Poas y Paz (July 1, 2011)

Since several people have asked what happened to the end of my blog, here it is...  I have enjoyed blogging over the past two months, so don't expect this to be the last you hear from me; however, I will not be updating everday because a) that is too time consuming and b) my life in the US just simply is not as exciting as it was in Costa Rica!

For your sake and mine, when you read this blog entry, pretend you are reading it on the 1st of July when all this occured. I'm just 4 days late and several thousand colones short. No big deal.

On Fridays, children don't come to the mission, so it is a free day for the groups staying at the mission that particular week. Lalo, our wonderful bus driver, picked us up at 7 am for the day's adventure. Think 7 am is early? Well think again, because in Costa Rica, the people rise when the sun rises, and that's 5 am. And that's why they drink coffee! (or that's why I do at least) We began our two hour journey to Volcán Poas. I was very excited to go to Volcán Poas because, although it was about 30 minutes from Heredia, it was one place Flagler actually didn't visit. Volcán Poas hasn't erupted since 1996, so it was completely different from what I had seen at Volcán Arenal several weeks earlier. Poas has a steaming crater of boiling torquise water, a laguna (lake) which used to be another crater, and also many walking trails.

 (The cake purchase is a story of its own. It is a miracle that we and the cake made it back to the mission in one piece. I have taken many dangerous taxi rides during my stay in Costa Rica, but the return ride back to the mission was by far the scariest taxi ride I have ever taken. It was POURING rain, and the taxi driver's window was completely fogged up. My dad was in the front seat and he said there was no way the driver could see through the glass. I was in the back with Sam and Andrew. With every turn, the three of us would slide up against one door or the other.  I was holding the cake, and we were all praying we would make it back in one piece. Although ALTO means stop, those red octoganol signs mean little to Costa Rican drivers. Most just hold the horn down to let others know they are coming through an intersection, but this taxi driver didn't even slow down when approaching the intersection, nor did he blow his horn! He sped through at what my dad guessed to be at least 40 mph!)

Spoiled much?!  (I got tired of walking)



the crater





the lake, which used to be a crater

After leaving Volcán Poas, we heading to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. I had been here my first weekend in Costa Rica, but I was very excited to return, because I had enjoyed it so much. And I was doubly excited to have the opportunity to show everything to my parents in person instead of just through pictures. Since I had already been to La Paz, the women in our group had asked me for suggestions on what to wear. A) walking shoes are a must if you want to see the waterfalls; other than that it really doesn't matter, but I suggested wearing shorts and sleeveless tops because it can get pretty hot at La Paz. Well, bad call on my part. As our bus pulled up to La Paz, it began to sprinkle, and then the sprinkle turned into an aguacero (downpour) which never let up. Welcome to the rainy season in Costa Rica! Against my will, I wore a poncho. We were quite the colorful family.



FYI: that smile on my face is fake.  Wearing a poncho is against my personal dress code.

 
Despite the rain, I had a great time spending the day at La Paz with my parents. My mom loved the colibris (hummingbirds), and the orchids. And just because I had been to La Paz before didn't make the day any less special. This time, I held a toucan, and so did my parents! (last time I simply took pictures of the toucans) Also, the oxen who were closed up in their pen/pin (?) last time I went, were out loose this time. Well not, running wild, because they were attached to a coffee cart. I was so excited to see them out. I had seen many coffee carts throughout my visit to Costa Rica, but this was the first time I had seen the oxen pulling one! As we approached, a park employee came out of the casita and told me we could get into the cart and he would take our picture! How fun!




colibri, before my camera battery died :(



I don't think too many people hold a toucan in Costa Rica on their birthday!!



going for a ride!

 The waterfalls were just as gorgeous as I remembered them, but they were much more forcefull because of the heavy rain. Judging by the amount of waterfall pictures I found when I loaded my mom's pictures onto the computer, I can safely say that she enjoyed them too.

 

After we had returned back to the mission that night and eating our last Costa Rican dinner, my dad and I snuck down into the downstairs kitchen to retrieve the birthday cake we had been hiding since yesterday. A portion of the icing was messed up, but we were a-okay with that and the next paragraph will explain why. My mom had ask that we not do anything special for her birthday, because simply spending the day together as a family was the perfect gift, so she said. But what's a birthday without a cake?? We also hung a FELIZ CUMPLEANOS banner across her bunk, and I've already been informed that it will be recycled for my birthday in less than a month. haha

¡sorpresa!

(The cake purchase is a story of its own. It is a miracle that we and the cake made it back to the mission in one piece. I have taken many dangerous taxi rides during my stay in Costa Rica, but the return ride back to the mission was by far the scariest taxi ride I have ever taken. It was POURING rain, and the taxi driver's window was completely fogged up. My dad was in the front seat and he said there was no way the driver could see through the glass. I was in the back with Sam and Andrew. I was holding the cake, and we were all praying we would make it back in one piece. Although ALTO means stop, those red octoganol signs mean little to Costa Rican drivers. Most just hold the horn down to let others know they are coming through an intersection, but this taxi driver didn't even slow down when approaching the intersection, nor did he honk his horn! He sped through at what my dad guessed to be at least 40 mph!)