Last weekend I decided to go it alone to an organic eco ranch called Rancho Margot, up in Castillo, near Lake Arenal. I was being picked up from the Cathedral in La Fortuna at 6pm as a shuttle ran from there to the ranch. So 6pm came and I was waiting, and a truck pulled up with the ranch´s name on the side. However the truck was full of men, litrally hanging out the windows and It was not what I´d expected. So I put my backpack in the open trunck and squeezed into the back between some rather sweaty costa rican men. I knew it was over an hour to the ranch so I attempted some awkward Spanish chat, while hoping that this was really going to the ranch and I was not going to be chopped up into tiny pieces and hidden in the lake. The road was one of the bumpiest I´ve been on and trying to not fall on these guys was really difficult but it certainly broke the ice and they began chatting to me about how they were the kitchen staff and were coming back from a few days off in the town. We all arrived at the ranch just after 7pm and it was pitch black. The concept of the eco ranch was a little electricity as possibile so I was practically blink stumbling out the truck until a guy came up with a torch and shone the way to reception.
Once inside there was a really chilled atmosphere and zero 7 playing through the restaurant. I was taken by electric golf cart up to the bunk house where I had reserved a small room which fitted simply a bunkbed and some hooks. I grabbed my torch and headed back down the dark path to dinner. All the food at the ranch was organic, with over 60% of it being grown on the ranches farm. There were huge bowls of salad, fresh bread a vegetarian pasta for dinner and aI read my book while I dined. People seemed surprised to see me by myself but I had my trusty book for company and soon started having the odd chat with the staff and other guests. I was told yoga started at 7am in the morning so after my dinner I headed back to my room for some sleep before my early start.
Saturday 17 April 2010
Amureci and my big old face!
For the rest of the week I have been helping at Amureci which is the women´s group which make recycled products and are trying to relaunch their business in this tougher economic climate. Having finished re-furbishing the shop I spent my days here this week helping to make jewellery for them to sell. Now, I dont mean to blow my own trumpet but my range of bracelet was pretty damn good! I´d have bought on, I might even do that next week. They loved them and I was really proud as if they seel them it´ll be much more profit for them. One of the ladies named Myra asked meto make one for her, which I did on Friday and she loved it and I now feel really happy to think she will be wearing that in the future.
The work there is so relaxed and is like a family atmosphere and the ladies children and husbands come in and out, visiting and to have coffee or lunch. Although they all work hard at Amureci their husbands and children come everyday for a proper lunch and they dash around from eleven cooking full meals to be on the table by 11.30, when the children break at school for lunch. This thursday I got to join them in their lunch as myra had made a big amount of arroz con pollo, and she handed me this plate heaped with rice!
They are very friendly women and just busy around me, chatting ang laughing, and fighting! Its a totally different glimpse at Costa Rican women and I love the sense of community and warmth. Family is at the heart of everything here and coming from my family it is really familiar and comforting.
So for part two of the heading of this post ´my big old face´. On Wednesday night I was happily sleeping in my room when I woke up to a load buzzing noise which seemed preety noisy considering I had ear plugs in. Recognising what I though was a mosquito I thrashed my arms around and pulled the sheet up over my face and promptly went back to sleep thinking nothing more of it. Well, as you know I am very short sighted so once up and showered I went to look in the mirror before breakfast and was greeted by my GIANT swollen eyes and eyebrows! Not funny at all. There was a big bite on my left cheek under my eye and my eyes were so swollen I cpould bearly see my eye lashes. I quickly grabbed my dictionary and run downstairs to Mery, the cook and tried to explain. She took one look at me and said it was probably a strong reaction to some kind of mosquito, and told me it was because I sleep with my window open! Aparently there are mosquitos at the back of the house which come from the more open sewage system back there and ater 9 weeks of my window being open they had decided to feast on my face. Raffa took me to the pharamacy where they gave me some strong anti-histamine to take over the next few days and then I just had to wait for my face to go down. I looked like I had had a really bad eyebrow lift. Not a hot look at all. Thankfully by today my eyes are more or less back to normal, but that was not one of my favourite costa rican experiences.
The work there is so relaxed and is like a family atmosphere and the ladies children and husbands come in and out, visiting and to have coffee or lunch. Although they all work hard at Amureci their husbands and children come everyday for a proper lunch and they dash around from eleven cooking full meals to be on the table by 11.30, when the children break at school for lunch. This thursday I got to join them in their lunch as myra had made a big amount of arroz con pollo, and she handed me this plate heaped with rice!
They are very friendly women and just busy around me, chatting ang laughing, and fighting! Its a totally different glimpse at Costa Rican women and I love the sense of community and warmth. Family is at the heart of everything here and coming from my family it is really familiar and comforting.
So for part two of the heading of this post ´my big old face´. On Wednesday night I was happily sleeping in my room when I woke up to a load buzzing noise which seemed preety noisy considering I had ear plugs in. Recognising what I though was a mosquito I thrashed my arms around and pulled the sheet up over my face and promptly went back to sleep thinking nothing more of it. Well, as you know I am very short sighted so once up and showered I went to look in the mirror before breakfast and was greeted by my GIANT swollen eyes and eyebrows! Not funny at all. There was a big bite on my left cheek under my eye and my eyes were so swollen I cpould bearly see my eye lashes. I quickly grabbed my dictionary and run downstairs to Mery, the cook and tried to explain. She took one look at me and said it was probably a strong reaction to some kind of mosquito, and told me it was because I sleep with my window open! Aparently there are mosquitos at the back of the house which come from the more open sewage system back there and ater 9 weeks of my window being open they had decided to feast on my face. Raffa took me to the pharamacy where they gave me some strong anti-histamine to take over the next few days and then I just had to wait for my face to go down. I looked like I had had a really bad eyebrow lift. Not a hot look at all. Thankfully by today my eyes are more or less back to normal, but that was not one of my favourite costa rican experiences.
Volunteering over the last few weeks
The one constancy here is the volunteering and the how happy it makes me every day. Its the main thing I will miss here as I feel far, far away when at work. One thing being here has helped me confirm is that working in the voluntary sector or public sector is the path for me, as working with others here has helped me feel complete and so motivated (despite all the challenges!)
My work at the elderly home has come to be my favourite time of the week, I have made some friendships there that I will find very hard to leave. This week has been full of triumph and sadness. Monteray is a gentleman which I have become good friends with. He is incredibly bossy and huffy but his never ending energy and determination to remain active is amazing. When I first started working at the home he was in a wheelchair but would take part in the exercises I did with them and would also practise walking it supports in short bursts. Over the weeks he has been practising more and more and when I arrived on friday morning he was sitting on a bench near the gate, not in a wheelchair! He is now walking with two sticks! I was like a child at christmas and I think I might have embarrased him, but I was just so happy. Regaining mobility is so important for longevity and positivity. Though he is quite traditional and didnt think all my fussing was necessary.
Unfortunately over the last few weeks I have been witnessing the slow deteriortion of one of the residents at the home and friday was very difficult for me. Weeks ago Alfonso was walking with a zimmer but after a weekend away I came back to find him in a wheelchair. One of the nurses told me he was sick and so I took him out for longer walks in the garden and babbled away to him in broken Spanish, even though he couldnt respond. Last week he was worse and wasnt eating, even when I tried to feed him and the nurses tried to give him a bottle of milk with nutrients. Other residents at the home have reacted differently with some finding it hard to acknowledge what happening and other spending time sitting with him and reading the bible to him. My heart sank when I arrived on friday to find him bed ridden and very thin and frail looking. I sat with him for a few minutes just smiling and rubbing his arm but I just didnt know what to do. I left on friday feeling sick as I dont know if he will be there on monday.
I cant pray for him as I am not religious but I just hope that if he is suffering it ends soon and if he can pull through he will.
My work at the elderly home has come to be my favourite time of the week, I have made some friendships there that I will find very hard to leave. This week has been full of triumph and sadness. Monteray is a gentleman which I have become good friends with. He is incredibly bossy and huffy but his never ending energy and determination to remain active is amazing. When I first started working at the home he was in a wheelchair but would take part in the exercises I did with them and would also practise walking it supports in short bursts. Over the weeks he has been practising more and more and when I arrived on friday morning he was sitting on a bench near the gate, not in a wheelchair! He is now walking with two sticks! I was like a child at christmas and I think I might have embarrased him, but I was just so happy. Regaining mobility is so important for longevity and positivity. Though he is quite traditional and didnt think all my fussing was necessary.
