Orientation In Religious Architecture

Since time immemorial, religious buildings have been precisely oriented. This tradition can be observed from Egyptian and Mexican pyramids to Hindu and Chinese temples. The Roman architect Vitruvius explained that the construction of a temple began with its proper placement and orientation. This principle has been maintained in religious architecture throughout the centuries.

In Catholic churches, the orientation follows the axis from east to west. The presbytery faces east, while the portico opens to the west. This design allows the sun’s rays to enter the temple at dawn, creating a profound symbolism during prayers and ceremonies. Roman temples and Catholic churches adopted this layout, with the priest facing east and the faithful facing west.

In ancient Egypt, the first religious structures had the entrance facing east. Eventually, at the time of Augustus, the doors were placed towards the west so that the faithful would face east during ceremonies. This practice is also observed in the dolmen rows, where the bodies rest in an east-west direction, with the head facing west.

The Symbolism of the Sun And Its Relationship With Christ

All ancient churches open towards the west, while the chancel is oriented towards the point where the sun rises on a specific day of the year, such as the equinoxes or the anniversary of the saint to whom the sanctuary is dedicated. The Catholic Church has maintained this principle of orientation, reflecting the Christian symbolism of facing east, where the sun that represents Christ rises.

The Code of Canon Law states that in the construction and repair of churches, the principles and norms of liturgy and sacred art must be observed. This includes the orientation of the apse and presbytery towards the east, with the main door opening towards the west. This tradition symbolizes the Christian belief in Christ as the “Sun of Righteousness” who illuminates and gives life.

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An additional story suggests that the Europeans designed the churches in this way to facilitate the evangelization of the indigenous people in Latin America. By letting the sun illuminate the temple, the colonizers intended to symbolize the light and purification offered by Christianity. This strategy was used to introduce the idea of Jesus as the only God worthy of worship.

In Costa Rica, the most churches are oriented towards the west, with some notable exceptions such as the church of Los Angeles in Heredia Centro. This orientation follows ancestral tradition and reflects Christian symbolism, reminding the faithful of the hope and resurrection symbolized by the rising sun.

Sensorial Sunsets

In San José alone, the percentage of people who travel by public transportation for more than 2 hours per day, including bus trips, is 48%.

The public transportation system is quite extensive and can be found in many cities throughout the country. It is not limited to just buses, but also includes cabs which are used as the first means of transportation for most people. In fact, the average time that people in San Jose wait at a bus stop or station for their bus line on a weekday is 16 minutes.

The First Public Transportation

Public transportation in Costa Rica has existed since the late 19th century and has evolved over time to adapt to the needs of the population.

The first buses and cabs were introduced in the country at the end of the 19th century. The first bus route was established by a man named Juan Rafael Mora Porras, who was a lawyer and politician. This bus route connected San José with Cartago.

In 1891 Costa Rica’s first railroad line was inaugurated, connecting San José with Alajuela. The country’s railroad system became one of its most important forms of transportation until 1949 when it was abolished.

Between 1993 and 1995 a brief passenger service made use of the rails but did not make the necessary profits to keep Incofer afloat, which had a technical closure in 1995.

Incofer then created the Interurban Train as a single passenger line that makes use of this infrastructure and rights-of-way still available. It went from transporting 1,000 people per day in 2005 to more than 20,000 in 2015.

Peak Time

Costa Rica is one of the most densely populated countries in Central America and, as a result, has an average of 2.5 million cars on its roads, and this number is growing every day. That is why public transportation has become a necessity for many people, including those living in low-income neighborhoods where there are no sidewalks or safe walking paths.

In the country, the streets are often congested and traffic can be very bad. Also, sometimes the public transportation system is not efficient and it takes a long time to get from one place to another. However, there are some ways that Costa Ricans have found to improve their public transportation system.

One of these improvements is the use of private buses or vans called “chapines”. These buses operate on fixed routes and can be booked in advance online or by phone. They offer more comfort than traditional buses that usually stop every few blocks, and are more reliable than cabs.

Another improvement is the use of “pata pata” – shared cabs. These cabs also operate on fixed routes but pick up passengers.

Challenges of Public Transportation for the Future

Although Costa Rica has approximately 36,000 kilometers of roads for vehicular traffic, 85% of the national road network is in fair or poor condition.  In fact, nearly 80.0% of the Cantonal Road Network has a ballast or gravel surface. In other words, only 12% of its roads are paved. This generates an incapacity of the road system. For example, traffic congestion is becoming more and more notorious.

On the other hand, although there are many buses and trains in Costa Rica, they are not as developed as public transportation systems in other countries. Buses and trains are the most common means of transportation for Costa Ricans.

Despite this, CONAVI (National Viability Council in english) will invest $100 million annually in maintenance. The scheme of contracts to private companies will continue for three years, which will allow for the maintenance of 4,200 kilometers of asphalt roads and will imply a disbursement by CONAVI of $12 billion. In addition, support will be given to the construction and maintenance of roads at the cantonal level through the MOPT-KFW program. The investment program will continue and includes works such as Quepos-Dominical, Pérez Zeledón-Rió Convento and Bribri-Sixaola, among others.

The National Decarbonization Plan

Costa Rica, under the government of Carlos Alvarado, launched its National Decarbonization Plan on February 24, 2019, with a commitment to become a modern, green and emission-free economy. The long-term goal is to have net zero emissions by 2050, based on these 10 key axes and these cross-cutting strategies.

One of the axes is the transformation of the automobile and public transportation fleet.

As of February 2022, the country has already completed 61% of the goals of the first stage and is expected to meet 83% by the end of the year, according to a report presented Thursday by government authorities three years after its implementation.

