Pic Dump 2

Hola Todos,

Okay, it’s 9:10pm here. I’m going to try to finish up this entry, since Ericka and Wilbert are upstairs having a beer, and Crystal and Sarah are out at a Casino. I, however, am home with the beginning of a cold, talking to Ryan on AIM (Aim is a wonderful thing), and trying to get the rest of these pics posted.

So, I mentioned the Volcan Poas, with it’s mist, and more mist. We went to a restaurant after that was very nice. That area is famous for milk and strawberries, so we were all served strawberry juice for our drinks, and tiny strawberry cakes for dessert. We had the Casado, the typical, traditional Costa Rican meal which can be had for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Here is the picture:



What it has: beans, vegetables, salad, usually meat but cheese and more vegetables in this case since it was vegetarian, rice, avocado, and fried banana. So, NO that is not bacon. It is a fried banana. Lol. But yeah, sometimes I have this for lunch at school as well, only it is not as fancy.

After we had lunch, they took us around back, where the workers of the restaurant had made a hummingbird garden. Of course, I had to take a picture of a hummingbird. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one in real life, let alone the ten or fifteen that were hanging around. Here is one:



After that, we went to another church, which was made entirely of metal so it would withstand the earthquakes. I took a picture of the altar, but because I am not Catholic and I had to pee like you wouldn’t believe, I was not very interested in the church at that moment. Maybe you will be interested in the altar- because it was very pretty:



After the Church, we went to Sarche (or maybe Sarchi? Sar Chi? I dunno). Anyway, it’s a town famous for it’s wood work. We saw the world’s largest oxcart, which was so boring I neglected to take a picture. However, there was something that was interesting:



At the shop we stopped at, there was a drink machine. In the drink machine, at the bottom, was:



Yep, a can of Imperial, Costa Rica’s favorite beer. The people in this country really do drink and party all the time, and the proof is right there in the drink machine. And, at 600 colones, it is just a few cents more than a dollar.

After the store, we drove an hour home. I think at this point I was feeling sick, so I just wanted to go home, study, and sleep. Mostly sleep. We had gone to the Jazz club the night before, but since I am on a weird schedule of going to sleep at 10 and waking up at 6, it was hard to stay awake. Now, in my defense, we are two hours behind all of you in Estados Unidos. So really I would be getting up at 8 and going to bed at 12, which is not so weird. Anyway, last night Crystal and I both went to bed at around 9:30, because I think we are both getting sick, and today we went to a manmade rainforest reserve. They had all kinds of things, but one of the coolest was the butterfly area. Butterflies were everywhere, and one landed on my hand when I was trying to take pictures. The guide showed us this butterfly, which has wings that look like the head of a snake, to scare off predators. It’s amazing how much it actually looks like a snake:



They also had the most poisonous frog in Costa Rica. This little guy looks adorable, but if even a tiny bit of it’s venom gets into your system, your throat will close in a matter of minutes, and you will die:



After the park, we went on a walking tour of the city, on which I got sunburnt. Surprise! John, Johnny, Jacque and I went to a small place for lunch, and in the process of getting there, in the block between the restaurant and our bus, we were offered fake Rolexes, Cuban cigars, accosted for change, and offered cocaine. Awesome- not. The city is a very different place from home, and that’s the understatement of the year. Thankfully, my house is not in the downtown area. It is several miles away in the Granadilla district. So, no worries, and no frantic emails please.

After lunch, we stopped at the central market, and then ended the day early. After than, Crystal and I went to the mall where she got some money out of the bank on a Sunday (about 75% of all businesses here are open on Sunday, even banks.). Then we went home. The rest of our group made plans to go to the Casino tonight, but I don’t feel like gambling, drinking, or staying out til 2. Basically, I feel like taking some cold medicine, talking to my boyfriend, and going to bed. Here is a picture of the group- try not to look at me- the tired, sick, sunburned chick. Lol.



In the back, starting from your left with the older guy in the blue shirt, there’s Johnny, Danielle our director, Daniel, John, and me. In the front, starting from the left again with the chick in the too-short shorts, that’s Ronnie, our bus driver who’s name escapes me, Diego our tour guide, Jacque, Brian, and my roommate Crystal, who also is wearing kind of short shorts but is blonde. So, in the future, you will know who I’m talking about if I start complaining about someone or explaining a funny situation.

Anyway, that’s all I got, and I hope you guys are having fun without me. It wouldn’t hurt to drop me a comment sometime, whoever is keeping up with this. I feel lonely with zero comments, and only one follower (thanks Ryan- at least I can count on someone out there. Lol.) Let me know how things are!

-Mal