Exploring Granada, Boat ride Watch bartering, New Years Celebration

I had a very cold wake-up this morning. The A/C was on way too low and there was only one sheet on the bed. I covered my head entirely to keep warm but had to shut off the A/C all together. I got up shortly after and went down to breakfast. I got some pancakes (which I added peanut butter to) and fruit. I went off with Carlos this morning to hand some surveys (none of which were actually answered—very frustrating after the managers/staff say they will do a questionnaire and then don’t and on top of that they look at me really funny and don’t even know where the questionnaire went). The city was already wide awake and the sun was already very hot! We dropped the surveys off and then went back to the hotel to get everyone else.

Today we were taking a city tour with Martin, our guide. We saw many churches, an art museum, climbed a bell tower of a church, had lunch (at the same restaurant as dinner). I had a chicken kebob, cooked plantains, half a baked potato, fruit punch (whenever restaurants say fruit punch, they really mean a natural blended fruit drink which is delicious).

Differences between Leon and Granada:

Leon- about 300,000 people, not as modern as Granada—lots of horses and carts, town all in block structure, very small, simple homes. Traditional culture is alive in this city.

Granada-150,000 people, small but modern city, half the town drove cars and the other half horses and carts—has thoroughly mixed the modern Nicaragua with the old-traditional Nicaragua. All homes and businesses had open gardens in the middle of their buildings.

After lunch, we went on a boat (12 passenger boat) to see a few of the 365 islands in Lake Nicaragua. Along the trip we saw 2 white faced monkeys and lots of birds. We were informed that a man brought the monkeys were brought to this island and left on it as a touristy attraction. Unfortunately, there is nothing left on this island for the monkeys to eat and have been eating what tourists throw at them which is very unhealthy. It was a pleasant boat ride; rather calm-not a lot of waves and lots of sun to soak up.

After the boat ride, it was back to the hotel. I interviewed the Manager and then headed back out to the street markets. At one of the markets, I was looking at some jewelry and trying to get a good deal. While trying to barter with this one seller, he said he would give me a better deal if I would trade the watch I was wearing for these two turquoise heart necklaces. I felt my watch was worth way more than any of the jewelry, but Karen and Lorien helped me bargain with the man. He wanted 100 cordobas and my watch for the two necklaces, which I thought was too much so the other two girls and I got him down to the watch and 50 cordobas ($2.25). It was a funny bargaining process---he was speaking English to us, however, we continued trying so hard to embrace the culture and use our poor Spanish. The girls told him that the gifts were for my friends and he replied that the watch was for his father. He told us that this is his job and only way he makes money and Karen said “estudiantes…….no dinero).” It took some bargaining back and forth to get him down and at the end Lorien made the final bid and acceptance (so basically one of the other students sold me watch). What a memorable experience, but now I feel lost without knowing the time.

After the long bargaining event, the three of us went back to shower and get ready for dinner. Dinner was again at the same restaurant. I had fettuccine with huge shrimp and tomato sauce. It was very good!! After dinner we went out to the main city street, just around the corner from the restaurant where everyone was starting to congregate for the New Years celebration. There were many bands playing outside, lots of music and dancing. Carlos even taught me some Salsa steps and danced with me a few times in the street. I had so much fun learning a few new steps and following his lead. We continued to walk down the road which was filled with people drinking, setting off fireworks. I think I saw every age of children setting off fireworks, there were all kinds of kids with bottle rockets, huge crackling ones, and one kid even started swinging a firework around his head while it was shooting out things. Everyone started quickly moving away from him and it seemed very dangerous what he was doing. An older gentleman took him aside and got him to stop. I felt like I was in the middle of a war zone—the fireworks were being shot from everywhere.

The group decided to walk the street for a little bit and then sit down at a bar and get some drinks. We enjoyed a few processions that came down the street including the traditional tall woman and midget man. This traditional dance represents Spain (the young midget man) and Nicaragua (tall beautiful woman).Young kids play the drums and move this 6 foot tall doll and midget doll (a kid is underneath the doll or under this huge headed man and dance in the street to the drumming). They dance around for awhile and then stop and go into the crowd asking for money.

Pretty soon the countdown to the new year was approaching and so the group went to find the band, dance a little more, and countdown while fireworks are bring shot from every direction. Some of the group decided to go back to the hotel and Lorien, Karen, and I decided to take a walk to the end of the main street one more time and then to the hotel. The street was just covered in firework scraps and the streets all filled with trash. We were all fast asleep after arriving back at the hotel.

One thing I realized while walking around the town is that this town has many dogs and most of which are city strays. Dogs are not seen pets like in the U.S. but are starving animals, much famished, all searching for food. The dogs were laying all over the streets/roads.

Left Leon--Granada

I slept really well and woke up even without my alarm this morning. I went to breakfast and had fruit and toast (continental it is called) and then got on the bus for Granada. The first stop was Masaya Volcano National Park. This is the most active volcano in Nicaragua. When entering the park we were given a brochure that told us of all the things that could happen if the volcano blew: how to hide UNDER the car if it does, only stay 15-20 minutes at the top of the volcano, and be cautious of the sulfur inhalation. We had to be careful but usually it was safe we were told by the guide because the wind blows off of the parking lot, however, when wind changes direction, we were told to get into the bus. The Masaya Volcano has a huge crater at its base. Also there is a huge cross at the particular look-out which we climbed. It was 171 steps to get to the top and stand right next to the cross. A famous Catholic priest of Nicaragua put this cross here after searching the volcano for gold, silver, and jade. Once I got to the top it was a beautiful, majestic view, however, I could only stay maybe two minutes because of the harsh sulfur smell. Very low oxygen and a high sulfur concentration did not mix very well. The view was spectacular though, all the different colored molten rock, steam coming up from the crater, this was one of my favorite activities we did. I wish we had more time to enjoy this view.

After our 20 minute visit, we head back down the volcano and continued on to Granada. To go to Granada we had to go to Managua first. Managua was about 2 hours away and Granada another 45 minutes. On our trek, we past many rivers, volcanoes, Managua City (more traffic, closer cluster of buildings, gas stations, stop lights, a U.S. embassy). There was a huge political campaign that had just ended for Nicaragua. Everything was written on: walls, posters, signs, and graffiti on buildings, everything with the name Daniel. He was a desired candidate for president. He was indeed elected; it was very interesting to see how politics was portrayed in another country.

Our guide, Martin, (not very enthusiastic about his job) shared that minimum wage for laborers in this part of Nicaragua make about $120/month.

Then we went to Catalina where we visited the Apoyo Lagoon. Catalina is known for its nurseries of flowers and plants. The town was beautifully lined with their nurseries. We stopped at the lagoon look-out. Just before the lagoon there was a small market (here only to capitalize on the tourists). Carlos bough some Dolce de leche (much like caramel fudge) and let me try it, it was delicious! After the lagoon, it was time for lunch. We went to a place that we were told would be “typical food.” Almost everyone got some form of spicy refried bean and meat meal (which was 90% of the menu), but I found chicken fajitas on the menu. They served them still sizzling on a wooden platter and it was very good and satisfying!

After lunch it was time for the Masaya Market—about 4-5 blocks of just market after market after market. It was actually a bit overwhelming since there were so many. It was mostly the same things being sold by different people. It was mostly jewelry, wood carvings, and brightly colored t-shirts/scarves/bags. The market even has advertisers which follow you around trying to get you to buy things and make useless conversation (It made me really uncomfortable because they got really close and it seemed like they were trying to rip me off or steal something). It was a job to just get away from them. The one good thing was that I could barter with the sellers (unfortunately it was a bit challenging bartering in cordobas and understanding the numbers too) and get good deals! There were many small boys walking around making neat, creative things with palm leaves. They were handing these out, not begging for money, but interesting in showing how they make them and having people watch. I had one boy make me a heart and an intricate cricket/grasshopper. Just seeing him twist, tie, and bend the palms was very interesting. These kids were very talented with such simple material.
We got to shop around for a few hours and then went to the hotel. Our hotel was called Almirante and it a very nice place. One common feature of the homes and business in Granada is they were built in a square shape with the center cut out. Each and every building had a garden within it. I thought this was very refreshing and enjoyable. The hotel felt very open and allowed natural light to shine through.