In the mobility axis based on efficient public transportation, 5 of the 8 goals (62%) had completed their actions by February 2022. Before the end of the year, 2 other goals are planned to be completed, bringing compliance to 87%.

Among the actions of this axis are the piloting of electric buses in 2 urban public transportation routes, the 68 km of exclusive lanes implemented in 9 trunk routes and the entry into operation of the National System of Electronic Payment in Public Transportation (SINPE-TP).

In fact, public transportation contributed greatly to reducing emissions figures within the National Decarbonization Plan. This is to contribute to building a healthy future for the next generations. During the first three years of implementation, progress was made in key sectors due to their high emissions, such as transportation -which generates almost half of the greenhouse gases- and agriculture. To mitigate this, during the first phase of the plan, 9 exclusive lanes were intervened on trunk roads, a national network of 43 electric vehicle chargers was installed and 1,652 cattle farms were included under the NAMA low emissions program, among other advances.

In Summary

• In San José alone, the percentage of people who travel by public transportation for more than 2 hours per day, including bus trips, is 48%.
• Costa Rica created the National Decarbonization Plan whose first axis is the reduction of gas emissions in the public transportation fleet.

Author

Zelda Walters for Sensorial Sunsets

Bibliography

https://genial.guru/admiracion-curiosidades/si-crees-que-el-transporte-publico-a-la-hora-pico-es-un-infierno-mira-estas-fotos-de-los-lugares-mas-poblados-de-la-tierra-794060/

https://moovitapp.com/insights/es-419/Moovit_Insights_%C3%8Dndice_de_Transporte_P%C3%BAblico_Costa_Rica_San_Jose-2967

http://mideplan5-n.mideplan.go.cr/PND_ADM_PACHECO/html/est-crec-gen-emp/Infraestructura_y_Transporte/Retos-infraestructura-trans.htm 

Origin

In 1954, a polio epidemic swept the world. In Costa Rica, a country of just 800,000 inhabitants at the time, 50,000 children were affected. A total of 152 children died and 1,000 were paralyzed.

Dr. Carlos Sáenz Herrera then launched a call for the construction of a hospital exclusively dedicated to children.

National Children’s Hospital Pro-Construction Association

Together with his colleague, Dr. Roberto Ortiz Brenes, they founded the Asociación Pro-Construcción del Hospital de Niños. They worked for more than 10 years organizing events to raise the necessary funds for the construction of the hospital. The Association carried out a series of activities to raise the money.

The first step was to organize the “march of the tens”, a collection to collect whatever each person could contribute. A thermometer was placed in the southwest corner of the Cathedral Church to measure the donations. Then came the “Flower Fair”, an event that took place every year in different parts of the country until the 1970s. It was several days of festivities with the support of several embassies: shifts, food sales, concerts, dances and so on.

 John F. Kennedy

However, the money was not enough to build the hospital. It was then necessary to borrow $2,000,000 from the United States Government, which was agreed upon on April 24, 1957.

Once the money was raised, the equipment needed to start the Hospital was missing. It was President John F. Kennedy, during his visit to Costa Rica, who gave the money to buy the equipment.

Finally, after 10 years of efforts, the National Children’s Hospital was inaugurated on May 24, 1964.

El  Parque Nacional de Diversiones (Amusement Park)

After this date, the Association changed its name to Asociación Pro-Hospital Nacional de Niños.

In order to continue generating resources and under the motto “The healthy child helps the sick child”, during the years following the construction of the Hospital, the Association built the Amusement Park. It was inaugurated on December 18, 1981.

The Association has donated more than $22 million in medical equipment to Nationwide Children’s Hospital since the creation of the Amusement Park.

Author: M. Barrantes for Sensorial Sunsets

Sources

https://www.scielo.sa.cr/pdf/amc/v56n3/art01v56n3.pdf

History of the Port of Caldera, Costa Rica

The city was founded on February 25, 1859 by José María Castro Madriz and was named Bahía Caldera. In colonial times, this was the main port of the Pacific slope. However, it was located a few kilometers away from the current port. Loading and unloading operations were carried out to the north of the bay by boats. Later, in 1910, the decision was made to build a dock on wooden piles and a small storage warehouse.

By 1940, the dock was replaced by another one. This was built on steel piles and at the same time, the Customs building with a main warehouse was also created. Over the years, more warehouses and some shallow berths were built, both at the main dock and at a site called El Cocal in the Puntarenas estuary.

However, the city grew around the port and due to the continuous congestion of ships, at the end of the sixties a port development was considered to facilitate the nation’s foreign trade with the economic access zones through the Pacific Ocean. After several consulting companies carried out their studies, Caldera Bay was chosen as the site for the new port, as it represented the best location from the economic point of view of the project.

The port of Caldera, currently in use, was artificially created in 1978, beginning operations until 1981, after the main port of Puntarenas was discontinued for commercial use. Since then, it has been the main import and export point of the country’s Pacific coast. In 2001, the Government of Costa Rica began the process of modernizing port management in Costa Rica. Finally, on August 12, 2006, the concession of the Port of Caldera began.

Nowadays

Puerto Caldera continues to be a very convenient place to visit, not only because of its proximity to other cities and destinations, but also because it offers many attractions and activities for tourists, such as tours through the mangroves or even a visit to Tortuga Island. There are even new activities in the area such as sport fishing.

In summary

• The port of Caldera in Costa Rica is the most important port city in the country.
• The port of Caldera, currently in use, was artificially created in 1978 and began operations in 1981.
• Puerto Caldera continues to be a very convenient place to visit.

Author

Zelda Walters for Sensorial Sunsets

Bibliography

https://costarica.org/es/ciudades/caldera/