Our last few days in San José were uneventful, aside from a day trip to Zarcero on Thursday. Zarcero is a small city that is about two hours away from the capital and is known for its topiary garden at the Parque Francisco Alvarado. The garden sits in front of the Iglesia de San Rafael in the city center and has been produced and maintained by topiarist Evangelista Blanco since the 1960s.
Iglesia de San Rafael
The topiary is interesting and includes shapes of various animals and some bizarre otherworldly creatures that look like the product of Tim Burton’s imagination… or the handiwork of Edward Scissorhands 😉
After walking around the garden, we went to take a peek at the beautiful 19th-century church that appeared to be constructed of brick stones with white trimmings. I say “appeared” because when we got to see it up close, the walls were actually made of metal siding. The interior has nice paintings and columns painted to look like marble.
Arches to the church
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- External walls
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- Interior
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- Shrine behind the church
After exploring the gardens and the church, we had lunch and headed back to San José. Zarcero made for a nice day trip, but doesn’t have much else as it is very small.
Selfie!