Soon it was time for dinner which we walked to just under a mile to the restaurant. I had snapper (which was a bit luke warm/cool), veggies, mashed potatoes, and the best part, coconut ice cream. The ice cream was so good, very light but rich flavor. After dinner we all walked back, I was surprised to see how alive the city was. There were lots of people out and about in the city, but we were all exhausted so we decided to go to bed.

Left Corn Island to Managua--Explored Leon

Today I got up at 6AM in order to catch our plane on-time. The restaurant was nice enough to take our breakfast orders the night before so our breakfast was soon ready. I had some pancakes and yes I put peanut butter all over them! Then it was off to the airport to head to Managua and then drive to Leon. This airport was very quick and we had no problem with weight at all. I did have to pay another $2 fee which they charge for using the airport, but security was very minimal. There was only one security woman, one metal detector and one terminal. The process went very fast compared to Corn Islands airport. There was no stipulation on how much could be brought in as a carry-on so I carried three different bag and they asked no questions. Weight only for the checked luggage mattered. I even carried on all my toiletries and they said nothing!

The flight was about an hour long and I even got a cookie and a drink on it! The cookie I thought was good---it was a thick, dry ginger-like cookie. The flight went very smooth and we were landing before I knew it. Once landed, we waited about 15 minutes for our suitcases (they ticket all the suitcases with a claim number and that claim number must be shown to even touch the bag) and then boarded a bus which was waiting for us. This bus was more like a small coach bus with air conditioning, big windows, and our own seats! We travelled in Managua a little bit. Managua is the capital of Nicaragua. This city is more developed than other parts of Nicaragua—had paved roads, stop lights, many factories, more established stores than small shops, and block structured streets. There were a lot more cars and traffic was actually building up.

We stopped at some government buildings/church in a park and jumped out of the bus to walk around. These building were parts of Congress (now a museum), a cathedral, and the “house of the people.” Something I noticed right away is the amount of trash that was on the ground—there were just plastic everywhere, floating in the wind, and accumulating all over the streets. Even driving there was jus heaps of trash all over—plastic bottles and wrappers everywhere. We also stopped to see two of the volcanoes—Momotombo and Momotombito (mother and baby).

It took about 1.5 hours to get to the hotel (Hotel Austria) in Leon. The structure of the hotel was a square and in the middle was a courtyard/garden. I stayed in a room with Lorien and Karen. The room was very small, three beds, a bathroom (I don’t think there has been a room with a phone or alarm clock. After dropping our things off we went to lunch—the chicken that I got was still sizzling on the plate but it was delicious, along with mashed potatoes, rice, and a piece of goat cheese. It was very flavorful and the best prepared chicken I have had so far.

After lunch we started our tour of Leon. There are 15 departments (what we would refer to as states) making up Nicaragua. Leon was the first capital of Nicaragua. The indigenous community culture is trying to be rescued in this town. We toured on the bus for the first half and this included churches and a legends museum (jail where many Nicaraguans were tortured and executed). The city was well organized into blocks and it made me feel a bit more at home (suburban –like). The town also maintained its cultural environment with horse and carts. We were dropped in the town to complete the tour on foot---we climbed to the top of this church (77 steps) where we could see 10 volcanoes, 5 of which are active. This was probably my favorite place for far---just beautiful to see for miles, rooftops of the homes, and the volcanoes in the distance.

After climbing back down, we walked through a small market, getting some water (water is sold in little plastic bags since the water is not good to drink in this country—its like a pouch of water, just bite off a corner and you got water costs about 1-2 cordobas/pouch (22.48 cordobas= $1) ). We continued on to see a few murals along the walls of the town---the town’s history was portrayed on the walls of the town and our guide share the detailed story which he possess. The art was just beautiful, very colorful and shared significant historical events right in the middle of town—it was great to see such an appreciation for their history and to bee how important it was to the community to have their cultural right on the wall displayed in the middle of the town.

Then we went to a famous Nicaragua author’s house and saw his living quarters/lifestyle. After the tour we were allowed to explore on our own, but I had to return for an interview. After my interview, it was almost time for dinner. Karen, Lorien, and I went to explore the town a little bit and walked over to the market (sold lots of jewelry, souvenirs, and clothing). We only had maybe 20 minutes so we just looked around and then had to head back for dinner. For dinner, I had a small salad and veggie pizza (big mushrooms, peppers and onions) which was really good. Thin crust but big veggies! After dinner, we all went back to the hotel and crashed!

Corn Island Day/Boat Ride

I am feeling really disgusting because I haven’t worked out this whole trip---but I hadn’t felt safe yet to go out on my own. But today I decided I would run on the beach---I went around 8 and it was already sweltering hot! The beach wasn’t very long so I just ran back and forth and did box jumps off a nearby pier. Then I went to breakfast---the cooks made me an egg white omelet with peppers, onions, and mozzarella. Again the food here is just outstanding. After breakfast a group of 6 of us went to go snorkel with a local Dive center. We took taxis to a house which I guess was the Dive Center and got our flipper and snorkel and then walked to the ocean. We were taken to a small (9 passenger or so)boat tied along the coast. The boat was pulled in and we got onboard. These two adolescents (maybe 17-20yrs old) were our drivers and navigators. We enjoyed the ride at the beginning and then the water started to get really choppy. The minute we left the shore, some dark cloud appeared and the waves seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. There was a lot of bouncing up and crashing down. Our navigators couldn’t find a good spot to snorkel, but we stopped in one place and Lorien and Carlos jumped in first. They couldn’t see anything because it was so deep and too choppy to breathe. They got back in the boat and we tried on more place. They said it was much shallower, but then Meredith and Karen both went white and started to get sick. I was about to jump in but I felt bad they were about puking on the side that I knew it would be better to go to land. Unfortunately I never got off the boat—but I wouldn’t have wanted to stay out in the water if I felt like they did so we headed to land.

Luckily we got half our money back because Carlos talked to them. About 5 minutes after getting back to the house (Dive center), it just down poured. The rain hit so hard so fast. We waited at the center for a taxi and then went back to the hotel for some lunch. I ordered a Seafood Pasta---had mussels, shrimp, and pieces of fish in fettuccine and tomato sauce. It was delicious. After lunch (the meals in both CR and Nic took a lot more time than in the U.S.—waiters are rarely by the table and they don’t seem to write anything down so you have to ask 3-4 times to get something and it takes about 1.5 hours for any meal-less rush and more relaxed and social than meals in the U.S), I got to lay out for about 20 minutes.Then had another hotel interview on the other side of the island. Carlos went with me in a taxi to Casa Canada. I learned: her water came from the hotel’s well and she said the biggest problem they have here is garbage. She shared that the garbage hill is only a few blocks away and it is a terrible problem. Because it up on a hill when it rains the rainwater rushed through all the garbage and puddles at a soccer field located at the bottom of the hill. Unfortunately there are kids that play in this field and play in the water pools too. She also shared that she gives her food scraps and waste to the farmers next door who have hogs.

Carlos wanted to tour this other side, so we took a taxi to wrap around the rest of the island. We saw the other coast—we saw this ship rocked on its side and the taxi driver shared that they went out and got drunk and then hit a rock and had to get saved and dragged into shore. There were quite a few people hovering around the shore and watching the boat—many laughing and smiling. It took about 10 minutes to go around the island and then we had them dropped us off before we hit the mud and then took the beach back. We found part of our group in the ocean and I decided to lie out and watch the sunset. It was such a beautiful sight—if I lived on a beach (which I hope I do) I would want to watch every sunrise and sunset because they are so refreshing and rejuvenating.

