Cañas

Sleepy, arid CAÑAS, 168km northwest of San José, is the heart of agricultural commerce for the surrounding area. In town, activity is decidedly at a minimum; what there is of it mostly takes place within a few blocks of the unremarkable grassy and concrete central square. It’s a pleasant town of single- and two-storey traditional buildings with only one real sight to speak of, the incongruous modernist church, on the east side of the square. The barn-like structure is replete with colourful, Gaudí-esque mosaics which reach a bright blue crescendo in the steeple, capped by an understated cross. Its interior is significantly more subdued, marked by a ceiling covered with stained wood blocks and a minimalist altar backed by a wall patterned with limestone rectangles.