Independence Day

On September 15th, Kirby and I were making our way from our mountain cabin to the Pacuare Reserve and we had to stop by San Jose to visit the main offices of the reserve (more on that later).  That morning, when our 6am bus from San Isidro to San Jose was jam packed, we realized that it was Independence Day!  People from all over the country were traveling to wherever their families are and apparently a lot of people come home to San Jose. 

While we were getting directions to the Pacuare offices at our favorite hostel (Galileo) we heard drums and other instruments nearby, so we ran out to the main street (conveniently located only a block away from our hostel) and were just in time to see the Independence Day Parade!  I copied this info from Wikipedia to give you a little more info.

Like the rest of Central America, Costa Rica never fought for independence from Spain. On September 15 1821, after the final Spanish defeat in the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821), the authorities in Guatemala declared the independence of all of Central America. That date is still celebrated as Independence Day in Costa Rica, even though, technically, under the Spanish Constitution of 1812 that had been re-adopted in 1820, Nicaragua and Costa Rica had become an autonomous province with its capital in León.

It was so much fun to see all the festivities, and when the parade was over we walked to the office and got to see another amazing sight - a very grandiose cemetery with massive headstones and sculptures, surrounded by bright blue sky and huge puffy clouds! It was a very hot and humid day, not so great for walking but amazing for the photographs.  At the end of our walk, after a couple miles and about a gallon of sweat, our fears were confirmed: the offices were closed.  We had thought that might happen, but because the coordinator had verified our visit for the 15th we'd been holding out hope that our walk would not be in vain.  It was character building, I guess.  Luckily Kirby bought us a Fresca to lighten the mood for our walk back to the hostel and the first sip of that icy cold drink was worth so much more than the few hundred colones (~$1) it cost.  After quenching our thirst and resting for a bit, we were ready to shop our way through San Jose, on the quest for the perfect rain boots, which as you already know was a successful mission.  Alas, my boots have succumbed to the elements somewhat, but Kirby's are going strong!  Anyways, I've gone off on a tangent as I tend to do, so let's move on to the photos!

These kids were all dressed in the traditional style of their region. They all looked great and it was so cute to see so many little boys with neckerchiefs and all the girls in their long frilly dresses.  The boy with the red neckerchief and the sunglasses is the best part of this picture, don't you think?

Some of the students looked very unenthusiastic about participating in this parade, but others were all about it. This girl in the center was one of the gung-ho participants. Her little skirt was shakin all the way down the street. 

Here is one of the unenthusiastic participants. There were lots of students walking alongside their peers, most of them with sunglasses and a cell phone.  This little guy is a perfect example.

More of the regional styles, this one is even better because they're all holding hands! 

The typical Tica - nicely dressed, with a cell phone in hand.  Seems like most of the little girls here have a dress like this one and they wear them every so often - this isn't the first time we've seen this outfit.

The best band of the parade, and the most nicely accessorized as well

This is when we still thought we had a chance at finding the offices open. Not only were they closed but they were very hard to locate! Luckily San Jose has street names/numbers, unlike most of the places here, but they arent necessarily in a logical or easily navigable order.  For example, we were looking for #231 Calle 27 and #242 was on the block before it.  Doesn't sound so bad now, but in the blistering heat it was incredibly frustrating. 

They had a mariachi band at the Galileo hostel to celebrate!

And now it is once again time to return to the house of dreams and whip up another delicious feast!  Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!