After the sun went down, I went back to shower (the shower is just two curtains around raised tile and the water had to be on for about 5 minutes before any hot water came out). We had a little more water pressure in this shower but the showerhead shot really close to the curtain which made it difficult to use. Then it was off to dinner. Tonight for dinner I ordered the whole fish. It was a snapper fish and it was huge, but delicious! They serve the entire fish on a plate and I had to be careful not eat any bones. This fish was pretty easy to eat because it slid right off the bones. I could eat only half of it and then everyone else had to help eat the other side. The meat was very thick and filling---nice juicy pieces. I also had some rice and veggies. The group had a very good conversation during dinner about the good and bad aspects of Corn Island. After dinner, it was time for bed.

Bluefields exploring/Plane to Corn Island

I got to sleep in until 7:30AM today which was nice. Karen and I went to breakfast right away and joined the other students—I had me some pancakes (I was shocked to see them on the menu to be honest), and guess what I added to it---yep, peanut butter!! It was delicious and the best breakfast since the oatmeal Ronda made me right before I left. He group met shortly to discuss the day’s plans and then it was out to explore the town.

This made me extremely uncomfortable and it didn’t help that my professor was not paying any attention or worried about the students at all. He would just wonder off and not try to keep the group together or anything. He even left one of the students in one of the shops-just walked away from her and continued walking down the street—I realized one of us wasn’t here so I turned around for her. I am very disappointed in the professor and how he is not contributing to this trip at all and treating it as a family vacation for his kids and wife. He doesn’t care about the student at all and is not teaching me a thing since he is relying on Carlos as well. I am very disappointed.

Bluefields is known for fishing and is an all commerce based city. IT has 45,000 people living here. Everything is brought from the port on boats and sold to other parts of the country. We went to the main port and mostly men were just standing around so maybe we came before or arrived after all the action—but there wasn’t any shipments coming in or going out at that time. I did see about 10 boats docked all with different locations set. I learned that 70% of people in Costa Rica used the public bus system and 30% had cars, and in Nicaragua 90% used taxis and 10% had cars. All banks were guarded and everyone needed a passport or ID to enter. There was only a certain number of people allowed in the bank as well-so usually lines formed outside the bank. Since we were walking around and Carlos mentioned that people on the street also exchange money, I decided to go with him and couple other students to a street seller and exchange our money. I was a bit apprehensive, but Carlos had his phone out making sure we got the right amounts.

We continued to walk around the different shops, but mainly everything being sold at one shop was the same at the next and there seemed to be such a high volume with no interested buyers. After walking around for a little bit, I went back to the hotel to talk with an employee about my research---she shared: water is very scarce in this area, no public water is supplied on the weekends, and the public water she would not recommend drinking (which is why they supply water bottles for the guests). Fortunately, the hotel has a well of their own to get water. She shared that there is no money or education to do so.

After we got taxis, it was off to lunch at a local restaurant. I decided to get cheese pizza which reminded St. Louise old-school hot lunches meals. I liked it, but I was not a fan of the cheese which was supposedly mozzarellas. While at lunch, I was starting to see two different groups form. There was a bit of a personality clash and I think everyone is getting a bit sick of everyone else. After lunch it was time to bring our suitcase down and start heading to the airport.

The airport was very tiny. It was one reception area, one metal detector, and one area with cars and the tv. We were charged $2 to “use the airport.” I think sometimes think I am being taking advantage of and since I don’t know what they are saying anyway, I can’t tell whether they are using me because I am American or this is the real rule.

They weighed all of our suitcases and also weighed each of us with our carry-ons. There were no rules referring to how much the carry-on weighs or what is being brought with you (like water, liquids), but the focus is a combined weight. The airport makes everyone arrive early but then makes them sit for hours and wait. A plane landed about a half hr and it was finally ours! Since the plane was late, I started talking with a ministry trip (they whole group went to the dump of Nicaragua. They are called globalcelebrations.com and a wife and husband travel most the year delivering the gospel to those in need. They also provide food and prayers for the people and places they visit. There were helpers from AUS, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and all over the U.S.---about 30-35 of them! I just thought what they did was fantastic and very inspiring and motivating to help others!

A plane finally landed after a couple hours and after about a half hour they told us it was for us. We were called by name to go out and stand in a line and then we had to walk out to the plane in a single file line---I felt like I was boarding a spaceship! There is about 40-44 people on this plane and the trip was really short—only 40 minutes. It was a rather smooth ride which I wasn’t expecting because of its size and propellers.

Once we landed on Corn Island (I could see a few trees but nothing too island yet), we had to have our passports checked again and then we claimed out luggage and got three taxis. While driving to the hotel, I saw many homes (small, one room shacks they looked like), lots of roaming goats, cows, and horses, and islanders hanging around their homes. The land had a lot of forestry, and a ton of trash (a lot of plastic all over). The road was paved until right before the hotel. Then the pavement just stopped. The hotel was on a dirt, well muddy road. The taxis had to slow down and idle through this thick and wet mud. It took about 5 minutes to go about a quarter of a mile. It was crazy bumpy—throwing everyone all over the taxi. We finally reached out hotel though---it was just beautiful--We went from poverty (Bluefields) to paradise (this Corn Island hotel) in about an hour!The hotel was right across from a beautiful beach and we could see the ocean from our taxi and the sight was breath-taking---I was at home at last!

The rooms were small, colorful (bright green and blue) houses with two hammocks in front and 4 bedrooms. I shared a room with Karen and our room smelled of fresh pine wood. It was a very nice room, air conditioned, clean and the wood aroma was very relaxing. It didn’t take us much time before we dropped our things off, put on our suits, and head directly out to the beach. It took maybe two minutes to get there---I loved this place! It felt great to be laying out in the sun. I didn’t go in the water, but everyone else said it was warm and refreshing. Unfortunately the sun was already setting so it was getting dark quickly. I met with the manager of the hotel and got to interview him on the spot!

The manager shared that electricity is very expensive on the island since there is only 2 generators supplying all the energy to the entire island. He also shared that he gets water from the swamp behind his hotel and that his beach is private. He had to do this because the islanders would come use his showers and amenities (I saw a few armed men standing around the beach and by the hotel entrance). He didn’t recycle because the island just puts all the garbage together and piles it up.

After the interview, it was dinnertime—we ate at the restaurant in the hotel. The food at this hotel was outstanding---everything looked and tasted amazing! I had shrimp in a coconut sauce with mashed potatoes and veggies. It was just exquisite! The group met to discuss what we have seen in the last few days and then we were free for the evening. Karen and I went to bed because we were pretty exhausted from the traveling.

Long trip to Nicaragua

I woke up around 5:40AM. Today would be a day of travelling! We got breakfast to go (pineapple, guava, and watermelon, a ham sandwich, and a pineapple yogurt). Carlos (the driver of our van--by the way 50% of the people are named Carlos---it is a very common name I guess) packed our suitcase on top of the van and we were off to the immigration office and the Frio River. It took about 2 hours to get there. The immigration office was a really small building and looked like a house. I would never have guessed this was the office if I didn’t have our guide. All we had to do here was show our passport, fill out an immigration sheet (just stating where we were coming from, our origin, and where we were going), and sign-up for the boat to Nicaragua. Once we got through immigration we went down to the river and waited to board. Probably waited about 45 minutes, said our good-byes to Carlos (driver), and had our suitcases loaded on to the boats. Then we were called one-by-one by name to board the boat and they checked our passports again as we entered---unfortunately Karen’s was stamped incorrectly with yesterdays date so she had to run with Carlos (guide) back to the immigration office to get it restamped! But they made it back ok and then could leave. The boat was a long slender boat, it fit about 40 people and was very low to the water. The scenery we were passing was mostly trees, but we did see 5-6 monkeys and lots of ingrids. The boat ride was about 45 minutes however about halfway through after just passing into Nicaragua we were stopped at the Nicaragua military check-point. They checked the list of passengers and starred everyone down. We were told in advance to put all cameras away when we approached them but a girl in the back must not have heard that because she went to take a picture and one of the military guys started shouting and they started coming toward out boat---one of the guys got on and went to the girl and took her camera to search it. We were all scared for our lives! He went through every picture on her camera and took many forms of ID from her so we sat there for awhile. When they say no pictures, they mean it! One of the guys even carried a machine gun on him! I was very nervous, but they let us go and we continued on our way.

