If you were unable to comprehend the previous, no te preocupes! Although it was Saturday today, I did not sleep in. My alarm went off at 6 am, and I hit snooze until 6:30 when I finally forced myself out of the bed and into the shower. Poor Mamá Tica, she woke up so early to make us breakfast and then went back to bed. We were a bit slow this morning and ending up running the majority of the way to Intercultura to arrive by 8 am. We were the second people to arrive.
Finally we headed off to La Paz, which means peace. Mamá Tica told us that in 2009, an earthquake with the magnitude of 6.4 destroyed much of La Paz park and the surrounding area. Lucky for us, it has now reopened.
I thought I was over my fear of heights until we started winding up the roads leading to La Paz. In order to avoid pot holes, our bus driver would steer the bus so close to the edge of the road that lacked guard rails, that I thought we would just tumble down the side of the mountain. Obviously we arrived safely, or else I wouldn't be writing this blog tonight.
There was so much to see at La Paz! I spent a lot of time in the butterfly garden and finally one landed on my hand, and I carried him (or her) around for quite some time. Unfortunately, I couldn't take it home with me. We saw beautiful loros (parrots) and a variety of birds. Amongst the birds I encountered an albino squirrel. ¡Que raro! Next we went to visit the toucans, all of which were so beautiful. We saw some ranos (froggies) in a variety of sizes and colors. I obviously stood outside while the rest of the group passed through the snake exhibit. Eeek!
I kept waiting and waiting for the felines silvestres...yes, I like cats, a lot! The smaller "gatos" looked like the rare breed that I pet sat for last summer. (of course the name has slipped my mind) The jaguars were magnificent! Their markings were extraordinary and so perfect! If it was legal, I would have a jaguar as a pet, or maybe a lion, but I have fat Jack, who is about the size of a baby lion...
Next we went down steps, steps, and even more steps to find the catarates (waterfalls). It was so exciting to be winding through the dense greenery of the forrest and hear the waterfalls before being able to see them. I'm not sure I've ever seen a waterfall before, but I stood in awe of this wonderful creation. We ended up seeing three waterfalls today, one of which was so close that you could stick your hand over the railing and catch water in your hand!
Visiting La Paz was a wonderful experience for my first Saturday in Costa Rica. On our way back, our bus driver suggested he take us to an artisan workshop and store. On our way in, we could see people working on various projects, and before the bus parked we passed a warehouse piled to the top with lumber. There was a giftshop and a restaurant at this place. In the giftshop, the majority of the items were handcrafted from wood. The artisans are very talented and how wonderful it is that they can share their gift with anyone who passes through.
I had to have some coffee at the restaurant, I was so tired being up so early. I think in an earlier blog, I mentioned that I thought the coffee here was quite strong and that I missed my amarretto creamer from the US. Well, I retract that statement, because in less than a week, I have grown to love the coffee here. I no longer add sugar, and each day I add less and less creamer. It is so good, I believe I could drink it black. As I'm getting dressed each morning, I can smell the aroma wafting through house. I look forward to breakfast each morning (even though it's wayyyyy too much food) because I know Mamá Tica will already have our coffee cups filled to the brim!
There are no plans for tomorrow, so I am looking forward to waking up without an alarm and relaxing a bit. Oh yeah, there's this thing called tarea, but I'll get to that later. I think that is all for now. Thanks for reading, and congratulations if you made it to this last sentence.
¡ Buenas noches!
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