Last Sunday, my friend Maribel came to visit me here in Costa Rica. We had a really nice time traveling around and visiting different places, but everything went by so fast.

The day she arrived, we visited a town called Sarchí, which is north of Grecia, about one hour and a half from Alajuela. Sarchí is a town where they have many souveneir shops and the famous carratas de Sarchí (carts). The carts are made of wood and were used by farmers, and perhaps are still used today. Not sure why, but people started painted the carts with bright colors and unique patterns and the carts eventually became the symbol for the Costa Rican worker. The yoke for oxen and the carts are painted, and we saw carts that were almost 100 years old. Maribel bought lots of gifts, and I, of course, with my attitute of --I will be here longer and maybe I can find cheaper gifts-- did not buy anything. I am not so sure about this theory! I think I am running out of time!

Sarchí is further in the mountains than Alajuela and some streets have a pretty good incline. It is sort of tucked into the hills. On our way back to the bus stop, Maribel saw some thing in the sky: a rainbow. According to a woman in a nearby store, this rainbow was chicitito (very, very small), but to us, it was fine. It was wide and we could see all the colors, but it was only in one small corner of the sky, sort of like a small rectangle in front of the hills.

We took the bus back, bought some raw chicken at the supermarket and ate it then went to sleep.

It was a good first day.