Unfortunately over the last few weeks I have been witnessing the slow deteriortion of one of the residents at the home and friday was very difficult for me. Weeks ago Alfonso was walking with a zimmer but after a weekend away I came back to find him in a wheelchair. One of the nurses told me he was sick and so I took him out for longer walks in the garden and babbled away to him in broken Spanish, even though he couldnt respond. Last week he was worse and wasnt eating, even when I tried to feed him and the nurses tried to give him a bottle of milk with nutrients. Other residents at the home have reacted differently with some finding it hard to acknowledge what happening and other spending time sitting with him and reading the bible to him. My heart sank when I arrived on friday to find him bed ridden and very thin and frail looking. I sat with him for a few minutes just smiling and rubbing his arm but I just didnt know what to do. I left on friday feeling sick as I dont know if he will be there on monday.
I cant pray for him as I am not religious but I just hope that if he is suffering it ends soon and if he can pull through he will.
Tuesday 13 April 2010
A proper post for last weekend will arrive soon!
Do not fear, I will let you all know about my exciting last weekend at the Eco-ranch by Lake arenal, expect yoga, organic vegetables and turning vegatarian. Stay tuned for the next installment, coming soon.........(probably tmw or thursday) xxxx
Semana Santa and Monteverde
Over Easter we gained an extra day for travel on Good Friday as all things are closed on this day. Me and Jocelyn decided to use this day and leave on the thursday afternoon and travel back to Monteverde, our favourite place so far. We had to book a taxi to take ups to the boat across lake arenal as even by thursday afternoon things were grinding to a hault. It was such a hot day and we simply backed in the back of the cab. The driver was a young guy and having successfully haggled his price down by $10, he spend way to fast, obviously to make up for lost time. The journey to Monteverde went smoothly enough, just like the last time with the jeep-boat-jeep and we arrived at our hostel by 6pm.
The hostel itself was really cool, lots of hammocks, continous reggae music and lots of stray dogs wandering around! A bit different from European hostels. The people were really friendly and helped us plan our activities for the next few days. As we had more time than usual we took things at a slow pace and decided thursday would be ´date night´ as both of us were missing our boyfriends (yes thats you Robs). We found this cool restaurant, with tableclothes, check us fancy pants, and a guy playing costa rica music while we sat there. We shared a bottle of wine, tres romantic and pretended to be as sophisticated as the other people there even though in hiking boots and jeans.
Unfortunately it turned out that night that out roome was INCREDIBLY noisy and we didnt sleep well, so the next day we promptly switched rooms into a double bed room near the back of the hostel. So that Friday we headed to the Santa Elena Reverse, which is the other smaller cloud forrest in the area, and we walked the massive hanging canopy bridges. They were completely amazing as it allowed us to take our time walking high up among the tops of the trees and spots various birds. The cloud forrest is an odd place as it is essentially in a cloud, and everything is eery and surreal. There is a constant dripping from the leaves and all the trees are covered in a thick layer of moss and vines. Some plants near the grounds rarely see light due to the layers of vegetation and so they look so different from other plants. The rest of our Friday was spent chilling in the hostel, eating burritos and chatting with other travellers, one of which told us we had to visit this Argentinian cafe which sold chocolate, supposedly ´near´the hostel. It was meant to be a 20 min walk straight up this hill, so not wanting to miss a chance to eat only chocolate for diner we set off. Well, it can only have taken 20 mins if this guy had been a sprinter (and by the looks of him he wasnt) as the walk ended up being an hours walk up this hill, along a road, down a dirt track, up another road, and then some stairs! By the time we arrived we tired and hot and ordered only two desserts, a brownie with cream and a platter of truffles, a healthy dinner!
By the time we got back to the hostel we were so tired and headed straight to bed, only to have yet another eventful night as someone broke into our room while we were asleep! Luckily jocelyn was quick of the mark and swore at the guy and he left, we think he was just trying to find somewhere to sleep but I certainly didnt sleep well after that!
Our Saturday was designated Monteverde reserve day and we headed off at 7.30 am to start our 5 hour trail through the cloud forrest. It was immense, no other words really, we barely bumped into anyone, it was quiet as quiet can be and we walked mostly in silence just taking in this amasing place around us.
We have set aside the afternoon to check out the various art galleries in Santa Elena as many costa rica artists settle here as they find the place so inspiring. There were a lot of craft cooperatives set up so that all local people, mostly women could display their work for tourists to buy. There is a lot of interesting stuff and all incredibly colourful and lively. Inevitably I ended up in a clothes shop (its art too) and bought a lovely dress, think purple grecian style, and managed to make jocelyn buy a lovely dress too. Another great day in the cloud forrest. The whole weekend was brilliant you just cant go wrong with a weekend of walking, nature, chocolate and shopping!
The hostel itself was really cool, lots of hammocks, continous reggae music and lots of stray dogs wandering around! A bit different from European hostels. The people were really friendly and helped us plan our activities for the next few days. As we had more time than usual we took things at a slow pace and decided thursday would be ´date night´ as both of us were missing our boyfriends (yes thats you Robs). We found this cool restaurant, with tableclothes, check us fancy pants, and a guy playing costa rica music while we sat there. We shared a bottle of wine, tres romantic and pretended to be as sophisticated as the other people there even though in hiking boots and jeans.
Unfortunately it turned out that night that out roome was INCREDIBLY noisy and we didnt sleep well, so the next day we promptly switched rooms into a double bed room near the back of the hostel. So that Friday we headed to the Santa Elena Reverse, which is the other smaller cloud forrest in the area, and we walked the massive hanging canopy bridges. They were completely amazing as it allowed us to take our time walking high up among the tops of the trees and spots various birds. The cloud forrest is an odd place as it is essentially in a cloud, and everything is eery and surreal. There is a constant dripping from the leaves and all the trees are covered in a thick layer of moss and vines. Some plants near the grounds rarely see light due to the layers of vegetation and so they look so different from other plants. The rest of our Friday was spent chilling in the hostel, eating burritos and chatting with other travellers, one of which told us we had to visit this Argentinian cafe which sold chocolate, supposedly ´near´the hostel. It was meant to be a 20 min walk straight up this hill, so not wanting to miss a chance to eat only chocolate for diner we set off. Well, it can only have taken 20 mins if this guy had been a sprinter (and by the looks of him he wasnt) as the walk ended up being an hours walk up this hill, along a road, down a dirt track, up another road, and then some stairs! By the time we arrived we tired and hot and ordered only two desserts, a brownie with cream and a platter of truffles, a healthy dinner!
By the time we got back to the hostel we were so tired and headed straight to bed, only to have yet another eventful night as someone broke into our room while we were asleep! Luckily jocelyn was quick of the mark and swore at the guy and he left, we think he was just trying to find somewhere to sleep but I certainly didnt sleep well after that!
Our Saturday was designated Monteverde reserve day and we headed off at 7.30 am to start our 5 hour trail through the cloud forrest. It was immense, no other words really, we barely bumped into anyone, it was quiet as quiet can be and we walked mostly in silence just taking in this amasing place around us.
We have set aside the afternoon to check out the various art galleries in Santa Elena as many costa rica artists settle here as they find the place so inspiring. There were a lot of craft cooperatives set up so that all local people, mostly women could display their work for tourists to buy. There is a lot of interesting stuff and all incredibly colourful and lively. Inevitably I ended up in a clothes shop (its art too) and bought a lovely dress, think purple grecian style, and managed to make jocelyn buy a lovely dress too. Another great day in the cloud forrest. The whole weekend was brilliant you just cant go wrong with a weekend of walking, nature, chocolate and shopping!
Tuesday 6 April 2010
General Costa Rica observations
Ok, so I know I am not up to date with the travels but there are some odd costa rica things I feel like I need to document/ share with you all back in Scotland/England.
1. All the songs on the radio here are from the late 80s or the 90s. Every day is like a person trip down memory lane. Today for example Ace of Base, Madonna, The Blood Hound Gang and Blink 182 were all playing on the radio! It is all the things we used to listen to growing up! There is also always that dance tracks from compilations like Now 29 or 32 that I never know the name of. The bus to placement in the mornings is always fun as it results in some kind of fun sing-a-long with Jocelyn.
2. Mannequins, yes I know, weird point BUT all the shop dummies here are very different. They have HUGE and I mean HUGE breats which are pushed up and out and tiny waists. Not only this but their bottoms are stuffe with foam, proper JLo style. They are all like this, I find them disturbingly sexual but it seems to be the norm here. I will take a picture before I leave so I can show you all what I mean.