We arrived in the San Carlos port which looked very much like a city. We had to sit on the boat for another half hour or so until the immigration office cleared out and then they let us off. We filed into a line and one-by-one got put through immigration (took another half hour) where they checked my passport and stamped me clear! It was very hot now—about 95 degrees I would say so this line seemed to take forever—however I can’t complain the sunshine felt really good after being in the rain forest for a week! After we all got through, we boarded a bus and a guide that was waiting for us (this time it was a 25 passenger bus so we got to spread out a bit and have our own seats). The bus had open windows which was refreshing. The driver drove crazy fast though and the roads were hilly, swervy, and had a lot of speed bumps. My first impressions of Nicaragua: San Carlos was very cluttered, filled with markets—clothing hung at shops. As we drove in the bus—I saw a bunch of homes which were all one room pueblos, mostly forestry terrain, dark colored lakes, very hilly, and everyone drying clothes on lines. I felt safe with Carlos, but as a Caucasian American travelling along or without a Spanish speaking guide, I would have felt very uncomfortable.

I slept for a little bit of the ride, we tried to eat and go to the bathroom twice, but found that most restaurants were out of food (the food only came on certain days and when it was out, there was no getting anymore). By the third place we stopped, there was food and a bathroom to use! We all went inside and they were playing 80’s American music on a projector screen. Unfortunately Carlos told us that we didn’t have time to eat after we ordered drinks to make it to the port on time for a boat to Bluefields so we got back in the bus. The bus ride was about 3.5 hours and we ended up at El Rama port. This port was a gated off area and a small building which led down to the water side. We had about 10 minutes before departure so Carlos said we could find some food along the street vendors if we wanted. This was a disaster in my opinion-many of the students just went out on the street and starting going all different directions—I was going crazy! I thought everyone was aware of the buddy system, but apparently not. And Dr. Fernandez and his wife were the worst because they just walked off, not worrying about any of the students just worrying about themselves. I felt very uncomfortable—not having the correct currency, looking at very dirty markets, and not knowing what any of the food items were that I was looking at. I couldn’t take it so I went back to the dock with one other student and just waited there. I couldn’t stand out the students just went out on their own and no one knew the area. The bathrooms here also had to be paid for which was found out only after they were used. We boarded the boat within a few minutes of returning. It was a much smaller boat (12 passengers) this time but also a much faster one too. The ride was about an hour and 45 minutes to Bluefields. The scenery was mostly trees, a few huts along the river. We only saw maybe 3 other boats the entire trip—mostly fishing or transportation boats. There was even 30-40 minutes that we saw absolutely no sign of life and I was praying that nothing would go wrong because no one was there to save us. Most of the huts we saw were up on stilts in case of flooding and I saw a lot of clothing hanging out to dry.

The port we arrived at was very sketchy—it seemed to be a private port—houses right on the dock and people coming out their houses when we arrived. Everyone was starring at us which made me feel really uncomfortable. We had to walk through this special passage which had a gated entrance to the port we just arrive on---really sketchy like I said. Then since the hotel was not very far we just walked down the street---not a calm welcoming to the town. There was a fight breaking out right outside the port with 2 guys swinging and we basically were like a parade---everyone starring (but I mean I guess we were complete strangers so I probably would be starring too). The town seemed very dirty and the streets smelled really bad---we past lots of shops which was much like a chinatown (lots of the same merchandise-mostly stolen—being sold for ridiculous prices.

Bluefields—it is named after the Pirate who discovered the town. 81% are Miskito people (mixed people-African, Creole, Indian). Most people don’t have cars so there are a ton of taxi (hundreds) because that’s how people get around—even short distances.

We had to walk maybe 5-6 blocks or so and then we found the hotel. It was just above a Casino (you would have enjoyed that dad), and there was even a security guard in front (which made me a bit more safe). I was put in a room with Karen and it was a decent room—A/C, leather couch, fridge, bathroom. I even had a queen bed to myself! I felt from all that travel I needed a shower---I jumped in the shower and turned it on to find a thin stream was all the water pressure the hotel had. I struggled to try to wash my hair without hitting my head on the wall and also struggled to wash my body under that. I felt a tad bit cleaner when I got out. Then it was dinner which meant jump into a taxi. I ordered grilled snapper, had a small salad, steamed veggies, and some rice. The fish was a very good size-the flavor wasn’t all that great, I thought it was rather bland honestly. After dinner we all got into another couple taxis and went back to the hotel.

There was a little tension rising within the group between Alex and Lorien—making inconsiderate remarks to each other, due to personality conflicts.

When Karen and I got to our room, we both crashed for the night.

Maleku community/Christmas Dinner

Woke up this Christmas morning and head to breakfast. It was delicious. I had pineapple and watermelon which were extra juicy this morning. I also has scrambled eggs and toast (much like texas toast-and there also wheat!! Merry Christmas to me!) I also had rice and beans (beans are starting to grow on me—I don’t know if its because I am so hungry or if I am really starting to like beans), but having it for breakfast is still a bit odd. After breakfast, we were off to the Indigenous community of the Maleku tribe.

The Maleku land covered 9000 acres and held three individual community towns. This land is a reserve which is shared among the three villages. Each village has particular land that they live on, but the land is communally shared by all three---it is not owned by anyone but all the Maleku’s evenly. There is about 650-700 people who live on this land and about 150 in this particular village. We met a man named Jimmy who shared about his village and about the Maleku culture (he did not speak English at all, so Carlos translated everything he said for us to understand). We were informed that he was not educated in a school, but he was very very intelligent and shared great detail about his family and community. There is an elementary school within the reserve which all the kids go to and for high school the children go to a local one outside the land, but within the local town. The Maleku have many benefits---health care is provided through a clinic which they could go to at any time (however this was also provided for every Costa Rican-health insurance is provided by the government through paying Social Security from their wages and therefore can go to any health provider and its taken care of). They also have discounts on utilities, for instance they pay only $4/month for water. The Maleku tribe socialized with the outside community a lot and seemed to be much modernized---all the kids had nice clothing, cell phones, video camera, but also kept their culture alive through ceramics and native clothing which they wore when they performed traditional work I was shocked to see all the technology that the people had within the village. Seeing the Aborigines, I expected to see more primal individuals, but this village was very up-to-date and modernized. I saw many cell phones, video camera, and nice watches.

. The Maleku functioned liked everyone else in society, if they had a problem with another village or anyone else, the Maleku would call the police and solve the problem like anyone else in the country. The community also has a church as well—90% Protestant and 10% Catholic. No one can marry anyone in their same village because everyone is practically related somehow. When someone dies in the community, they are buried inside their house (to stay close to the other family members). They are buried with seeds, jewelry, food—anything they think they would need to be successful in the new place which they are going. The Maleku oeople believe in 15 gods, one for every river. The biggest problem they have is the loss of culture—they are finding much like the U.S. that children are watching too much tv now and not spending that time with family and investing in culture.

