Days 7-9 Friday-Sunday

We woke up Friday morning, hit the beach again for a couple hours, then headed out to meet up with our group and see some new sites. Today we went inland to see a volcano. The drive was miserable. It was a very windy road through the mountains that seemed to be endless. EVERYONE got sick, even John (the driver). Bailey threw up twice. I think she has a little bug…darn! But the throw up smell in the car didn’t help anything.

We finally arrived an hour late for meeting our group. We stayed in a little city at the foot of the Arenal Volcano called La Fortuna. We actually stayed in one of the hotels that we honeymooned in!

Once we got over our motion sickness, we all went to some natural hot springs called Tabacon. They have been very built up and commercialized, but a member of our group said they were really cool. He was right! It was just river that pooled in certain areas, so there are trails and stairs that take you to each pool. Some were too hot for our sunburned bodies, but some were just right. There were also a couple of normal swimming pools. The kids had so much fun.

Adeline kept complaining of an ear ache, so I went to a pharmacy on the corner and bought some amoxicillin for $5. Not only does that save paying for the prescription, but saves paying the co-pay at the doctor.

Saturday started with a hike to a waterfall. It’s a great little hike that is perfect for kids. It’s only about a mile and when you get to the end, you can swim at the waterfall.

That afternoon we hired a guide to take us to the great volcano sites where you can see some action. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to see anything, so he just took us to a reptile zoo and butterfly garden. We were the only people at the reptile zoo, so one of the workers took out some snakes to let the kids hold. I don’t think that’s very cool, but the kids sure liked it.

On our way home, we realized the clouds had cleared and we could see the volcano. Our guide took us to a spot where we were able to watch lava spew from the top and roll down! It was amazing. Our kids were thrilled. I hope the pictures turned out.

Sunday we got up and started the 5 hour trek from the volcano to our condo, which will be home base for the next 3 weeks. We tried to make it to church. One of the men in our group served his mission here and wanted to go to a branch about half way between there and here. He thought they had a branch that met at noon. When we pulled up to the church at 11:45 the missionaries told us that the 12 branch is meeting in a different place, so they now meet at 9. Darn!

This is the first city where I didn’t feel safe. It’s a dumpy little place called Puntaranus. It’s on this little finger peninsula where you can see water on both sides as you drive. I was told there was a little grocery store across the street from where we ate lunch. I went to grab some treats for the rest of the drive, but realized that the store was more like down the street and around the corner. I passed a couple of guys that turned and followed me into the store. They tried to speak a little English to me, some pick up lines they learned some how and I tried to pay little attention. They turned and left and I concentrated on what I was there to get. The next thing I knew, someone was right behind me with their arm on my waist!! I jumped and spun around and it was John. Thank goodness!! He realized the store was farther than we thought, so he left the kids in the restaurant with our group and followed me. I was so grateful and felt so good buckled tight in our car, even though there was a homeless guy making faces at the kids through the window. I was glad to get out of there.

Another stop on the drive was at a bridge where crocodiles live below. This was another thrill for the kids. There was someone there with raw chicken that he was throwing to them. They all swarmed, but we surprisingly civil about giving the chicken to the one it fell closes to (or hit on the way down). It’s a neat and creepy thing to see. I am definitely reptiled out.

Finally we are here in our little home for the rest of the month. It’s a cute condo in a little association. There is a maintenance man here named Alfredo. Our instructions were to ask him for anything and he will provide. So far he’s answered all of our requests. The first thing he said to me was “The maid works Monday to Friday. You tell me when you want her to come and she will come. Anytime! She does dishes and laundry too.” Sounds good to me.

The place is very clean. We have a washer AND a dryer and AC (things that are few and far between here). Right now we are the only people staying in the whole association! It was so wonderful to do laundry and make dinner for my family. We made smoothies after dinner and everyone is tucked into bed now.

“I THINK I’M GONNA LIKE IT HERE” -ANNIE