3. Stray dogs, there are a lot of stray dogs in here, a least one every block and they all look addly similar. I figured out what I found so weird about them recently. They are all pretty cute but they all look like they have had their bodies enlarged and their legs shrunk. They have really short stubby legs but the bodies of normal sized dogs. I dont know if this is a reaction to something in costa rica, like the heat or something (I know I am clutching at straws) but it is just so weird! Again I will take more pics to illustrate.
Hmmmm what else? Can´t think of any more right now but will add to this post as I notice more things! Love love xxx
1. All the songs on the radio here are from the late 80s or the 90s. Every day is like a person trip down memory lane. Today for example Ace of Base, Madonna, The Blood Hound Gang and Blink 182 were all playing on the radio! It is all the things we used to listen to growing up! There is also always that dance tracks from compilations like Now 29 or 32 that I never know the name of. The bus to placement in the mornings is always fun as it results in some kind of fun sing-a-long with Jocelyn.
2. Mannequins, yes I know, weird point BUT all the shop dummies here are very different. They have HUGE and I mean HUGE breats which are pushed up and out and tiny waists. Not only this but their bottoms are stuffe with foam, proper JLo style. They are all like this, I find them disturbingly sexual but it seems to be the norm here. I will take a picture before I leave so I can show you all what I mean.
3. Stray dogs, there are a lot of stray dogs in here, a least one every block and they all look addly similar. I figured out what I found so weird about them recently. They are all pretty cute but they all look like they have had their bodies enlarged and their legs shrunk. They have really short stubby legs but the bodies of normal sized dogs. I dont know if this is a reaction to something in costa rica, like the heat or something (I know I am clutching at straws) but it is just so weird! Again I will take more pics to illustrate.
Hmmmm what else? Can´t think of any more right now but will add to this post as I notice more things! Love love xxx
Lava and Cano Negro
In a bid to keep this blog on track I amwriting up the weekends I havent yet blogged on. The last weekend in March was a fab weekend, but was unfortunatley marred by me losing my debit card and left me a little diisgruntled, and thus less willing to reflect!
However since I did have a lovely trip I want to write about it. So on Friday, as per usual I head off after work to the bus station. There I headed on the La Fortuna and the hostel I had booked into for two nights. The hostel is one of the nicer ones I have stayed in here and has a swimming pool, which was very welcome as it was so hot that day. After arriving and sitting for the pool for a while I left to go on a ´Lava Tour´. This is an oppertunity to view the volcano Arenal at night and get a glimpse of the lava rocks flowing out at night. The reserve itself is closed at night so I needed to sign up for a bus ride which takes you to designated viewing points after dark. When the bus arrived we trooped out and before we knew it the sky exploded with orange and amber embers. The slow rumbling and crackling sound grew and layers of sparks flowed down. The top of the volcano couldnt be seen in the dark so I had to start at the darkness until a rumble was heard and orange sparks, like sparklers appeared in front of me. It was so odd to be standing watching a volcano erupt, me watching a volcano erupt! This country is so extreme, I just keep becoming more and more complacement with the beauty and natural wonders. I have become too used to seeing these things every week.
I had arranged to travel up to the wetland reserve of Cano Negro on the Saturday, which is about an hour from the Nicaraguan boarder. The journey took 2 hours so we left at 7 am. The landscape up through Costa Rica change dramatically through the journey and become much flatter and more agricultural. There were fields and fields of sugarcane and pinapples, with big processing plant dotte about. This area is full of immigrants from other parts of costa rica, both legal and illegal, so there are many police checks along the roads.
I had chosen to visit Cano Negro as it is one of the best reserves for wildlife spotting. It has a large river running through the reserve which attracts a huge variety of migatory birds, the biggest variety of birds in the whole of costa rica. It is also a relatively small reserve which means the rainforrest isn´t so dense and the animals are easier to spot. I had signe up for a 3 hour boat trip down the river with guides to help spot all the wildlife. I was not disappointed and within 5 minutes I was snapping away like a crazy person!. There were hundreds of caimans (small crocodiles), river turtles, igaunas, big lizards, hundreds of types of birds such as amazon kingfishers, hummingbirds, egrets, storks, I cant even remember the rest!
The best thing was one guide spotted a three toed sloth high in a tree, but not only that it was MOVING!!!! I have seen quite a few slots now since being here but I have only ever seen them curled up and sleeping. This sloth was actually coming down the tree, it was the funniest thing. They are so so ugly and it litrally took 15 mins to move down 4 branches. The guide said it was coming down to poo, they only do this once a week so this was a rare sight! Not only this but we came accross a family of squirrel monkeys playing in the trees, over 10 of them with babies. Later we only saw white faced monkeys and howler monkeys. It was such an amazing day, I had plucked up the courage to talk a bit in spanish with the guide who had no English and I managed to hold some kind of conversation. It was so hot further up north and by the end of three hours on the boat I was well and truly fried. At the end of the trip the guide asked the people on the boat to sit for 2 mins in silence to show respect to the rainforrest and listen to all its sounds. It was just breathtaking, so loud but calming. I felt a million miles away from Scotland, yet really at home and happy. Nature is just overpowering in Costa Rica, and the people here are so protective of it. I really respect Costa Rican´s love for their country and its landscape and animals. For a country which struggles economically, everyone still feels passionate about the environment.
The trip took the whole day and I arrived back at La Fortuna in the early evening. I had arranged to meet a friend from the programme and go to some hot springs called Tabacon, which are expensive but the most natural and nearest to the volcano. However once we arrived at the hot springs I realised I had lost my debit card and I deducted I had left it in the ATM machine!!!! Oh I was not happy and ran to make a collect call to mum and dad for help. I just felt like such an idiot- me! Do something as stupid as that! It definatley knocked my confidence for the last few days, and is partly to blame for my lack of blogging. Coming out here alone and then beginning to get the hang of things, speaking the odd bit of spanish, talking to guides, travelling alone, I just felt like I had reversed all that. I felt like a kid, who had made a stupid mistake.
I am feeling better now but it definately knocked my confidence.
That was all two weeks ago so things have been better over the last week. When I returned to ciudad quesada that weekend, I instantly felt better, it feels like I am coming home here. The staff are so friendly and I knew Jocelyn would be home so I felt welcomed and not at all lonely. It is really comforting to think that in 2 months, somewhere accross the world can become a little corner of home.
However since I did have a lovely trip I want to write about it. So on Friday, as per usual I head off after work to the bus station. There I headed on the La Fortuna and the hostel I had booked into for two nights. The hostel is one of the nicer ones I have stayed in here and has a swimming pool, which was very welcome as it was so hot that day. After arriving and sitting for the pool for a while I left to go on a ´Lava Tour´. This is an oppertunity to view the volcano Arenal at night and get a glimpse of the lava rocks flowing out at night. The reserve itself is closed at night so I needed to sign up for a bus ride which takes you to designated viewing points after dark. When the bus arrived we trooped out and before we knew it the sky exploded with orange and amber embers. The slow rumbling and crackling sound grew and layers of sparks flowed down. The top of the volcano couldnt be seen in the dark so I had to start at the darkness until a rumble was heard and orange sparks, like sparklers appeared in front of me. It was so odd to be standing watching a volcano erupt, me watching a volcano erupt! This country is so extreme, I just keep becoming more and more complacement with the beauty and natural wonders. I have become too used to seeing these things every week.
I had arranged to travel up to the wetland reserve of Cano Negro on the Saturday, which is about an hour from the Nicaraguan boarder. The journey took 2 hours so we left at 7 am. The landscape up through Costa Rica change dramatically through the journey and become much flatter and more agricultural. There were fields and fields of sugarcane and pinapples, with big processing plant dotte about. This area is full of immigrants from other parts of costa rica, both legal and illegal, so there are many police checks along the roads.
I had chosen to visit Cano Negro as it is one of the best reserves for wildlife spotting. It has a large river running through the reserve which attracts a huge variety of migatory birds, the biggest variety of birds in the whole of costa rica. It is also a relatively small reserve which means the rainforrest isn´t so dense and the animals are easier to spot. I had signe up for a 3 hour boat trip down the river with guides to help spot all the wildlife. I was not disappointed and within 5 minutes I was snapping away like a crazy person!. There were hundreds of caimans (small crocodiles), river turtles, igaunas, big lizards, hundreds of types of birds such as amazon kingfishers, hummingbirds, egrets, storks, I cant even remember the rest!
