The views from the bus\u2019s windows quickly resolved any depressive feelings we were having. That was one of the things we came for after all. We began to lighten our hearts, determined to find the release and clarity we sought. As we neared our destination, a random stranger overheard us discussing what we were going to see once we arrived. We had talked about an old, condemned church (Santiago Apostle) that was at the precipice of the humble city. This perfect stranger began to explain its history. He claimed that the church is now condemned because in the 1970s an earthquake split the foundation right down the middle. It was never repaired, and is now too dangerous to renovate, so the city condemned it. (Unfortunately, the author has been unable to find a factual historical record of this information).<\/em> After this man\u2019s description and information, we knew we must see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We arrived and immediately could see the church. It is impressive with beautiful colonial-style towers, shattered stained-glass windows, and crumbling facades. It was perfectly described by the man on the bus. However, being condemned we weren\u2019t allowed a close look. This was probably for the best as my curiosity would have put us in danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After making our way around the church, we briefly walked the city streets. We knew we wanted to go see the mountains that are everywhere. I asked my friend, being that he had visited prior, where he would like to start. He pointed off in one direction and said, \u201cthere were some good views that way, but I haven\u2019t looked over there,\u201d pointing in a different direction. We chose the unknown path, which in hindsight turned out to be an incredible decision. We figured, let\u2019s both see something new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We walked off in a random direction, passing multiple stores, a school, and many houses. Eventually, we saw a small road off the main concourse. As we progressed down this small street, we saw the mountains entering our view. There we were, amid a small neighborhood with some of the best views I had ever experienced in my life. We looked for a great spot to view, saw one, and decided against going there because it felt like trespassing. However, simply being on the street, we still had an incredible view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He and I enjoyed a couple of beers while observing. The scenery was the reason we came. We stayed there for about 30 minutes before making our way through the winding back-roads of this beautiful community. We walked up and down some serious hills and emerged to the main road again. We had spent a short time here, relaxed, exercised a little, and started to head back to the downtown area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, all of a sudden, we noticed a hill off to our left. I searched for signs that it was private property and found none. We walked up a small dirt path to the top of the hill. To our amazement, we found a 360\u00b0 view of the surrounding mountains. We both froze. It was simply stunning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The words on this page do no justice to the view we received by pure happenstance. As we soaked in the true magnificent beauty, we realized that we could see all the way to the ocean from one of the angles of view. When we realized this, we took a seat and let it the natural wonder of this country wash away all of our concerns. We could have stayed there for hours. We did spend about an hour and a half in this location. It was magic. Just when you think you have seen some really impressive places, something unexpected finds you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After we realized how hungry we became, we walked back to town, had a delicious lunch, and made our way back to the bus to return to our routine. However, this trip refreshed us in so many ways. The surprises that this country has, can really bring you back to your senses. It couldn\u2019t have been better. As I said, it was magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Peter Gioia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The best thing about living in Costa Rica: there is so much to do. The worst thing about living in Costa Rica: there is too much to do. No matter how many adventures we go on, there is always another one on the list. This is the definition of a blessing and a curse. Oftentimes, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,26,38,20],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-5274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-culture-en","category-history-en","category-natural-world-en","category-teacher-life-en","tag-costa-rica-2"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.idiomacr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/20180107_125324-effects-1024x768.jpg\")
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