I have pictures today, I think. If I can get them to work properly. Today we went to the Irazu Volcano, where it was very misty and cold. It was hard to get a good shot, but I tried. The bus ride to the Volcano took about an hour, and one of our group (a girl named Ronnie) got motion sick because of all the twisty roads. I got a chance to chat up some of my group mates as well. We went up to the volcano, and our tour guide Ken (who looks disturbingly similar to Cesar Milan) talked to us about it and how many times it has destroyed the former capital city of Cartago (3 times). We were 11,000 feet about sea level, which is impressive.
Here are some attempts at pictures of the giant craters the lava from Irazu has formed:
If you see those big leaves in the bottom pic, they are called "The Poor Man's Umbrella," because they’re waterproof and people use them to keep the rain off.
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Later:
Okay, I had to take a shower last night and those pics were taking forever to load, so I figured I’d finish today.
After we went to Irazu, we went to the largest Catholic Church in Costa Rica. It was
very large, very ornate, and flash photography was permitted. Lol. Something like 75% of Ticos are Catholic. They make requests to the virgin Mary and when they are blessed, they bring back a small silver token, about the size of a charm bracelet, to thank the Virgin. For instance, if they had a problem with their leg, they will bring back a tiny silver leg as an offering. It is really creepy looking, but interesting. Here is a pic of the tiny silver legs:
I thought it was odd that people were selling stuff right outsider the church- like on the steps, like toys, carvings, pictures, and little tiny virgin marys.
Later that night, Crystal and I decided to try taking the bus to go to a supermarket to get some groceries. It is hard to always like what kind of food you are served in a foreign household. Anyway, we got completely lost, and it was dark, and rainy, and we didn’t know the bus route, and we weren’t sure how to pay in colones. We didn’t even know the exact location of the market, since nothing here has a bloody address. Eventually, our host dad found us walking up the wrong road and took us home. He was laughing all the way.
Today was our first day of school, and it was very fun. I understand Spanish better than I thought, and everyone is super nice. The school has coffee breaks, fresh squeezed juice whenever you want, and a very charming cafeteria that serves standard Tican food. It is very easy to go vegetarian here. My group is very friendly, and we are meeting at the Iglesia de Lourdes tonight to go get some dinner and chill. Here is a picture of the school from the outside.:
Last but not least, I finally got a picture of the view outside my bedroom window- it was yesterday evening- kind of cloudy, because it rains every evening here. The mountain in the background is Irazu, where we were, and you can see the tiny backyard with the huge stone wall for security:
Okay, that’s about it for now. Sorry my entries are so long, but everything is new right now, and a lot has happened so far. I miss you all. Kat and Ryan- have fun at the Rudder on Tuesday!!
-Mal
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