The best thing was one guide spotted a three toed sloth high in a tree, but not only that it was MOVING!!!! I have seen quite a few slots now since being here but I have only ever seen them curled up and sleeping. This sloth was actually coming down the tree, it was the funniest thing. They are so so ugly and it litrally took 15 mins to move down 4 branches. The guide said it was coming down to poo, they only do this once a week so this was a rare sight! Not only this but we came accross a family of squirrel monkeys playing in the trees, over 10 of them with babies. Later we only saw white faced monkeys and howler monkeys. It was such an amazing day, I had plucked up the courage to talk a bit in spanish with the guide who had no English and I managed to hold some kind of conversation. It was so hot further up north and by the end of three hours on the boat I was well and truly fried. At the end of the trip the guide asked the people on the boat to sit for 2 mins in silence to show respect to the rainforrest and listen to all its sounds. It was just breathtaking, so loud but calming. I felt a million miles away from Scotland, yet really at home and happy. Nature is just overpowering in Costa Rica, and the people here are so protective of it. I really respect Costa Rican´s love for their country and its landscape and animals. For a country which struggles economically, everyone still feels passionate about the environment.
The trip took the whole day and I arrived back at La Fortuna in the early evening. I had arranged to meet a friend from the programme and go to some hot springs called Tabacon, which are expensive but the most natural and nearest to the volcano. However once we arrived at the hot springs I realised I had lost my debit card and I deducted I had left it in the ATM machine!!!! Oh I was not happy and ran to make a collect call to mum and dad for help. I just felt like such an idiot- me! Do something as stupid as that! It definatley knocked my confidence for the last few days, and is partly to blame for my lack of blogging. Coming out here alone and then beginning to get the hang of things, speaking the odd bit of spanish, talking to guides, travelling alone, I just felt like I had reversed all that. I felt like a kid, who had made a stupid mistake.
I am feeling better now but it definately knocked my confidence.
That was all two weeks ago so things have been better over the last week. When I returned to ciudad quesada that weekend, I instantly felt better, it feels like I am coming home here. The staff are so friendly and I knew Jocelyn would be home so I felt welcomed and not at all lonely. It is really comforting to think that in 2 months, somewhere accross the world can become a little corner of home.
Monday 5 April 2010
It's been too long!
As you may have noticed it's been a wee while since I last updated my blog, I have been keeping notes so I can eventually document it all but I have been suffering from blog fatigue. I also lost my debit card last weekend which meant I didn't feel like remembering that weekend! So, the last week of march, and my sixth week I spent in a few different placements. I had my last day with the kids and I showed them some postcards of Edinburgh and the castle, their eyes went really wide, they couldn't believe what a castle looked like, they were asking if it was my house. I wasn't sad to say goodbye to them, I don't know what this says about me, maybe I am little heartless, but I just didn't get attached to them. It wad sad to say goodbye to Marlane, the lady who runs the centre as she has been really lovely to me and helped me pick up Spanish. I started helping at another placement called Amureci, which is a women's group set up with the focus of making products from recycling, like banana paper. It's aim is for female empowerment through work and embracing our responsibility towards the environment. They have been suffering due to the lack of tourism in the area and so have been refurbishing the store so I have been helping them scrub walls and paint the shop. It's been really tiring but totally satisfying. It's looking really good and we will be starting to put more products ou this week.
On of the women's uncles is a man at the elderly home who I often take for walks. He is almost blind and has no teeth so he can't talk easily. He is so sweet and hops his head everytime wenplay music at the home. He is not very mobile but always wants to try to take part in the exercises. Over the weeks I have seen him become more enthusiastic which is just brilliant. The work at the elderly home is going really well. It is both rewarding and sad at the same time. I have started being required to feed some of the more immobile ladies and another guy who is blind. At first I was really daunted and uncomfortable with the idea, however when I started it wasn't weird at all. It was good, i just kept smiling and encouraging them. I havso much respect for them, life must be so hard when you grow old and are in their situations. We have made Fridays nails day and Purna and I have been painting the ladies nails for them. It goes down really well and they seem so cheered by having pink and red nails. It's a way for us all to grow closer and have fun together.
On of the women's uncles is a man at the elderly home who I often take for walks. He is almost blind and has no teeth so he can't talk easily. He is so sweet and hops his head everytime wenplay music at the home. He is not very mobile but always wants to try to take part in the exercises. Over the weeks I have seen him become more enthusiastic which is just brilliant. The work at the elderly home is going really well. It is both rewarding and sad at the same time. I have started being required to feed some of the more immobile ladies and another guy who is blind. At first I was really daunted and uncomfortable with the idea, however when I started it wasn't weird at all. It was good, i just kept smiling and encouraging them. I havso much respect for them, life must be so hard when you grow old and are in their situations. We have made Fridays nails day and Purna and I have been painting the ladies nails for them. It goes down really well and they seem so cheered by having pink and red nails. It's a way for us all to grow closer and have fun together.
Tuesday 23 March 2010
Volcan Poas and La Paz Waterfall
On Friday after work three of us set off for Alejula, a small town 45 mins outside San Jose (the capital). The bus winds down through the moutains for 2 and 1/2 hours. By the time we arrived I was pretty car sick and really to get my feet on the ground. The hostel we were staying in was nice and clean and we ended up with our own room, with cable tv! I haven't watched tv since I've been here! They had enemy at the gates in English on so that was our evening sorted! For dinner, someone within the group, mentioning no names, wanted to go for Chinese food, so off we went to commit culinary madness, Chinese food in costa rica. I wasn't impressed and didn't eat much of mine, instead I went to the supermarket and bought bananas and cereal- always a good emergancy dinner.
We had arranged for a mini van to pick us up at 7.30 am to go to the volcano as the best chance to see it without mist is in the morning. The driver was really sweet and ended up being an unofficial tour guide for the while day, telling us all about the area, farming and plants while we drove back into the mountains (all in Spanish though!)
However best laid plans... Never work as when we arrived the crater was shrouded in thick mist which was belching sulphur fumes accross the viewing area. Not to be dettered we started the hike up to the lagoon crater further up the volcano in the hope it might be clear. It was in a thick mis as well but we decided to wait it out. After half an hour we started to see the edges of the lagoon down the crater and little ripples on the water. Then suddenly the mist cleared and the sun was shining down over the whole lagoon, it was magical and beautiful. I took millions of photos in sheer joy at this place being revealled to us. Within minutes the cloud was rolling in again and the lagoon disappeared once again. We returned to the first crater in the hope of seeing it but it wasn't to be and I was satisfied with my lagoon experience. We went back to the ranger center and got something to eat and I bought myself the obligatory tacky tshirt, with lava etc on it!
We then headed over to the la Paz (the peace) waterfalls, a series of large cascades in a complex that also had a butterfly centre and hummingbird garden. The area in which it was had suffered a earthquake last year which meant many of the villages we passed through on the drive were eerily deserted and the whole towns were empty. Once we arrived, and I tried to pay to get in I realised that I had lelft my debit card at the cafe at volcan poas! Drama drama followed/- not really I was impressed with how calm I stayed. I realised thewoman had never given it back to me when I had paid so I asked the reception at the waterfall to call the cafe and ask if my card was there- which it was thank god! So the driver, carlos, took me back in the car, another 49 min drive to poas while the others went to the water falls. I was pretty stressed but my card was there wrapped in a cellotaped bag. It was a weird experience bein I this van for almost two hours trying to speak Spanish, we chatted about football, Scotland and cars. I though I was doing ok until I realised I had told him Scotland has many earthquakes, oops.
Back at the falls I waited in reception for the others as I didn't want to pay the whole entry fee to only have an hour. Fortunatley the guys must have felt sorry for me as they let me in half price, but I had an hour to power hike down to the falls and back, I have never been so out of breath! And by this time it was torrential rain! It was worth the sweat and risk of slipping as they were magnificent, almost moreso in the rain and being by myself was special. The hummingbird gareden was also beautiful and I was momentarily mesmorised by them, just watching them fly around me.
Back at the hostel we all crashed out, it had been a tiring day! I needed to find a phone though to speak to my bank as I didn't want to assume my card was safe! The bank were really nice and told me just to watch the Internet backing to make sure there were no suspicious transactions, so now I'm on it all the time! Ice cream and pizza for dinner, a safer and yummier choice all round. A big sleep in preparation for gallery visits in San Jose on Sunday.