The village brought their children to us and we had bought small toys for them and gave them a part of United States culture by giving them presents! They were so happy and seeing the smiles on their faces I think made all of us feel so good and compassionate. Jimmy also shared that there main food is meat and they use the fire grill to smoke and dry so can keep meat can be kept for longer (much like beef jerky). The tribe also uses a spear for self-defense against animals and a bow and arrow for hunting

Then it was time for lunch---we had a traditional Maleku meal---a piece of tilapia wrapped in a local leaf---it gave it much flavor, but I just had to be careful of the bones. We also had and boiled yucca (potato) which I felt was undercooked. We also had this wonderful juice called tamarind. After lunch, the tribe put on a local traditional play for us. First Jimmy explained the story to us and then his family and he acted it out. He was dressed in traditional garments now which they make out of fiber threads of the trees. The threads were used to make clothing, blankets for babies, purses and bags. Jimmy and his brothers were wearing a sewn skirt and his mother and sisters were in tops and skirts. The fibers are rubbed on their legs to make into threads and then used to make clothing and bags. The story was about a husband not trusting his wife and putting a mark on her to test if she was seeing other men. If the mark was gone she would be punished. After her husband left the house, she accidentally wiped some of it off and had someone else try to recreate it, but when he came home, he noticed the difference and then beat her (like he said he would). It was a very intense play, but they did an excellent job acting and sharing the emotion of the play.

The Maleku tribe also sold lots of wooden art decorations so we got to look at all the ones they’ve made and buy a few we wanted to take with us! We also got to play with the bow and arrow and make a few shots. After we did so, it was time to head back to the hotel. We got to hang out at the hotel for a little bit and met back up for dinner. At dinner I had chicken/shrimp fajitas with grilled onions and peppers. This was delicious. We also watched the first half of the bears/packers game which they had on a tv close by. It was alaos Cecelia’s birthday and Carlos had got her a cake and had it waiting for after dinner. Dinner filled me up! It was off to the hotel then for some rest-tomorrow was a big day to come!

Volcano, Hot Springs, Casa Luna hotel

This is the last morning at Tirimbina! I got up, repacked my suitcase, and then headed to breakfast. Breakfast this morning was cooked bananas (plantains), pineapple and watermelon, rice and beans (I am so sick of these two), peanut butter on toast (I also put my cooked bananas on them but it was not as good as back at home and uncooked bananas). After breakfast, it was time to gather the suitcases and head to pack the van. Our bags would go on top again-this time with a tarp covering them (and good thing because it poured a few times today). I got to interview Carlos along the ride about his hotel and his operations, which made the two hour long drive go by a bit faster.
Once we got to La Fortuna (a much more populated place, much like a city back in the the states, but with small, private shops and hotels) the first stop was at Arenal Volcano National Park. Because it was very cloudy it was hard to see the volcano. It also started to pour which made the vision even worse. It was a beautiful sight once the rain cleared and the clouds started to shift. This volcano is still active and Cecelia said she could hear the thunder-sounding lava from where we were. We only stayed a short time viewing the volcano and then were headed into town for lunch. Lunch was on our own today, but I really wasn’t craving anything but some oatmeal. I pulled a to-go oatmeal square out and enjoyed every last bit of it! After lunch it was off to the hot springs of La Fortuna. These three pools were the most relaxing part of the trip so far. The pools went from hottest to coolest and they fed into each other. I went into every one of them and have to say I enjoyed the warmest pool the best. There was even one small pool in the warmest one that had a 105-degree cut-out section (I couldn’t stay too long in this one but it felt great on my body). There were even waterfalls in the pools and from each pool to the next. I enjoyed this  activity very much. We stayed for a couple hours and then it was to our hotel. Unfortunately the hotel screwed up the reservations and because of that they gave us a nearby alternative. This new place consisted of a few rooms inside this barn-like house which had no screens or insulation and was filled with bugs. We were not having this----immediately we approached Carlos and Dr. Fernandez and soon we were leaving this place. Carlos got very upset and was shaking because of this mistake—he thought he was making the right choice by going with a recommended spot but this one did not turn out good. But he went back to the hotel and figured it out. We were soon in nice hotel rooms at Case Luna Hotel. I shared a room with Karen and we each had a double bed which was super comfy and 5 pillows! It was very clean, not bug infested, and also had a pool. “We are in a better place,” Alex shared the moment she walked into the new hotel room. We got a few minutes to calm down and met for dinner at 7:30. I was starving by then, and the restaurants were packed. We only had to wait 15 minutes, but it felt like eternity.

Today I was also informed by another student that the trip would cost an additional $608 since thee number to go on the trip were do low. I got a little upset and talked to Dr. Fernandez and Carlos about it. Carlos reassured me that he would talk to the university and help me out.

I ordered a pineapple and water drink (much like a real fruit ice or smoothie). I had tilapia, sautéed potatoes, and veggies. It was pretty good, tasty fish, but not a whole lot of meat on this fish. There was a man dressed as Santa Clause and he was playing the marimba (wooden xylophone) and handing out candy to the kids. He gave it to Soledad and Meredith since they look so young and then handed me some (and said I had a babyface). The restaurant was extremely slow---slow to get drinks, slow to take and fulfill orders, and slow to clean-up. The restaurant also, being outside, was roasting a pig and had bananas in clumps along the front of the restaurants. We left the restaurant at about 9:50PM and headed back to the hotel.

Once I got back to the hotel, I made sure I was on skype and faceboook and I got to see everyone my house celebrating Costa Rica! It was very hard not being there with everyone and was extremely excited to see Emma. I got a little emotional when she first appeared on the screen because I was so happy to see her. I knew I had missed this wonderful holiday, but it was great being able to spend a little time with them! It was hard to see everyone together and not be there celebrating..After talking for an hour or so and getting passed around, I said my good-byes and it was off to bed! The best was very comfy and probably the best sleep I have had since I left the states!

