Thursday is A Holiday in Costa Rica

A reminder that Thursday, September 15, is a legal holiday in Costa Rica, as the country celebrates its 190th anniversary of independence.

The holiday is traditionally filled with beating drums and parades in all corners of the country, as school children have been preparing for this day for weeks.

The celebrations starts at dusk Wednesday with the "desfile de faroles" (laterns display) with the traditional singing of the national hymn in the central parks of the 81 cantones (counties) across the nation.

Presidenta Laura Chinchilla, is expected to take part in the celebrations at the Palacio Municipal de Cartago, where at 8m she will, with other members of her government, receive the torch - Antorcha Centroamericana de la Libertad - set to arrive at the Cartago ruins.

Cartago - or "Vieja Metropolis" as it is sometimes referred to - was the original capital of Costa Rica.

The torch is expected to arrive on Tuesday at Peñas Blancas at 8am and make its way to San José and Cartago by Wednesday. The torch will then make its way to the Paso Canoas, the border with Panama to the south.

A total of 10.000 students around the country will be involved in the moving of the torch and ceremonies, as it moves 350 kilometres from the north to the south.

Editor's Note:
Take note that the Interamericana Norte is closed on Tuesday in the area north of Puntarenas by the Aranjuez bridge. And many in Costa Rica will take Friday off as well, though not a holiday, to make it an extra long weekend.

If you have an appointment, doctor, dentist, etc, for example, call ahead.