We had arranged for a mini van to pick us up at 7.30 am to go to the volcano as the best chance to see it without mist is in the morning. The driver was really sweet and ended up being an unofficial tour guide for the while day, telling us all about the area, farming and plants while we drove back into the mountains (all in Spanish though!)
However best laid plans... Never work as when we arrived the crater was shrouded in thick mist which was belching sulphur fumes accross the viewing area. Not to be dettered we started the hike up to the lagoon crater further up the volcano in the hope it might be clear. It was in a thick mis as well but we decided to wait it out. After half an hour we started to see the edges of the lagoon down the crater and little ripples on the water. Then suddenly the mist cleared and the sun was shining down over the whole lagoon, it was magical and beautiful. I took millions of photos in sheer joy at this place being revealled to us. Within minutes the cloud was rolling in again and the lagoon disappeared once again. We returned to the first crater in the hope of seeing it but it wasn't to be and I was satisfied with my lagoon experience. We went back to the ranger center and got something to eat and I bought myself the obligatory tacky tshirt, with lava etc on it!
We then headed over to the la Paz (the peace) waterfalls, a series of large cascades in a complex that also had a butterfly centre and hummingbird garden. The area in which it was had suffered a earthquake last year which meant many of the villages we passed through on the drive were eerily deserted and the whole towns were empty. Once we arrived, and I tried to pay to get in I realised that I had lelft my debit card at the cafe at volcan poas! Drama drama followed/- not really I was impressed with how calm I stayed. I realised thewoman had never given it back to me when I had paid so I asked the reception at the waterfall to call the cafe and ask if my card was there- which it was thank god! So the driver, carlos, took me back in the car, another 49 min drive to poas while the others went to the water falls. I was pretty stressed but my card was there wrapped in a cellotaped bag. It was a weird experience bein I this van for almost two hours trying to speak Spanish, we chatted about football, Scotland and cars. I though I was doing ok until I realised I had told him Scotland has many earthquakes, oops.
Back at the falls I waited in reception for the others as I didn't want to pay the whole entry fee to only have an hour. Fortunatley the guys must have felt sorry for me as they let me in half price, but I had an hour to power hike down to the falls and back, I have never been so out of breath! And by this time it was torrential rain! It was worth the sweat and risk of slipping as they were magnificent, almost moreso in the rain and being by myself was special. The hummingbird gareden was also beautiful and I was momentarily mesmorised by them, just watching them fly around me.
Back at the hostel we all crashed out, it had been a tiring day! I needed to find a phone though to speak to my bank as I didn't want to assume my card was safe! The bank were really nice and told me just to watch the Internet backing to make sure there were no suspicious transactions, so now I'm on it all the time! Ice cream and pizza for dinner, a safer and yummier choice all round. A big sleep in preparation for gallery visits in San Jose on Sunday.
Sunday 21 March 2010
My fifth week in ciudad quesada
After a week of no blogging I have returned to update you on more of my stories and adventures. This week was very varied at volunteering and the days pass quickly as the routine is familiar and comfortable. This week the children were really fun to work with and I managed to do some good craft lessons with them. I taught them about mothers day in the u.k and we made tissue paper flowers for them to give to their mums at the end if the day. Most of the mothers are cleaners or cooks or farm workers and work long long days so I was hoping it would bring a smile to them after their day. I also made with them felt hand puppets with wobbly eyes and string hair! They loved though I got covered in glue and bits of felt. I think they are growing fond of me and I hear "sophia, "sophia" when I arrive and play with them. Some even come sit on my lap when I read to them at the end of the day. My goals with them are coming along, the older ones can almost count to ten in English and they now know they have to say please and thankyou before I let them do things! Installing good manners I am!
The elderly home is still going well and I have made a few friends in the residents and I take them for walks and listen to their stories, however I often do catch much as most of them have no teeth which makes understanding Spanish even harder! There is one man there called Monte Tigre, which means mountain tiger as he used to hunt jaguars and pumas as a living whenhe was young. He still walks around with a staff and a large purple cowboy hat and big leather boots with jeans tucked in. He is a very proud man and is interesting to talk to, though unfortunaty he has proposes to me
twice now and even offered to buy me off another volunteer, hmmmm. Another man who I speak to regularly is called Manuel, he is 72 and in a wheelchair and from the town if Limon. he has over eleven children and was never married and is in the home because he stash he never found a wife until he was too old to marry and no one would settle down with him. On Friday he was talking me and another voluteer, who is fluent in Spanish, about his family and his mother. He began to recount her death and started to cry, it was increbibly otional to have this man open up so much and share his lonliness. I began to cry soon and we held his hands until he felt better. It was so moving, it's hard to describe, I'm just glad I was there to listen.
In Friday three of us headed off to Alajuela, north of San Jose so we could attempt to see the Poas Volcano on Saturday.
The elderly home is still going well and I have made a few friends in the residents and I take them for walks and listen to their stories, however I often do catch much as most of them have no teeth which makes understanding Spanish even harder! There is one man there called Monte Tigre, which means mountain tiger as he used to hunt jaguars and pumas as a living whenhe was young. He still walks around with a staff and a large purple cowboy hat and big leather boots with jeans tucked in. He is a very proud man and is interesting to talk to, though unfortunaty he has proposes to me
twice now and even offered to buy me off another volunteer, hmmmm. Another man who I speak to regularly is called Manuel, he is 72 and in a wheelchair and from the town if Limon. he has over eleven children and was never married and is in the home because he stash he never found a wife until he was too old to marry and no one would settle down with him. On Friday he was talking me and another voluteer, who is fluent in Spanish, about his family and his mother. He began to recount her death and started to cry, it was increbibly otional to have this man open up so much and share his lonliness. I began to cry soon and we held his hands until he felt better. It was so moving, it's hard to describe, I'm just glad I was there to listen.
In Friday three of us headed off to Alajuela, north of San Jose so we could attempt to see the Poas Volcano on Saturday.
Friday 12 March 2010
One month
It is coming up for a month since I left Edinburgh and it both feels like I've been here longer, yet it's also gone in a flash. I am feeling comfortable in both my placements and look forward to them, well at least I look forward to the elderly cate home! I feel like I am makin friends at the placements and that the people enjoy having me there. Yesterday the group went to a huge waterfall in la fortuna after work. We has to hike down to it and the was a pool we could swim in. The water was really cold and refreshing and the current was pretty strong so we could ride the current down the stream. It was a beautiful waterfall that spilled out from the Forrest into this pool hundreds of feet below. However as we had hiked down, getting back to the bus was not so enjoyable- over 450 steps! Yup I felt the burn! I justiied it by eating ice cream when we got home. The weather has turned room here in cuidad quesada. It has been sunny and hot all week, we are all hoping it will stay like this for a while, the rain was bringing the mood down. I hope to cone back with at least some healthy colour! Watch this space xxxxxx
Thursday 11 March 2010
Monteverde Part 2
After ziplining we had a quick turn around in which to dash home and grab an extra layer and a snack before we headed out on our night trail walk through the Forrest. Most of the animals in the Forrest are easier to see at night or dusk and so this walk starts as the sun is starting to set. We were each given a torch by the guide and we headed into the forest. As it grew darker we spotted sloths curled up in the branches and lots of colourful birds falling asleep, despite the strong winds! Once the ligh had faded I realised the while Forrest was dotted with fireflies which were flying all around, it was like the movie ferngully! The guide was catching them and holding them to show us. The noises as night were intence so many insects and birds, plus he winds rushing throught the layers of vegetation. It was incredibly surreal being there in pitch black with only a few torch lights. When I pointed my torch upwards all I could see seas layer upon layer of vegetation, it was so dense! While watching we also found a tarantula and a huge, I mean huge ants nest (which resulted in nightmares about ants that night). The trail walk was beautiful and I felt I had seen the inner part of Costa Rica. Once we emerged after two hours, the sky was clear and black and I have never seen so many stars in my life, it was like glitter had spilt across the sky.
They next day we returned to cuidad quesada, I was not ready to go. While in the jeep down to the lake we saw rainbows across the valleys, I could have stayed there for a long time. I will definately try to get back there at some point, it felt like the costa rica I had read about when I first started planning this trip.
They next day we returned to cuidad quesada, I was not ready to go. While in the jeep down to the lake we saw rainbows across the valleys, I could have stayed there for a long time. I will definately try to get back there at some point, it felt like the costa rica I had read about when I first started planning this trip.
