Alajuela is the second largest city in Costa Rica, 20 km northwest of the capital city of Costa Rica, San José. It is also the birthplace of Juan Santamaria, the national hero of Costa Rica and the namesake of Costa Rica’s main international airport.
The province of Alajuela is located in the north central part of the country, bordering Nicaragua to the north. The city of Alajuela is 952 meters above sea level and is known as the City of Mangoes.
We had occasion to be in the city of Alajuela last weekend and were not far from the central park, so we walked around for a while. As is the norm in Costa Rica, a Catholic church is attached to the park and apparently all churches face west. Why? So that people sitting inside the church for services are facing east - where Jerusalem is located and the crucifixion of Jesus. This is just what I have read - please correct me if this is wrong. The Alajuela cathedral is named Cathedral of the Virgin of the Pillar and it is really lovely, as is the park.
On the morning we were there, the church bells were melodiously pealing and pealing. I’ve only ever heard church bells here tolling the hour and half hour so not sure if this was a call to morning mass or what. During the day, it appears churches keep all their doors open and anyone can go in and sit, or just look around.
Here are some photos I took.
There was a festival in the park, hence the tents:
The park trees are massive:
We were wondering what this red dome is for:
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