Pineapple Tour/Night Walk

Got up at the usual 7am and headed to breakfast--I sort of feel like the cooks know what we all like and since we go for the same thing every morning, it seems to me they remove it from the meal. The first day we had bananas, pineapple, guava, and watermelon and now since they knew we liked their native fruits, there is only guava (which no one really likes) and watermelon left. There is always rice and beans (but I am sick of rice to be honest and I never liked beans to begin with). Also we really liked making toast and scrambled eggs and those are gone now too. Breakfast is a very slim picking now----I asked for peanut butter this morning because they made us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the other day for lunch so I know it exists and they brought it out----the group all took advantage of it, making lots of toast and pb--now I am sure it will be gone tomorrow, but it filled me up today.
We had an hour to wait before the tour started at nine. Today we were learning about pineapples!
We drove about 20 minutes to the pineapple plantation. This plantation is the biggest organic growing plantation in the world! The plantation is 1400 acres and has 22,000 plants/acre. 80% of the plantation is organic and 20% is conventionally grown. They use to be entirely conventional, however, people didn't want to pay the extra money it cost for organic production and the plantation almost when under. They had to produce 60% organic and 40% conventionally to save the plantation and now have gone back to 80 and 20.
 Our tour took place on a huge cart pulled by a John Deere tractor. The plantation is so big and the path is so muddy that there are only driving tours. We boarded the cart and were off!
What I learned: A pineapple plant has three chutes (one crown chute on top of pineapple, one stem chute on the bottom of the pineapple and one guide chute which is toward the bottom of the plant) but only one fruit! I was told that if I took the crown chute and planted it, a pineapple plant would grow and produce pineapples. However the weather conditions (humid, lots of rain) would, however, also need to be present as well.The leaves of the plant are so long and prickly and the pineapple grows in the middle of the plant. The guide shared with us that the amount of time it takes for a pineapple to grow is unknown (they don't know exactly when the fruit shows up in the plant-since its covered by so many leaves and then just appears). We were shown a pineapple embryo which is just inside the step and is a little white strip at the center part of the stem.
The bottom of a pineapple is sweeter than the top of pineapple.
The company controls the size of the pineapples with a gas called ethane. This gas is sprayed two weeks before the fruit is done and this stunts the growth process. We got to see many stages of the pineapple: the embryo to begin, then small bulb pineapple, then a bigger fruit with colorful flowers on the top (have 1 year and 3 months until ready), a smaller version of a typical pineapple (1 year to go), and then the mature fruit. How do they know when its done? Its all by weight---after working with pineapples for some time, the workers know when a pineapple is mature and when one needs more time. In the store however, the guide said to look for four important things:
1. the size of the eyes (outside skin called pineapple eyes), the bigger the eyes the more sweet the pineapple
2, The symmetrical shape
3. The healthy green crown chute
4. Yellow color appearing just at the bottom
We got to taste three different pineapples while out in the plantation. When we stopped out in the plantation, the guide would just pull out his machete and slice one up for us. It was wild how quickly the guide would chop a pineapple up---he slices all the eyes (the sides) off and then chopped the bottom. Then he cut about an inch thick chunk from the bottom to the top and then sliced that chunk into pieces to serve us. I was shocked at how sharp and powerful his machete was. No messing with him! One that wasn't quite mature, one that was just mature, and one that was ready to be picked! I enjoyed the first one because I thought it was the sweetest, but there was only a slight slight difference between all of them!
A pineapple fruit can produce a second, third, and fourth fruit, however the quality decreases with every additional fruit.
In about 9 hours, 60 workers in the plantation can pick 54,000 pineapples. They make $45/day for 8 hours of work. The workers are 40% women and 60% men.
Riding through the plantation was just incredible---to see thousands and thousands of pineapples in many different stages of maturity. I was shocked to see how large the plantation and to learn how long it takes to produce one pineapple (over a year a half).
After riding through the plant, we headed to the packing plant. The packing plant had two different belts--one organic and one conventional. The pineapples were washed thoroughly before put on the belts. The pineapples have to float in the water to pass and if they sink this means there is too much water inside the fruit and they are rejected from the beginning. These pineapples are given to neighbor farmers for their cows. Then the pineapples are moved up the belt and two workers decide based on appearance if they pass or fail. The rejected ones are given to local markets within the country and the ones that pass continue on the belt to exportation. I find that really interesting!! The best products are shipped out because they earn more money for them and the not so good ones are kept inside the country.
Once the pineapple passes the workers classify the pineapples into 5 categories (5-10, based on size). They are then boxed up according to sizes and refrigerated until exported and through exportation. The refrigeration keeps fermentation low as it is shipped around the country. It takes about 2 weeks for these pineapples to reach the U.S.
This was the end of the tour however now came the tasting part! We each got our own pina colada made out of a small pineapple which was delicious! We also had pineapple boats (cut up pineapple inside the outside skin) and a pecan and cherry nut cake---it was cold and refreshing but mostly like a fruit cake.
What a great tour!
It was back to Tirimbina for some lunch--salad, chicken leg, cooked plantains, ice cream (they had ice cream in a bag or on a stick--much like a push-pop size, but either chocolate, vanilla, or vanilla and strawberry---both kinds were very rich and delicious).
After lunch I went with one the hotel's driver to the surrounding hotels where he dropped off my survey. Unfortunately he didn't speak any English so it was a bit awkward conversation. He put some American music on and we just listened to that. We headed to the town where he had to pick up two boxes for Tirimbina and then took me to four hotels---however, all but one had not filled the survey out yet so it was a bit discouraging, but maybe I can get some responses via email. I was a bit nervous not being native in their languages, but almost everyone spoke English working at the hotels. I just felt really bad not being able to communicate in their language and not being a part of the conversations.
It started pouring on and off while we were driving and when it rains here it pours--loudly! But the smell of rain is just wonderful! Once I got back to Tirimbina I had some time to send out some emails, update my blog, and then it was time for our final dinner at Tirimbina! Dinner was: Spaghetti, chicken soup, salad, bread roll, really good steamed veggies, and rice pudding for dessert. We sat around our tables and talked a bit and then had to get ready for our Night Tour. I definitely put some pants and my rain jacket on and them sprayed really well with bug spray--I probably wouldn't be able to tell I had another bite since I have so many on my legs anyway, but I was tired of itching so much so I knew it would be best to spray every inch of my body. The night tour started at 7:30 and our guide took us over the suspension bridge to the rain forest. Along the bridge a possum crossed on one of the wires way above our hears and a porcupine crossed right next to our heads. He/She even stopped once and it happened to be right next to my professor who was just in front of me and starred my professor down (looking like he was going to jump at him), but then just kept moving along. We also found many frogs (since it was raining for the first part of the walk, there were many frogs out). We saw some mating frogs as well which was entertaining. I learned the three main differences between frogs and toads.
1. Frogs have poisonous glands in their heads and toads do not.
2. Frogs lay eggs in clusters and toads in a straight line.
3. Frogs have smooth skin and toads have rough skin.
We also saw many spiders, a snake, and a few bats flew over head. I think we hiked for about 2 hours and I was exhausted--all I wanted to do was lay down in a bed, but we all the way out in the rain forest. We turned around and headed back to Tirimbina. What a long day! Time to get some rest before moving to another part of Costa Rica.

Chocolate tour/ white water rafting/hotel dinner

Got up at 7 like usual--I think I have become the alarm clock for my room--I set the alarm but only I wake up to it so I have to wake Meredith and Karen up. It was off to breakfast which was pretty much the same as the last, however, this morning there was a piece of bread that was hallow inside and tasted much like a funnel cake. It was good and I put my scrambled eggs inside!
The first activity for today was a chocolate tour! The chocolate plantation was located just across the suspension bridge (about 10 minutes away). We had to walk through one of the rain forests path to get there, but it was well worth it because I learned about the entire process of chocolate.
It is not known as cocoa (which is actually used for pineapple) here but cacao (cak-cow). The fruit is a yellow and about the size of a small football. The plant was found 2000 years ago. Cacao actually is very bitter to begin with and contains many 2-3 inch seeds with an embryo covering. The covering is very sweet tasting and we were told not to bite into the seeds because it would be very bitter. I also found out that the reason Central america fell in love with cacao was because it was the only caffeinated thing for the area.
When the Spanish came to Costa Rica, they did not like cacao because it was called a caca drink-which means poop and did sound or look (because it was brown) appetizing. Nuns actually saved chocolate because they added cinnamon and brown sugar to the cacoa and soon people started to love it.
Costa Rica is actually does not have the highest production of chocolate anymore, the high production is actually in Africa. CR has lost a lot of their cacao fruits due to fungus infestion---they know it comes from the humidity which cacao plants need (there are three things a cacao plant needs: high humidity,  good fruitful soil, and also shade) but have nothing to stop the infestation and are losing lots of their production because of it.

How to open a cacao? Either a machete or smash it against a rock or tree stump—Karen got picked to show us how to open and smash It against a tree stump. Once breaking it open we got to see the 2-3 inch seeds inside and it was nothing like I was expecting. The seeds were all connected by a gel-like substance and each seed looked like an embryo---white seed with a slimy covering around it. We got to taste one —we were told not to bite into it because it would extremely bitter and of course not swallow it either because of the size. The texture in my mouth was a bit odd---It tasted slimy but it was indeed sugary and sweet and nothing like chocolate.

I found out that all kinds of chocolate come from the same bean-the cacao--whether dark, white, or milk and the companies that buy the cacao from Africa or CR are the ones that change the flavors. In order to get the best chocolate the embryos that we tasted needs to be killed and fermented. The embryos need to be removed from the plant and exposed. Then flies are needed and naturally drawn to the seeds to feast on. The flies in turn pollinate the seed with the fungus on its feet. The fungus kills the embryo cause a heat reaction—the heat by day gets hotter and hotter and it takes about 4 days to totally kill off the seed. After reaching such high heart then the seed cools and can be moved to the next stage---drying. The drying stage consists of two kinds—manual or machine. The manual one is moving the seeds on a huge wooden drawer back and forth or heating them up in the pan. We got to try a seed at this stage—they were very bitter and not so good.

