Turrialba

Today I went to Turrialba, about a 2 hour bus ride from San Jose. In Turrialba there is an agricultural research university that I wanted to check out. Luckily, today they also had an expo with a few booths highlighting programs that the students have made. It was a beautiful place that was fun to walk around, although they wouldn't let me visit the dairy! This place is what I imagined all of Costa Rica to look like before I came.

One of the main buildings with a massive open space for soccer and recreation.

What I assume to be the director's house. Not a bad perk, if you ask me, with a huge tree in the front yard and a view of the pond.

One of the booths in the expo was Argentinean food. There was a booth for every country in Latin America. I was very dissapointed that I had already eaten!

A 'cafetal,' or coffee plantation on the side of a hill during the bus ride home.

We took a stop in Cartago on the way back to visit the church ruins. This church was built in the late 1500's. It was destroyed in the 1800's by an earthquake. They tried to rebuild, but it was destroyed again in 1910 by another earthquake. Then they just gave up. The only part that must have been constructed poorly was the roof, because the walls are still standing strong 400 years later. Now it is a park with gardens in the interior of the walls.

Pura Vida,

Billy