My first month in Costa Rica

Well, it's been my first month here in Costa Rica. It's been quite an experience so far. Nothing earth shattering - just getting my bearings and learning the language a little at a time. This evening is The Romeria (The Pilgrimage). It is a religious event that takes place every year. People from all over the country walk to Cartago to touch the stone of La Virgen de Los Angeles. Supposedly, a long time ago in a cave a girl saw the Virgin in a stone and thought it was a doll and tried to take it home. However, the next morning it was gone. She repeated the process for several days until, she decided to talk to a priest about it. They claim that it is the image of the Virgin Mary in the stone. They also claim that the stone is black because she is the Virgin Mother of indigenous people as well. Therefore, they built a church above the cave. Nowadays, many people come to ask for help, to cure an illness, etc. If their illness has been cured, they bring a golden gift for the church. Supposedly, the church is covered with gold organs of body parts that have been healed. Tonight there are supposed to be about a million of people doing the pilgrimage. Many people walk and some do it on their knees. In fact the church has signs that say "People Walking" "People on their knees", etc. Some have already started and by tonight the main street will be closed off and it will be packed. I hope I can get home from here.
I also checked out Escazu yesterday. Escazu is a secluded area in a valley slightly hidden from the rest of San Jose. It it very exlcusive and many wealthy people live there - especially Americans. It's a very nice area, but too expensive to hang out there all the time. They have a really nice mall there with lots of expensive stores. Other than that, nothing too exciting to report.