The next step is the grinding step---the seeds after being dried would be de-shelled and either manually grinded with a rock or grinded by a machine grinder. Cinnamon and brown sugar are both combined at this stage. We all got to try to grind some cacao all grinded up—I still think its bitter but a bit like peanut-textured dark chocolate and smelled more like chocolate now.

Then we were made some hot chocolate by these grounds and boiling water. Since there Is no milk in it, there is not much froth to it, however, the guide shows us the CR’an whisk which added some froth. I also got to try these—again I felt it was bitter and rich and had the after taste much like coffee.

How are Chocolate bars made then? I learned that chocolate can be a low quality or high quality product. The low quality is cacao powder is divided into cocoa butter and solids. The cocoa is used for cosmetics and the solids are used for the end product—it is mixed with palm oil and chocolate is made from there.

The high quality, however, does not separate the cacao butter and solids creating richer flavor, costing more to make and therefore to buy. This high quality mix is called cacoa rocks and is in a form that has to be heated in order to make chocolate bars. Our guide put it in a double boiler and then let us try some---this time everyone enjoyed the flavor more, I still thought it was bitter, but tasted more like very rich, dark chocolate. This chocolate is melted and then put in molds. The last two pieces we were given were molds that were frozen---one was mixed with sugar (smooth, rich, but still bitter) and one was mixed with milk (this was my favorite, had a grainy texture but less bitter).

Interesting facts---high amount of chocolate consumption---is Norway with 42lbs/person/year. Each cacao plant makes 25 bars of chocolate and produces about 50-60 fruits. The trees must be kept 2 meters apart to keep the humidity level high and the fungus level low. The saying “money grows on trees” is true for this country. Cacao became such a pronounced luxury that people used to trade for it. Instead of money, people wanted cacao seeds (they were seen as even more significant than gold, silver, or jade). What a great tour!

We headed back to our rooms to hang out a bit and then it was lunch time. We ate lunch at the Tirimbina's restaurant--had fried chicken, salad, fried potato wedges, and ice cream (this food is trying to kill me I think)! 

After lunch we got to relax a bit and then it was off to White Water Rafting. It was about a 10 minute drive from Tirimbina where we found our rafting guides. They were all in their 20's and the trainees were even younger--what an awesome job huh? Go rafting 2-3x/day--where do I sign up? We learned our commands: paddle forward, backward, stop, lean in, and get in (hop inside the raft). On my raft was Alex, Brian, Karen, Loren, our guide and our trainee. This was a level 2 of 5 course, but I don't believe them. It was a very intense ride. The paddling was not bad, it was the actual rapids that were challenging--I think I was in the water maybe 5 minutes before being soaked! Some of the rapids were extremely bumpy and there were a few drops we made but survived them---sometimes got thrown to the other side of the raft or had the other side of the raft thrown into me, but no one fell out! It rained the entire first half of the trip-but we were already wet it didn't matter, we were having a blast no matter the weather conditions. There was one big rock we got stuck on and the entire raft started to go under, I swore we would have to abort the raft, but the guide and trainee somehow got us out--the entire raft was under water so we all had to be one side and then quickly balance out when the guide said to. Some of the rapids were more challenging than other and there were a few times we hit the walls of the river or large rocks and got shift in the other direction, but I really enjoyed the trip. About half-way down the rapids, we stopped for a brief rest---had some pineapple and watermelon which the guides brought and got to jump off a cliff into the water---it was a bit nerve racking but I had to do it! There was also a "paparazzi" they called him who was taking pictures for us along the trip and go us jumping off the cliff! My professor jumped off twice!! After our break, we went back to the raft to finish the river. I enjoyed every moment of this activity!

We returned to Tirimbina where we got to shower and dry off a bit! I got to skype my family which made my day! We had dinner at the next hotel at 6:30 since the workers at Tirimbina were having a company party somewhere else---this dinner was not as good though---they had a salad bar, chicken legs and wings, rice and vegetables, and served us this odd dessert--it was milk and pineapples (no one really liked it and wit made us miss our ice cream at Tirimbina). The other people in the restaurant were very up tight, older, serious people---and our group liked to joke around, laugh, and be silly---we just did not fit in with the crowd. We ate our meal and didn't stay for very long before heading back to Tirimbina (right next door). I hung out in my room a bit, updating my blog, then I went to bed--what an adventurous day!

Waterfall/Hydroelectricity reservoir/ town

This morning started with breakfast at 7 like usual---same typical breakfast (fruit, cereal, plantains, eggs, OJ). There is never water offered which is something I think I am lacking---I feel extremely dehydrated all the time and there is never water at any of the meals---only fruit juice! The fruit juice is very good and fresh but I think I just need some aqua por favor! Anyway after breakfast it was right to the van, off to explore with Carlos. Our first stop was the grocery store which was about 25 min away---almost everything is cheaper here--everything only 1-4 dollars which is 500-2000 colones. Just down the street was one of the local schools which Tirimbina works with and brings children from to do education programs! We looked around the grocery (only 2-3 total of each product on the shelf, only a couple options of brands or kinds, about 6 aisles which are about a quarter in length of the normal grocery store), grabbed some snacks for the day and got back in the van. My room also got detergent which was less than $1, it was 495 Colones.

The second stop was about 45 minutes away around curvy and hilly roads. The waterfall called El Toro was just magnificent. It was a 98 meter drop from the top. The sound was powerful! We got to walk around the paths that were made and saw many hummingbirds flying around. They are such tiny and agile birds, but I again keep my distance. After that it was back to the van and off to he local town. We stopped in the town so Carlos could point out the surrounding volcanoes, homes, and churches. The homes are such beautiful colors---pinks, blues, greens!

Then we went to Toro Uno which is one of the reservoirs. These reservoirs are used for storing the water and producing hydroelectricity for the surrounding towns. Right now the Dos has been built and Tres is being worked on. CR although seems to be focusing on natural resources, Carlos shared that business here need to earn money as well and therefore money is involved. CR has looked at the natural resources as a way to  make money and also be ecofriendly.

Carlos shared the local electricity company--called ICE (Institute of CR Electricity).

After winding around the roads we arrive at stone road which leads us to our next stop--picnic lunch overlooking a laguna (lake). The road to get there was awful--it felt like the worst roller coast ride ever----extremely bumpy and the roads were just as curvy as before too.

Once we arrived after about a half hour, we were all starving. We sat out overlooking a beautiful lake, enjoying the ham and the peanut butter and pineapple jelly, apple, cookies, and juice box box lunch which was made for us. I swapped one of my hams for another pb&j sandwhich---never had pineapple jelly but it was a nice subtle flavor to the sandwich. Meredith let me try some of her Chocolate Y Coco cookies whihc I really enjoyed---she said they were dry and not too chocolaty but thats exactly what I love! They were dry, round, about the size of a U.S. quarter size thick cookie----may have to bring some home if I can fit it. 

