Paraiso and the Orosi Valley

01/06/09

The first day we ventured outside of Cartago on the bus, we headed to the Orosi Valley, intending to stop off at Paraiso along the way, both places having been recommended by various locals we had spoken to that morning. We had been told that Paraiso was less touristic, but still very beautiful and worth the visit, so when we got off the bus, we were surprised to find that there was nothing at all to see. Paraiso is Spanish for 'paradise' so we had set our hopes high on seeing some wonderful scenery, but it wasn't to be found here. We made an effort though and spent some time wandering around, but apart from a main square, the rest of the town was very residential. We chose a street to walk down, and towards the end of it, we met a lovely young boy with his adorable puppy, aptly named Mini, who was just seven months old. For me, this pair made the stop in Paraiso worthwhile.

Back on the bus, we somehow managed to completely miss the centre of Orosi, and instead got off the bus a few stops later, about a half an hour's walk away. The landscape in the valley was beautiful so we were happy to make the walk back, until it started to rain. Vic didn't mind it so much, but I'm still getting used to the idea of actually enjoying a walk in the rain :) The main square consisted of a large playing field (we have seen these in most towns so far), surrounded on three sides by the school, a restaurant (where we had a great dinner later that day) and the church, completed in 1743, which unfortunately was closed. But we were still able to have a good walk around the grounds and we spoke to one of the builders working on a new and bigger church, who told us that the original church will eventually be converted into a museum. Along the way, we managed to attract the company of a stray dog, who would not leave us alone. Whenever we stopped, he would lie down and wait for us. Feeling sorry for him, I asked Vic if we could buy him something to eat, and so we got him a few bits of meat from a small butcher's shop. He got a bit excited when we started to feed him, and then another dog showed up, which was a bit scary, so I left poor Vic to cope with the starving dogs while I started to try and make our escape. We hadn't thought about what we would do once there was no food left! We managed to get away into the restaurant, and we were amazed to see the dog sit down outside, as if waiting for us again, but someone else caught his attention a bit later, and that was the last we saw of him. He was the first of a few dogs that have followed us around so far on this trip...we seem to attract them everywhere we go :)