Birthday + Brother = Big Bash!

This year's July 2nd celebration was made all the better because my favorite big brother, Tobin, had made the trek from Guatemala, where he is living and working, to Costa Rica to see his little sis turn 24 years old! We had a rather full day of the very grown-up feeling activity of moving me into an apartment (look for future blog entry) and were then invited over to my host familia's home, along with my friends Meghan and Juan Carlos, for a yummy birthday dinner. And, of course, for yummy birthday cake as well! Meghan, host family Roy, Gabi and Ariana, birthday girl and Juan Carlos

Although Tobin and I had just a short time here together in Costa Rica before making an unexpected journey home to California to honor and celebrate the life of our Uncle Rod, who we lost suddenly on June 29, we shared some special time together as well as several special reunions.

Nine years after Tobin's month-long stay here in Costa Rica, living with our exchange student, Bernal, and the rest of the Mora family, the two boys were happily reunited, looking even more handsome than they did in their high school days. It was a wonderful reunion and we all loved having a weekend together to catch up, share old memories and make new ones.

Me with my big brothers, Tobin and Bernal

After an especially tasty breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, one of Bernal's favorite foods during his month of mama Barbara's delicious home cooking!, we met up with another one of the Costa Rican exchange students, Iriving, who spent a month living with a family in Decorah during the same time as Bernal lived with us. What better way to get reacquainted than to head to the nearby Paintball field?! We strapped on our helmets, loaded the paintballs and did our best to get dirty, rolling around in the woods. Here we are, proudly showing off our battle wounds!Our final reunion was also a Decorah one--We met up with our fellow Decorah High School and Valparaiso University graduate, Erica Spilde, and her Costa Rican exchange student brother, Diego, who was part of the same group as Bernal and Irving. The next time we will see Erica will most likely be back in Iowa, as she has moved home to the U.S. after living and working in Costa Rica for the past two and a half years. I miss her already!

Walk walk walkin' la Romeria

Each year on August 1 and 2, an estimated one million men, women, and children arrive to the Cartago's remarkably beautiful Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles--the holiest shrine in Costa Rica. Arriving by foot, in wheelchair, on horseback, by running, or even by being pushed in a stroller as is the case for the littlest ones, this pilgrimage can take hours, days, or even weeks, depending on your starting point. For most, it is an approx. 22 km walk from the capital of San Jose; for others it is days of walking from the northern or southern most parts of the country; and still, for others, it can take up to a week to arrive to Cartago from neighboring countries Nicaragua and Panama.

I decided I better slip on my tennis shoes and set out from San Jose for an estimated 3.5 hr walk alongside of two lovely sisters, Maria and Aurita, who have taken part in the pilgrimage the last handful of years. Aurita and Maria as we began our pilgrimage walk

I appreciated these helpful reminder kilometer markers, so I always kept a look out for them. Maria, however, didn't appreciate them nor my pointing them out.

Why all this walking?? Just as the Virgin of Guadalupe is the patron saint for the country of Mexico, "La Negrita" (the Black Virgin) is Costa Rica's representation of the Virgin Mary. On August 2, 1635, the small statue of the virgin was found at the site of the basillica by a native woman. As the story goes, when this woman tried to take the statuette with her, it miraculously reappeared back where she'd found it. Twice. Finally, she and the other townspeople gave up and built a shrine there where La Negrita had originally been found. In 1824, the statuette was declared Costa Rica's Patron Saint and thus began the annual pilgrimage where people from all corners of the country and beyond come to say their most serious prayers on bent knees.

When one arrives at the church, you have two options: de pie or de rodillas. You can enter in standing or on your knees. The pews have been cleared from the entire church and the center aisle is reserved for those entering in on their knees. All shuffle, or scoot, slowly past the gold-leafed rendition of the original black stone statuette.
Thousands choose to enter into the church on their knees, a humbling action of reverance toward the Virgin. Many pray quietly outloud as they are making their way toward the statuette, and then make the sign of the cross when in front of her.

Below is a picture of the thousands and thousands of others who were arriving to the basilica at the same time as we were.
Although I was raised in a predominantly Protestant Christian nation where such annual pilgrimages are not part of the religion nor the culture, I am continuously humbled by the devoutedness of Catholics in Latin America. There is such a fascinating meshing of religion and culture, which becomes a way of being or way of life, a set of every-day traditions and customs.

Perhaps merely practical, or perhaps unfortunate, most all of the walk has become rather commercialized, in that there is always available food and drink of all kinds, many items for sale--jewelry, purses, sunglasses, flip flops, toys, as well as free handouts from candy companies. Massages can be received along the way. It was rather amusing to me just how fascinated these walking folks seem to be with their equivalent brand of IcyHot! Every so often you'd see pairs or families stopped along the side of the road, applying IcyHot to each other's legs and feet. Hey, at least it smelled nice!

So, as much as it seemed like a big party in some ways--or rather a festive event--there was an undeniable sense of reverance and devotion, of faithful belief and hope for the miraculous.