica de Los Angeles

Inside the Basilica de Los Angeles

La Negrita the Virgin of Los Angeles