This is my last adventure through the central valley. Ah, I’m so sad! It was a lot of fun because I got to go back to Heredia and then I got to see two new cities, Barva and San Jose de la Montana. I saw the last two when I went ziplinning and I decided that I really wanted to come back to take a look around. Barva is known for all of the carvings and dolls that you will see in a lot of the shops and on the sidewalks. It’s super funny because you will be walking around and suddenly see a head of some character on a poll and it will through you for a loop. My personal favorite was one of the seven dwarfs, totally cute. I was watching a festival on the news the other day with my papa tico that just so happened to in Barva and they showed some of the carvings there. I didn’t take very many pictures of the dolls, so the carvings will just have to do.

I was disappointed because the church at San Jose was closed and so I didn’t get to see it. It was a thirty minute ride up the mountain and then another thirty minutes until the next bus came through, so I just sat on the bench and enjoyed the scenery. It is so completely stunning up there. There is nothing to do really besides the church, unless you are doing something outdoorsy like hiking or biking, but the entire area is surrounded by cedar farms and woods. Absolutely breathtaking. 🙂

¡Pure Vida from Costa Rica!

Olivia Melvin

Hi, everyone! I'm a 20-year-old senior majoring in Sociology and minoring in Psychology and Spanish. I'm originally from Puyallup, WA, but I've lived in six states since then with my six brothers and sisters. Visiting Costa Rica will be my first time leaving the country, but I hope it will be a precursor for future traveling adventures!

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