July 5th

Well, got up early this morning as well. Got ready for the trip and took the bus with Ashley and some others in the same program to la Casita. From there we went to a small supermarket and got a snack, then headed to Irazú. It took about 2 hours to get there because it was wind-y twindy little roads (in a huge charter bus). The craters we saw were about 10,000 feet. They gave us an hour there, but it wasn’t long before we wanted back on the buses

It was sunny when we got there, but after about 15 minutes it began to rain. A VERY cold rain (it was in the 40s up there, and we were pretty much inside the cloud. We all got soaked and were freezing cold. But in those 15 minutes, the craters were very cool. I think I got several good pictures (I’ll go through them later all 218 of them). After that we were bused to a hacienda that grows sugar cane, coffee, and macadamia nuts. (I tasted the macadamia nuts and sorta liked them…I can eat them…kinda like peanuts. Good enough to eat, but not something I’d crave.)

It took 2 hours to get there as well because of the tiny twisty roads. It was a pretty cool place though. They showed us how to make sugar the old fashioned way (got to taste sugar cane, and then they made some sort of candy—tasted like molasses—no me gusta), then showed us how they made coffee the old way (and showed us the difference between first and second class coffee see the picture of the two glasses—1^st class in the clearest one) and then how processed macadamia nuts. (I tasted the macadamia nuts and sorta liked them…I can eat them…kinda like peanuts. Good enough to eat, but not something I’d crave.)

They also served us lunch, and boy! What a view!!! It was beautiful. After lunch I walked around their garden taking some pictures while others finished their lunch. While I was doing that some of the workers there called me over and took me to a small tree and showed me a tiny little birds nest! It was great they were still so small that they stuck up their heads when you moved the leaves that covered it. :-)

Also they took us to a very old chapel that’s been in many places. It was actually built in England and when that community outgrew it they sent it to a German community (I think that’s what I understood…our guide wasn’t quite fluent in English) And then it ended up in Costa Rica. It was quite pretty. The inside was all wood and the outside was metal made to look like wood. Apparently that’s a characteristic of churches here. Then there was a pretty pond. Then there was the first house built on the hacienda (pretty much your typical one room log cabin). Then there was the old house which has been converted into a small hotel and then there was another place where you could take in the view. Beautiful. The family that has owned the hacienda for many generations is quite influential in Costa Rica (one of them even has their picture on some of the money) and the tour guide said that they’re devoted to preserving their hacienda history.

So if you haven’t figured it out so far, this was my kind of day. :-) Mountains, lots of green, tons of scenic views while riding around, our bus guide told lots of facts and interesting things during the rides, pretty flowers, and history = a very awesome day. It was a lot of time in a bus though. Actually most of my day was in a bus. I tried napping on the way home, but it didn’t work too well. The conversation the gals had behind me was very amusing though. lol

Of note is how our bus crossed a big stream today. The bridge was too narrow and not strong enough to carry the bus, so we had to go down a hill next to the bridge and then cross the ford there with the bus. Our bus driver was pretty amazing. Didn’t even get stuck in the mud! (that’s the picture of the bridge)

Also of note, our guide at the hacienda showed us one of the fruit they use for dyes and he tried to put it on some girls but they were embarrassed to….so I ended up doing it. He put it on my lips!  At least it wiped off easily! lol I was expecting some war paint or something like that lol

Well, I need to do some homework, study, shower, and then sleep. I’m very tired. Tuesday I have an exam, a paper due, and a “exposition.” The paper just needs to be printed. I need to keep reviewing this material, and I need to get familiar with what I want to say for the exposition.  Hope to have Internet a while tomorrow so I can upload these past 2 days blogs and pictures.

Argh!!! I’m a bit upset with our host mom! She washed our clothes yesterday and hung them up in my closet today and I just noticed that one of my shirts has a HUGE stain all down the side! I’d not sure what to even say! I guess I’ll talk with Ashley tomorrow and see if any of her clothes were stained as well. From my closer inspection of my other clothes they look okay, but now I’m worried about letting her wash my good pants or my white shirt. She also refused to wash our towels yesterday according to Ashley. My washcloth is very nasty. It reeks of mildew. Mrs. Polchow has kindly offered to wash our towels (she gets to wash clothes for free at her apartment) Anyways, I’m irked.

PS I told her this morning that I found a big stain on my clothes and she blamed it on one of my other shirts, but I've had that shirt for 3 years and it hasn't bled before. Mrs. Polchow said she'd wash my pants and shirt with the towels she's washing for Ashley and I. So very nice!

Rek