Heredia, my hometown

Heredia is the smallest province in Costa Rica. I live near the center, in a neighborhood called La Milpa, which means corn field - thing is, there was a coffee plantation before construction, so....

The center of Heredia is small, and compared to San Jose the streets are norrower, and not as noisy and busy. The ambient here is very much of a small town. The central park is nice at all times during the day, but I think in late afternoon around 5:00 is the best. People leaving their jobs and walking towards the bus stations, the noisy birds around the park, and the bells of the central cathedral add to the sounds of a regular weekday afternoon. There are a few cafes, restaurants serving Costa Rican food and from other countries, internet is easy to find, some good bars near the National University, and a good amount of language schools including IPED and Intercultura.

I visited the towns of Barva, San Jose de la Montaña, San Isidro and San Rafael going up the mountain, the municipal market in downtown Heredia, and also Santo Domingo, closer to San Jose.


Barva

Some towns outside of downtown Heredia are more relaxed and quite than others. Of the ones I liked the most is Barva. There are some colonial buildings still standing around the central park, small family owned businesses, well fed street dogs, norrow roads, and during the day it feels cool and fresh. Coming here gives a good sence of what Heredia and some other parts of the country looked liked back in the day.

Even though there are very few colonial buildings remaining, I had never seen so many in the same town and around a plaza and with different colors here in Costa Rica.


San Jose de la Montaña

20 minutes by bus up the mountain from Barva there is San Jose de la Montaña, which is more of a road with off-street neighborhoods than a town.

Walking towards the main church, the small houses on the side of the paved road and sounds of burning wood, roosters and hens, cows, dogs, birds and every now and then a car are extremely relaxing. The pine tree forests are large and produce a very calming sound when it gets windy. Also, the coffe plantations around the area offer a good view of the central valley and the top of the mountains in the back. The main church is small and painted all in bright yellow, surrounded by well maintained bushes and tall palm and pine trees.

There is not much to do here, but it defenitely offers a good place to relax and have a good coffee cup.

San Isidro

San Isidro is another small town up the mountains, and like the others, it is very calm and mostly a residential area. The San Isidro Labrador Church is beautiful. Built in 1895, the inside features exposed brick, wooden tall ceilings and stained glass, and the outside is painted all in white. There is also a large soccer field in front, which is very common of small towns all over the country.

When I came to visit, there were a few people praying and a cleaning lady playing loud Christian music which sounded like pop music at first. The smell of Pinex (a floor cleaning liquid) was very strong, and almost relaxing... weird! It felt like entering somebody's home in the afternoon. The only thing missing was the coffee and bread for the guests.


San Rafael

San Rafael is not too far from San Isidro. Life here is a bit busier then in the other towns as it is only 3km from down town Heredia, and there is lots of commerce. There is no soccer field in front of the church, but a nice small park. The church is in the baroque style and was built in 1886.


Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo is on the way to San Jose. It is a residential area, with a few colonial building still standing. The church is beautiful, and different from the ones I saw up in the towns going up the mountains. A few kilometers to the east there is Tibas, in San Jose, home of one of the most popular soccer teams Deportivo Saprissa.


Municipal Market, downtown Heredia

I has been interesting for me to visit different markets in the main cities and in small towns, and it is not so different from what I have seen in other countries. Markets in almost every city tend to be of the same size, but the stores and dinamics in the market are different. In bigger cities, the stands are small and laud, compared to small towns where the stands are bigger and the is less noise. There is more variety in bigger markets, but it is the difference is not that big. The municipal market in Heredia is my favority. I like the sound of sellers, the small of herbs and foods, and here is where I always have my pressed beef sandwich and guanabana milk shake.... Tasty!!!


Photo albums this week

• Heredia