Tuesday 9 March 2010
Monteverde cloud forrest
Last weekend 6 of us went to the monteverde cloud Forrest which is in the birth if the country and a moutainous area which is really hard to get to. By public bus it takes eight hours, but another way to reach the area I to take a four wheel drive to lake arenal, then sail accross the lake and then get a jeep for two hours up the most insanely bumpy and winding rounds I have ever seen! The journey has to be down in two parts as the jeeps leave only at 8am or 2pm so we had to travel to la fortuna on the friday and leave on the first jeep on Saturday.
Monteverde has been on my list to so since I first decided to come to costa rica as it the best place to seen wildlife and a cloud forrest is a unique landscape. On the drive up the hills I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the area. There was so much green, layer upon layer of vegetation, impossibly bright flowers, trees and cows and birds, a real feast for the eyes. I just instantly loved the place and because it's hard to get to it is not busy, until u reach the main town.
Monteverde is famous for it's trails through the forrest and as the first place that did canopy tours with ziplining. So three of us had signed up in advance to go ziplining on Saturday afternoon with a company called extremo- I should have known then what I was letting myself into! The tour consisted in 14 platforms high up in the canopy if the Forrest with steel ziplines between them which you zoom down between each platforms. You are so high up and the views were amazing I could see accross the whole reserve, for miles and miles. One thig I didn't realise was that we were responsible for our own breaking in the lines! Now most people reading this will know I am not athletic and do not posses much/any upper body strength, nit a good start. The lines were so fast and michelle and I just couldn't get the hang if stopping resulting in her crashing into a tree me stopping short and having to try to pull myself along (I ended up getting rescued) and both of us pulling a lot of muscles in our arms. Despite all this is was an insane experience. The lines were over 1 km long and spanned across whole valleys and it felt amazing. One was called the superman and you were attatched to the cable horizontally so you were flying! Completely unreal. One however was not so enjoyable and it wad called the Tarzan swing and involved jumping off a ledge and free falling fiir 10 meters before being hoisted round and swinging insanely up into the trees. Words cannot describe! I recommend the whole thing to everyone, I would do it again in a shot.
So that done we returned to our hostel for a quick turn around and off on a night hike through the forrest to see wildlife with a guide. That is for another post as I'm tired today after a hectic placement day- made binoculars and played adventurers! They loved it, and I have fun chasing them around! Much love xxxxx
Monteverde has been on my list to so since I first decided to come to costa rica as it the best place to seen wildlife and a cloud forrest is a unique landscape. On the drive up the hills I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the area. There was so much green, layer upon layer of vegetation, impossibly bright flowers, trees and cows and birds, a real feast for the eyes. I just instantly loved the place and because it's hard to get to it is not busy, until u reach the main town.
Monteverde is famous for it's trails through the forrest and as the first place that did canopy tours with ziplining. So three of us had signed up in advance to go ziplining on Saturday afternoon with a company called extremo- I should have known then what I was letting myself into! The tour consisted in 14 platforms high up in the canopy if the Forrest with steel ziplines between them which you zoom down between each platforms. You are so high up and the views were amazing I could see accross the whole reserve, for miles and miles. One thig I didn't realise was that we were responsible for our own breaking in the lines! Now most people reading this will know I am not athletic and do not posses much/any upper body strength, nit a good start. The lines were so fast and michelle and I just couldn't get the hang if stopping resulting in her crashing into a tree me stopping short and having to try to pull myself along (I ended up getting rescued) and both of us pulling a lot of muscles in our arms. Despite all this is was an insane experience. The lines were over 1 km long and spanned across whole valleys and it felt amazing. One was called the superman and you were attatched to the cable horizontally so you were flying! Completely unreal. One however was not so enjoyable and it wad called the Tarzan swing and involved jumping off a ledge and free falling fiir 10 meters before being hoisted round and swinging insanely up into the trees. Words cannot describe! I recommend the whole thing to everyone, I would do it again in a shot.
So that done we returned to our hostel for a quick turn around and off on a night hike through the forrest to see wildlife with a guide. That is for another post as I'm tired today after a hectic placement day- made binoculars and played adventurers! They loved it, and I have fun chasing them around! Much love xxxxx
Sunday 7 March 2010
Week three
It's already come to the end of my third week, which has gone so quickly. It was such a busy week and ups and downs throughout. Monday was a difficult day, various difficulties with the kids and I decided I needed to speak to the programme people about it. So I now started two placements now, so children on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays, and an elderly residential home on Wednesdays and Fridays. The home is equally difficult and sad. The home is stated supported and a lot of the people there are there because they have been abandonned by their families due to financial difficuties or problems in the home. The poverty of the area is very apparent in this placement as the home provides food and shelter but not much else and without the volunteers they wouldn't have dancing or exercise classes or arts and crafts. Most of the residents are wheelchair bound, but just speaking to them and spending time with them. I am glad I will have time at both placements and in a few weeks I am hoping to start helping at the womans centre as well.
So the rest of my week went well, Spanish class, zumba, I played football in a staff versus voluteers game and loved it, visited a nature reserve and went to a Spanish dubbed movie, a really busy and fun week! The movie was hilariousit was that percy Jackson and lighting bolt thing, a fun experience in Spanish. My activities with the children went well, masks and animal puppets on sticks, tommorrow it's paper bag puppets, look at me all blue peter!
Anyhoo this weekend we went to Monteverde and I had an amazing time, one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. A brilliant weekend and i wish you'd all been there. I will write all about it tomorrow but for now it's bedtime, love love xxx
So the rest of my week went well, Spanish class, zumba, I played football in a staff versus voluteers game and loved it, visited a nature reserve and went to a Spanish dubbed movie, a really busy and fun week! The movie was hilariousit was that percy Jackson and lighting bolt thing, a fun experience in Spanish. My activities with the children went well, masks and animal puppets on sticks, tommorrow it's paper bag puppets, look at me all blue peter!
Anyhoo this weekend we went to Monteverde and I had an amazing time, one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. A brilliant weekend and i wish you'd all been there. I will write all about it tomorrow but for now it's bedtime, love love xxx
Sunday 28 February 2010
La Fortuna and waterfalls
This weekend a group of us went to La Fortuna, a touristy town an hour and a half from where we are. We had signed up for waterfall repelling on the Saturday at 7.30am so we went out for drinks to relax after our hard week. The hostel we stayed in was beautiful and clean and the was a pool am hammocks with a direct view onto the volcano! More delicious cocktails, lava cocktail anyone? We met a bung if people and went to what I thought was a scetchy bar down a dirt track. It was a cool wooden lodge and we chatted to some guys who pretty sleezy so I ended up making friends with the old bar man who was giving spanish lessons during the evening.
We stupidly went to bed to late and only had 4 hours sleep before having to rise and throw ourselves off waterfalls. So waterfall repelling is absailing down waterfalls and canyoning out of the jungle. It was amazing the highest waterfall was 170 feet! So going down we would have to push off the rock behind the waterfall so we got so drenched! The jungle was amazing so so beautiful, like nothing I've ever seen.
It was a very tiring morning and after some arroz con pollo we arrived back at the hostel. Jocelyn and I went shopping and there were so beautiful shops. Jocelyn speaks good Spanish so we started to chat to the local artisans and I joined in a bit! We stayed a long time in one shop and were it was a family that amde beautiful beaded jewellery. He ended up giving us a bracelet each as a gift! We are planning to go back in the next few weeks to give him a card.
That evening me and michelle went to the natural volcanic hot springs until after 10 pm! It was the most relaxing evening i've had. There were different pools and some were cool, one was 43 degrees, hot hot hot. When we got back to the hostel we were so tired. We decided to have ice cream and fruit at the bar, while people were doing shots, ten to bed for a great sleep.
It has been raining a lot here this week so I know I will be coming back paler than when I left!
We got back earlier today and have been relaxing and napping, a good relaxing weekend.
The only downside was the one water slide I did at the hot springs which I think broke all health and safety rules! I have seriously hurt my neck and when I got back to the hostel the it we made freinds that worked at reception said people have broken their arms! Wish I known that before!
Needing to brainstorm for placement tmw, off to practise some spanish as well. Hope everyone has had a good weekend and feels rested for the week ahead xxxxx
We stupidly went to bed to late and only had 4 hours sleep before having to rise and throw ourselves off waterfalls. So waterfall repelling is absailing down waterfalls and canyoning out of the jungle. It was amazing the highest waterfall was 170 feet! So going down we would have to push off the rock behind the waterfall so we got so drenched! The jungle was amazing so so beautiful, like nothing I've ever seen.
