Costa Rica Explorer: The Final Countdown

The community of Buena Visa put on a wonderful Fiesta do Despedida with speeches, party games, and even live music.  They challenged us to a national anthem contest and let’s just say we ll need to work on those high notes! After a triste  goodbye filled with lagrimas (tears) and abrazos  (hugs), we got on our way to Manuel Antonio for some much needed sunshine and relaxation.

Yesterday we spent the day at the beach. Upon entering the National Park we were greeted by sloths, monkeys and iguanas.  Some of us even got to see a baby sloth up close!  Although the day was steamy, we did not quite get rid of our lovely work tanlines (check out the picture).  After a picnic lunch we headed to our surf lessons.  Despite having a group of novices, almost everyone caught a wave!!

Last night was our final night as an entire group so we celebrated with delicious pizza delivered to the hotel and a final ceremonial game of Mafia (the group favorite).

Now’s it back to San Jose for our last cena (dinner) and then off to the airport for a 6 am flight!!!  See you all soon!

Costa Rica Explorer: Down to the Wire

We are working hard to get our wall done before Friday´s Fiesta de Despedida.  We did however find some time to celebrate Imani´s birthday, check out a cool culebra (snake), and learn some cumbia to show off at our good bye party. 

We are all enjoying seeing the final results of our hard work.  Who knew how many steps went into building a wall!  We can´t believe two weeks have already flown by!  Next time we write we´ll all be relaxing at the beach. 

 Hasta pronto!!

Costa Rica Explorer: Hard Work and Hot Springs

 

Hola, desde La Fortuna! Along with working on our project building a wall around the school playground many of us began helping a local Peace Corps volunteer teach adult English classes in the village.   Many of our host families attend the classes as well, making it a learning experience for all!

 

After a long week of hard work  mixing cement, cutting metal and digging trenches in Buena Vista we were all ready for our weekend in La Fortuna, a small city at the base of the smoking Volcan Arenal.  Friday was spent relaxing by the pool, exploring the shops of La Fortuna and watching just a little bit of TV in English. For dinner we went to Baldi Hot Springs where refueled with chocolate covered strawberries and an all you can eat buffet.  Then it was off to the 25 thermal pools, heated by Arenal.  Some of the pools were as hot as 152 F, muy caliente!  Luckily a tropical thunder storm was overhead, cooling us off a little bit.

 

After two days of relaxation we are all ready to get back to work and finish our project by Friday.  Can´t believe there are only ten days left!

Costa Rica Explorer: Working Hard in Buena Vista

Hello from Ciudad Quesada (Cheesed City…yes, like a city that has been covered with cheese)!  The name comes from one of the main industries in this area of the country, which is dairy farming.  It is the nearest city to our new home of Buena Vista, which is in the mountains overlooking the city. The majority of the families that live here own or work on ¨lecherias¨or participate in other kinds of agricultural work 
 
It´s been awhile since we updated the blog.  The Explorers have been all over Costa Rica and in places with limited access to internet, which has helped us to immerse ourselves in nature and Costa Rican culture.  The time at the ecofarm, Pura Suerte, was amazing!  Our jungalows (jungle + bungalows) were equipped with electricity and running water, but allowed us to feel like we were living in the jungle.  At times this was a bit much for the girls with giant stick bugs and gecko lizards running amok!  We spent last Friday hiking down to the Niyaca waterfall where we swam and ate lunch.  The hike back out was not as much fun, but we were rewarded with ice cream. 
 
Saturday evening we arrived to Buena Vista, where the villagers were waiting with pictures they had painted for us and dances they had prepared.  The Explorers coming to the village is a very exciting event, especially for the younger children.  Saturday night was our first night apart, as we each went to our separate homestays to get settled in.

Sunday, a  day of rest for the village, was spent playing indoor soccer and hiking around the village with the kids who happen to be on vacation from school.  Today we began our work on building a cinderblock and cement fence around a playground (built by a past Walking Tree group) to keep cows out and kids in!  There has been a lot of digging and we are all getting buff.  Tonight we will celebrate Imani´s birthday and do a cumbia dance lesson with one of the host sisters.

Hasta pronto!

Explorers arrive to Costa Rica!

The Explorer Program has arrived safely in San Jose!  Although the flight was a bit long, we arrived without a hitch and used the time together to get to know each other and get excited for the 3 weeks ahead of us.   We have group members from Colorado, Illinois, Washington, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maryland.  We spent our first night a very cute hotel named Hotel Pacande, which is sort of our home base for the trip as we will stay here again on our last night before we return home.  Breakfast this morning consisted of  “gallo pinto,” which is a tasty mix of beans and rice, eggs, and fresh fruits and juices.   One of the best things about Costa Rica is the fresh fruit and fruit juices, called “ refrescos” 

We spent the morning at orientation doing team building excersizes and going over our trip itinerary.  The things that the group is most excited about are the Niyaca waterfall, Finca Pura Suerta, the hot springs at Volcano Arenal and the beach at Manuel Antonio.  While the homestays were also listed among the things we are most looking forward to, they are also one of the things that we are most nervous about as it is a completely new experience for most of us. 

The afternoon was spent having a traditional Costa Rican “casado” for lunch, which usually consists of rice, beans, salad and chicken, fish, or beef, and attempting to learn to dance merengue, cumbia, and salsa…the key word here being attempting!  We then got to watch the professionals dancers show us how it’s done…they are amazing! 

After dancing we cruised around downtown San Jose ‘a pie’ (walking) and shopping (expect some fun recuerdos) in a typical market that had goods ranging from meat and sea food to arts and crafts we are tired. However, we are even more excited about the things to come than before we arrived.  Tomorrow morning we are off to Finca Pura Suerte, an eco-farm run by Drennan Flahive, a native Coloradan, for 2 nights and then arrive to our village of Buena Vista where will be for the following 2 weeks.

We are experiencing some technical difficulties uploading photos but stay tuned and they will appear in no time.

Buenas Noches.