My Last Couple Weeks in La Legua

the volcano puffed out ash and smoke on saturday morning

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So, I'm back in Curridabat with all my friends. It's great to be back and see all of them. But I truly miss La Legua and the people there. Poor Cecilia cried when I left saying she was going to be all alone. It was heartbreaking. I really came to love the place and especially the people. I'm really going to miss them.

But before I write about my wonderful family in La Legua, I'll write a bit about my weekend trip to Volcán Arenal.

My friend Julia and I spent last weekend at one of the active volcanoes in Costa Rica. It was a nice trip. On Saturday, we went horseback riding at the base of the volcano and went to the huge waterfall. We waded in the river beneath the waterfall before getting ready to head back on the horses. At the waterfall, we switched guides (the first one had to stay around to help with a canopy tour). Our first guide could speak decent english, but the second guide didn't know english at all. So, the first one told the second guide that me and Julia knew Spanish and that we could translate for him. :) Which we did. We also translated for a mini presentation of Indian culture on the way back to the stables. It was pretty cool being able to do that.

yeehaw!

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After horseback riding, we went to the hot springs. It was loooovely. They have something like 20 different pools of water ranging in temperature from cool to really hot. Lots of waterfalls and 3 water bars. We relaxed in the cold pools while it was still hot out and then enjoyed the warm water when the sun went down. We got some drinks at the water bar with 2 girls from North Carolina who we met at the hot springs. It was a very relaxing time.

That night we went out to eat a restaurant with delicious food. The waiter (Henry) asked us if we were planning on going out that night. And, in fact, we were. We were planning on celebrating Julia's 22nd birthday that night. So, he invited us to go out with his friend to the discotheque.

They picked us up at our hotel around 11:30 and we went to a small, very empty bar first. We played some pool and talked. Then we headed over to the discotheque. I was, unfortunately, "paired" up with Henry's friend Pablo and became Julia's "wingman." He's was pretty obnoxious for most of the night: getting frustrated when I rejected his advances...that sort of thing. But he was a good dancer, so I was able to learn some moves from him. And despite his attitude, I still had a great time hanging out with Julia and Henry. We ended up not getting back to our hotel until 5:30 in the morning when the sun was rising and the birds were chirping. So, it was overall a good, solid night.

me and julia

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The next morning was kind of rough. We weren't feeling so well because of the night before and we had a long, hot, bumpy bus ride ahead of us. If anyone knows me, they know how bad I am with motion sickness and heat...and of course, the bus was very hot and very bumpy. On top of that, I wasn't feeling great from the night before. So, about 3 hours into the trip, I discreetly threw up into a plastic bag I had brought with me for just such an occasion. It sucked, but it wasn't that bad. I felt much better afterwards.

After that long bus ride, I had to take another bus back to La Legua. I asked the driver when I got on if the bus was going to La Legua and he said yes. So, I paid the man and sat down for the 2 hour ride. However, 2 hours later I was not in La Legua. Instead I was in some other small town in the middle of the mountains. I was at the last stop and the only one left on the bus. I asked the driver if he was going to La Legua and he said, "Oh, no! You were supposed to get off at Monterey and take a bus from there!" Of course, he had failed to mention this to me. I told him I was going to Don Egerico's house to see if he might know him, which he did. So, the bus driver took me to his house where his wife served me some watermelon and talked with me about an American student who had lived at there house for a while. I tried calling Don Egerico, but they weren't answering. So I chatted with the wife, watched some Jet Li movie in Spanish, and then 30 year old son showed me his 80s music videos until about an hour and half later when I finally got ahold of them. I'm actually glad I ended up in the wrong place. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to meet those wonderfully sweet people. They were so nice that they even offered to let me stay there that night and take the bus in the morning. Good times.

by the waterfall

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Besides that, nothing has been too exciting. I'm actually bummed I'm going home in a week. I'm really going to miss this place and the people here. But then again, I'm excited to see all the wonderful people back in the States.