It was a very tiring morning and after some arroz con pollo we arrived back at the hostel. Jocelyn and I went shopping and there were so beautiful shops. Jocelyn speaks good Spanish so we started to chat to the local artisans and I joined in a bit! We stayed a long time in one shop and were it was a family that amde beautiful beaded jewellery. He ended up giving us a bracelet each as a gift! We are planning to go back in the next few weeks to give him a card.
That evening me and michelle went to the natural volcanic hot springs until after 10 pm! It was the most relaxing evening i've had. There were different pools and some were cool, one was 43 degrees, hot hot hot. When we got back to the hostel we were so tired. We decided to have ice cream and fruit at the bar, while people were doing shots, ten to bed for a great sleep.
It has been raining a lot here this week so I know I will be coming back paler than when I left!
We got back earlier today and have been relaxing and napping, a good relaxing weekend.
The only downside was the one water slide I did at the hot springs which I think broke all health and safety rules! I have seriously hurt my neck and when I got back to the hostel the it we made freinds that worked at reception said people have broken their arms! Wish I known that before!
Needing to brainstorm for placement tmw, off to practise some spanish as well. Hope everyone has had a good weekend and feels rested for the week ahead xxxxx
Thursday 25 February 2010
Hola, well today has be great but majorly busy! This morning I was with five kids by myself for the while 5 hours and no big problems there were some standoffs but I held my groud and kept saying no and eventually they got bored, I felt that finally they realised I wasn't going to backdown. I brought large sheets of paper in and we traced round children and labelled the body parts, it worked really well. This afternoon we went to the orphanage and looked after the kids while the staff had training. The hildren are all ages and it's hard miek, they are all desperate for attention and fight a lot. It has certainly made me think about adopting, it's no place for kids.
Today has been very rainy, but much alleviated as my mosquito bites had swollen up in the heat. this morning I got up early to do yoga with one of the girls, it was a very chilled start to the day.
Now for descriptions of cuidad quesada, it's a smallish rural centre in the northern region of the country. It is surrounded by mountains and fields and many cows are scattered around. The town itself is concentrated into about a 10 street grid with lots of bakeries, fruit shops and little shops, too many treats! The town itself is pretty poor, the top of the hill has a few rich houses but the rest are very run and down and there is one part which we have been told not to enter and is a shanty town, it looks like those parts if brazil I have seen. There are lots of old cars, crazy driving and stray dogs. The dogs sleep in the main square and look relatively healthy for being strays. Our house is in the center and is like a hostel inside. I share a room with 2 others, katie and michelle, although our room is for six, too crowded at that. We all get on so well as the people are all here for the same reason.
Tonight we are going to an evening class for adults learning English to help them practise but I am so tired! I want to thank you all for all your comments it's amazing to know ur reading all my posts I will reply but today has been so busy!
Off tmw night for the weekend but will hopefully post something before I go, much love xxxx
Today has been very rainy, but much alleviated as my mosquito bites had swollen up in the heat. this morning I got up early to do yoga with one of the girls, it was a very chilled start to the day.
Now for descriptions of cuidad quesada, it's a smallish rural centre in the northern region of the country. It is surrounded by mountains and fields and many cows are scattered around. The town itself is concentrated into about a 10 street grid with lots of bakeries, fruit shops and little shops, too many treats! The town itself is pretty poor, the top of the hill has a few rich houses but the rest are very run and down and there is one part which we have been told not to enter and is a shanty town, it looks like those parts if brazil I have seen. There are lots of old cars, crazy driving and stray dogs. The dogs sleep in the main square and look relatively healthy for being strays. Our house is in the center and is like a hostel inside. I share a room with 2 others, katie and michelle, although our room is for six, too crowded at that. We all get on so well as the people are all here for the same reason.
Tonight we are going to an evening class for adults learning English to help them practise but I am so tired! I want to thank you all for all your comments it's amazing to know ur reading all my posts I will reply but today has been so busy!
Off tmw night for the weekend but will hopefully post something before I go, much love xxxx
Wednesday 24 February 2010
Wednesday is halfway through the week!
Now I know I'm here to volunteer an do my part but I have to say I and glad to be halfway through this week. There is a heat wave just now in costa rica and the air is thick and got with no movement. Working with seven hot children is hard for all of us as they get overheated and frustrated.
Today was such a contrast of emotions, the morning stayed slow with two children and we coloured in some pictures and played on the swings. I was bitten today, not badly and there were several bad tantrums but marlane, the lady in charge, in so firm with the time out chair that it does work and they do apologise!
In contrast today I taught the 3 older kids, who are between 4 and 5 to Scottish country dance! It was so funny and they were laughing and loving it. We needed some music so Marlane put on some regatone- a perfect combination! Also we picked oranges from her trees and peeled them for the children, they have a big snack of fruit at 10am and today they were happily munching on guavas, it's odd to see children eating what we scots would consider exotic fruit. So, while under the trees I felt something heavy land on my head and I knew it wasn't an orange! I tipped my head up and started shacking it an felt whatever it was scramble first onto myy ponytail and then onto and down my back. I shouted for Marlane and she said something, I never know exactly and pointed to a big lizard on the ground! It hard jumped onto my head!! It was pretty big about the length of one hand and a half. The kids were intrigued and scared and all ran to cling on to my shouting "sophia, sophia", I think I won valuable cool points!
Will tell you more about Cuidad Quesada on my next blogg, and describe where I'm staying and the surrounding area, xxxx
Today was such a contrast of emotions, the morning stayed slow with two children and we coloured in some pictures and played on the swings. I was bitten today, not badly and there were several bad tantrums but marlane, the lady in charge, in so firm with the time out chair that it does work and they do apologise!
In contrast today I taught the 3 older kids, who are between 4 and 5 to Scottish country dance! It was so funny and they were laughing and loving it. We needed some music so Marlane put on some regatone- a perfect combination! Also we picked oranges from her trees and peeled them for the children, they have a big snack of fruit at 10am and today they were happily munching on guavas, it's odd to see children eating what we scots would consider exotic fruit. So, while under the trees I felt something heavy land on my head and I knew it wasn't an orange! I tipped my head up and started shacking it an felt whatever it was scramble first onto myy ponytail and then onto and down my back. I shouted for Marlane and she said something, I never know exactly and pointed to a big lizard on the ground! It hard jumped onto my head!! It was pretty big about the length of one hand and a half. The kids were intrigued and scared and all ran to cling on to my shouting "sophia, sophia", I think I won valuable cool points!
Will tell you more about Cuidad Quesada on my next blogg, and describe where I'm staying and the surrounding area, xxxx
Tuesday 23 February 2010
Well today after work we all went on a hike to tw Arenal volcano, the most active volcano in costa rica and the third most active in the world. You can only get so close as the are little eruptions eachday, so we hiked as far as the rock formations which fell as a result of the last big eruption on 1992 and 1967. The landscape looked like Mordor and the road up to mount doom! The were rock and boulders as far as the eye could see, luckily no orks, and the surrounding land is full of trees and cattle. I had been hoping to sew some lava but aparently this volcano is not a lava volcano, it usually erupts rocks and gases. In fact while we were there it spurt out boulders and we heard them coming down the volcano and saw all the smoke. Each rock is around the size of a Volkswagen beetle and on impact it breaks up and avalanches down the sides.
Today was unually clear so we had a great view but it was also abnormally hot and close and again I was a sweaty mess! It's becoming a permanent state of mine. Not something I am enjoying.
So this weekend is looking like a trip to La Fortuna, a town about 2 hours away, right next to arenal volcano. I'm going with 4 other girls and we are planning to visit the natural hot springs and perhaps do waterfall absailing! Can't wait!
Lots if love, hope ur not to cold where you are, I'll try to send some heat ur way! xxxxx
Today was unually clear so we had a great view but it was also abnormally hot and close and again I was a sweaty mess! It's becoming a permanent state of mine. Not something I am enjoying.
So this weekend is looking like a trip to La Fortuna, a town about 2 hours away, right next to arenal volcano. I'm going with 4 other girls and we are planning to visit the natural hot springs and perhaps do waterfall absailing! Can't wait!
Lots if love, hope ur not to cold where you are, I'll try to send some heat ur way! xxxxx
Monday 22 February 2010
Manuel Antonio
Hola chicos and chicas
today was a stressfull day, very hot weather, 7 gurney children resulted in them all crying at the one point I was left alone with them, muchos stress! One was punching another, two were having tantrums, one ran away and one was just joining in i think. The only child not crying was Reading a book and looking at me with contempt in my failure. Definately rethinking being a parent! Anyhoo I exercised my stress away by going to a zumba class, a Latino aerobics; think sean Paul, regatone And lunges! Soo much fun- you'd love this maddi!
So this weekend 7 of us went to manuel Antonio beach on the west coast, a six hour journey from where I'm staying. We stayed in a hostel by the beach which was beautiful scenery and there were hammocks and a outdoor cocktail bar, not bad!
We spent the first day by the beach and tried to avoid getting burnt. Which I didn't quite manage. In the evening we chilled in the hammocks with a quepos breeze, my new favourite drink. Some went out clubbing but I just lay about- perfect after my first week.
On the Sunday we went to the national park and saw monkeys, sloths, and giant lizards! It was a trail through a dense Forrest and there were animals amongst the trees. The paths all led to a breathtaking beach, unbelievably beautiful. And there were monkeys all by the trees in the beach just sleeping in the branches, it was magical.
Tomorrow I am going on a hike up the arenal volanco, I hope I see some lava!
Love to you all, miss you all so much xxx
today was a stressfull day, very hot weather, 7 gurney children resulted in them all crying at the one point I was left alone with them, muchos stress! One was punching another, two were having tantrums, one ran away and one was just joining in i think. The only child not crying was Reading a book and looking at me with contempt in my failure. Definately rethinking being a parent! Anyhoo I exercised my stress away by going to a zumba class, a Latino aerobics; think sean Paul, regatone And lunges! Soo much fun- you'd love this maddi!
So this weekend 7 of us went to manuel Antonio beach on the west coast, a six hour journey from where I'm staying. We stayed in a hostel by the beach which was beautiful scenery and there were hammocks and a outdoor cocktail bar, not bad!
We spent the first day by the beach and tried to avoid getting burnt. Which I didn't quite manage. In the evening we chilled in the hammocks with a quepos breeze, my new favourite drink. Some went out clubbing but I just lay about- perfect after my first week.
On the Sunday we went to the national park and saw monkeys, sloths, and giant lizards! It was a trail through a dense Forrest and there were animals amongst the trees. The paths all led to a breathtaking beach, unbelievably beautiful. And there were monkeys all by the trees in the beach just sleeping in the branches, it was magical.
Tomorrow I am going on a hike up the arenal volanco, I hope I see some lava!
Love to you all, miss you all so much xxx
Sunday 21 February 2010
One week already....
Having arrived in costa rica after what can only be called the worst journey of my life( two days if airport hotels in Houston) I experienced a million different emotions. I was pretty nervous about meeting everyone but I had nothing to worry about as my two roomate were so lovely, michelle and katy. I had missed orientation and the tour due to arriving so late I had to go straight into planning for my placement the next morning. We start at 7.30 in the morning so I am up at about 6am most mornings. I work until 1pm when I then you back to the bade ad have lunch. In the afternoon we either have Spanish or we do more volunteering. The food here at the base is amazing though it is rice and beans for every meal including breakfast so I may not be saying that for long!
My placement is with a goverment funded child centre which is aimed at helping single mothers in the real areas work and have somewhere for their kids to go which isn't paid for. The emphasis is heavily on family and teaching the childen manners, hygeine and basic Spanish and English. I have started a projects on shapes, colours, and animals this week. I have big plans though- I'm going to build them a fort, oh yes my medieval history degree does come into use! Downside to placent the children are wild, I've been bitten, punched, hit an called racial slang. Lovely, and they are all under 5! They are troubled children and it certainly comes with the territory but it has meant I have found it hard to warm to some of them. On thursday I volunteered at an orphanage which was really sad and brilliant at the same time. The children are so desperate for attention and want to play and learn. At the same time they are violent with each other and discipline is very difficult. The boys seem to pick on the baby girls and I caught them kicking a two year old girl. They are scared at mealtimes and gulp their food down as they try to steal each others.
I had such fun keeping their attention for 14 mins while I read them a story in Spanish. A wee boy made me two paper aeroplane as a gift.
A group of us went on a trip to a cloud Forrest farm this week and had a cookery lesson. It had been monsoon rain for two days and the rain insane. The farmer took us on a rainforrest trail to a waterfall which was breathtaking. I have never been soaked in my life. We went back to his house where his wife had made coffee and tortillas, and the girls ended up doing Spanish karioke with the farmer, I cheered them on. It was exciting to be in someones home in the Forrest and feel so confortable and welcome.
I went to the national reserve manuel saint Antonio this weekend but that is for another post!
Love to you all xxxx
My placement is with a goverment funded child centre which is aimed at helping single mothers in the real areas work and have somewhere for their kids to go which isn't paid for. The emphasis is heavily on family and teaching the childen manners, hygeine and basic Spanish and English. I have started a projects on shapes, colours, and animals this week. I have big plans though- I'm going to build them a fort, oh yes my medieval history degree does come into use! Downside to placent the children are wild, I've been bitten, punched, hit an called racial slang. Lovely, and they are all under 5! They are troubled children and it certainly comes with the territory but it has meant I have found it hard to warm to some of them. On thursday I volunteered at an orphanage which was really sad and brilliant at the same time. The children are so desperate for attention and want to play and learn. At the same time they are violent with each other and discipline is very difficult. The boys seem to pick on the baby girls and I caught them kicking a two year old girl. They are scared at mealtimes and gulp their food down as they try to steal each others.
I had such fun keeping their attention for 14 mins while I read them a story in Spanish. A wee boy made me two paper aeroplane as a gift.
A group of us went on a trip to a cloud Forrest farm this week and had a cookery lesson. It had been monsoon rain for two days and the rain insane. The farmer took us on a rainforrest trail to a waterfall which was breathtaking. I have never been soaked in my life. We went back to his house where his wife had made coffee and tortillas, and the girls ended up doing Spanish karioke with the farmer, I cheered them on. It was exciting to be in someones home in the Forrest and feel so confortable and welcome.
I went to the national reserve manuel saint Antonio this weekend but that is for another post!
Love to you all xxxx
Saturday 13 February 2010
Hello, I am en route to costa rica just now and am unsurprisingly delayed at heathrow!
I may not make my connection but I am pretty up for a night in Houston!
It is very surreal to think it all starts in a day, the teaching and learning(struggling) with Spanish.
I have done so much planning that it doesn't seem real that I'm actually going. I am very excited to start and meet the other volunteers.
It's like starting school againg- will I be the random Scottish girl?!
chau for now xxxx
I may not make my connection but I am pretty up for a night in Houston!
It is very surreal to think it all starts in a day, the teaching and learning(struggling) with Spanish.
I have done so much planning that it doesn't seem real that I'm actually going. I am very excited to start and meet the other volunteers.
It's like starting school againg- will I be the random Scottish girl?!
chau for now xxxx
Tuesday 9 February 2010
Preparation, preparation, preparation!
Ok, so its a mere 5 days until I leave and I am trying to stay on top of all the lists! It is not unknown to most of you that I have mild OCD tendancies in my organisation and this is going into overdrive now I have a iphone and I can set numerous memos and list to beep all day.
I have been told the children I wil be working with are aged 0- 7 years and that I should start brainstorming ideas for activities, lessons, games etc. I have been trying to remember things from when I was little but I am coming up blank! If anyone has any suggestions please let me know, any songs with actions ( I remember bits of 'we're going on a bear hunt'). Anyhoo the next few days wil be packing, buying most of the stock of boots and speed learning Spanish grammer.
Chau xxxx
I have been told the children I wil be working with are aged 0- 7 years and that I should start brainstorming ideas for activities, lessons, games etc. I have been trying to remember things from when I was little but I am coming up blank! If anyone has any suggestions please let me know, any songs with actions ( I remember bits of 'we're going on a bear hunt'). Anyhoo the next few days wil be packing, buying most of the stock of boots and speed learning Spanish grammer.
Chau xxxx
Friday 5 February 2010
One week to go
Hello and welcome! Nothing interesting to say as yet apart from two interesting pieces of travel advise from my family.
1. Don't trust anyone
2. Remember, you are not invincible
Bed time now, chau xx
1. Don't trust anyone
2. Remember, you are not invincible
Bed time now, chau xx
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