After eating it was back to the van and horribly rocky road.
These roads are only one lane and there is no right or left side so when another car comes, you have to take turns and move way over to the side. The road in the town are not much wider but probably 1.5 lanes and again there is no right or left side. They drive in the middle until another car comes and then take the correct side.
The next place we went to was the hyrdoelectric reservoir. Here the water is gathered from the surrounding lakes and pooled in a large reservoir. Then the doors of the reservoir are opened and the water rushes out and creates electricity for the surrounding communities. This reservoir provides electricity three times a day for people. CR is concerned with reserving the natural resources which they have but also with making money. Making this reservoir creates a money-making opportunity for CR to take advantage of the use of water for free! Once the water rushes out, the water is piped to a pressurizer which controls the flow of water and the electricity generated (looked like a candy cane stripped light house).  After sitting by the water for a bit it was back to the van and back to Tirimbina.
Carlos shared that minimum wage is $400/month and that electricity is fairly expensive because of the way its made. Carlos and the cooks of Tirimbina share that they pay between $16-25/month for electricity. At the high end thats 25% of a pay-check which is a substantial amount.
We had the rest of the evening off to explore the nearby town. Karen and I decided to walk to the town, everyone else decided to take a taxi. We walked along the side of the road, which was a bit nerve racking when a truck came by, and everyone seemed to honk (this was just common curtsey to let you know they were there). We walked past some beautiful houses (most homes have an outdoor porch area that is barred off around the perimeter of the front of their house and they also have gates around their homes). We also walked past a cemetery---most people are buried in large white boxes which stand on top of the ground. A family buys one and everyone is placed in a casket and put inside. We went into 3 stores too---one grocery store which was much like the other one we went to just bigger---their food was similar to American (same cereals, pop, pasta, beans, cans of veggies). Their fresh vegetables were on a cart, but there were not very many and I saw no fruit inside the grocery (fruit is bought on the side of the road or at a restaurant).
We met up with the group at a restaurant where they were enjoying some happy hour drinks (beer and margaritas). Its started to pour not long after getting there so we ended up taking 2 taxis back to Tirimbina. It only cost $2 to go back for all 5 of us to go back.
We all went to dinner--dinner was fried fish, boiled potato, hearts of palm (I was made to try them and they were really good-warm and cooked, and salad). In addition since it was Meredith’s birthday so the cooks made her a cake which we all shared---it was a cappuccino-colored cake, with whip cream and a little bit of strawberry filling in it—very rich but tasty. After dinner we just hung around, checking our emails and filling out our journal pages for Dr. Fernandez and called it a night early! 

Coffee Plantation/Nature Walk/Indigenous Museum/Bats

This morning I got up around 6 to take a morning hike, however, it was raining out, so decided to sleep in a little longer and headed to breakfast just after 7. Breakfast at Tirimbina was buffet-style like all their meals---I had bananas in frosted flakes, pineapple, watermelon, scrambled eggs and a piece of toast, and some OJ (I think this breakfast is very common in CR-since we had the same thing at the hotel prior--no complaints, the fruit is outstanding and delicious).
We quickly found out that nothing will dry here----even the paper journals we turn in to my professor were damp feeling when we woke----the paper was very soggy. Drying my hair after a shower is almost impossible--even after showering at night and sleeping on it, my hair is still damp in the morning and never truly dries throughout the day.
After breakfast it was off to the van and to a local Coffee Plantation. The guide, Walter, showed us exactly how coffee is made from the very first step to the end product. The sustainable coffee plantation we went to was about 300 acres in CoopeSarapiqui. I learned that coffee has two different qualities, first and second quality. The first quality (bright red) goes to the U.S., Europe, and Canada and the second quality (“bad coffee’) was made into fertilizer and sold to other companies which mixed it with sugar to sell.  Coffee was started in 1800’s, located in the Central Valleys. This became very hard for the exportation of coffee since roads and transportation was very poor. The government use to give money to the farmers who owned acres of coffee producing land. Coffee grown in 600-2000m above sea level produces good coffee. The volcanoes around this specific area and CR bring such rich soil for good coffee production.

The process of production: Producing coffee is a full circle process so locating the first step is a hard task. Walter began with the richest red shelled beans---these are hand-picked from the coffee tree plant. There are two seeds inside of the red shell, which are then planted in small plastic black bags to produce a coffee plant. Then the plants after months of maturing are taken to farmers to produce fields of production. Coffee plantations in the beginning started out relatively small due to a labor restriction-there were many hands needed to take care of coffee production. Small plantations, however, also helped to maintain prices for farmers. Not having an abundance of coffee meant that prices didn’t go too high or too low since supply and demand were close to even.

The next step is once the seeds have been planted, laborers pick the rich, red shelled beans. Wages are earned for picking these red berry-looking things is $3/basket filled. Everyone tries to pick them as fast as they can because they are paid by basket. Once a week the trees were picked at, finding the brightest red berries for harvest. Even kids helped by working during school breaks to earn money for Christmas gifts for example. Walter shared the pest which eats these red berries and that’s the beetle. To get rid of these beetles, the farmers created a three –cup method to trap them and kill them. The top cup contains alcohol which lures the beetle to it. Once inside the beetles become “drunk” and cannot get out of the cup and eventually fall to the third cup which contains water which is where they drown. Walter said, at least they “die happy.”

The next step is weighing and counting the number of baskets collected. Then the red berries are washed, carried, and separated into first and second quality. The first quality ones are heavier than the second which makes me them sink in the water which they are washed. The shells were then removed (used for composting) either by hand or machine to expose two small beans. We got to taste the beans which came out---tasted a lot like sugary hard candy, but nothing like coffee.

The next step is washing the two seeds that came out to get the sugar off. Then its time to dry out the seeds. Sunlight and machines are both used to do this process. The best process is using sunlight, but when too many seeds come in, the machines have to be used. It takes about 4 weeks to dry the seeds out and a humidity of 12%. The seeds have to be mixed and moved around in the drying canopies every 4 hours. With the machines, it takes 5-8 days only at 45-degrees Celsius. However, Walter shared that the sunlight is more environmental friendly and only used 2x/week. The coffee beans we saw drying now would not be sold until June 2012, shared Walter.

Then the seeds were separated again after another outer shell is peeled off. These second shells and the wood from the coffee plants (the better wood from the plants is actually sold, but this is the not-so-perfect wood) are then used as firewood. The seeds are then put into a machine that shakes them to separate the first quality and second quality seeds even further. The good ones fall through the holes and the bad ones (called lazy ones) don’t and are sent back through the machine again to re re-shaken once more. The next step is roasting---the seeds are sent off to get roasted. Walter shared they do not roast on this plantation and showed us the huge bag which they use to transport the seeds for roasting. Interesting fact--The difference he shared between regular roast and dark roasting is only 5 minutes!

After taking us through the whole coffee process, Walter led us to the larger plantation out further on their land. We walked through such beautiful ponds filled with Talapia and lush green plants to get to the plantation. One the way we spotted howler monkeys playing in the trees, beautiful plants, and also bananas!!! I was so excited to see these! Walter shared that the bananas are used as a deterrent for the birds --they would go fro the bananas and not the coffee then. The bananas also helped the coffee plants in the dry season by soaking up water in the wet season and preserving 80% until the dry season and then would release the water which the coffee plants needed to flourish.
Another flower we found was the Angel Trumpet which is a large orange flower which grows upside down-the bulb opens downward (see facebook pictures). These Angel Trumpets we were told give off a small calming affect (much like alcohol) when smelled---some of the students were all over getting a whiff!

Walter also took us to their fertilizer building where they use Red Californian worms. They feed these worms the ultimately bad quality coffee beans and then use the worms waste as an organic fertilizer. The worms just keep hunting for food and leave their waste behind. The waste is then collected and dried out to put back into the plantation. The worms waste contains 15X the Nitrogen, 7X Phosphorus, 5X Potassium, and 2X Calcium amounts.

We continued to walk around the huge plantation---coming across a large waterfall, lots of ants, and a beautiful look-out I have ever seen! Only 5 people were allowed on the look-out to begin with so that made me a bit nervous but what a sight! The only bad thing was there were a lot of little bugs that bit my legs, and arms---they were not mosquitoes, but did draw a little bit of blood and then fly off. They bites did not itch but I soon had about 10 on my legs. I guess I am really sweet huh?

The plantation also raised tilapia, grew oranges and bananas to get extra money. Walter shared a funny story with us: coffee used to be sold in town with an ox and cart (which we saw just yesterday on the side of the road). While guiding the ox into town, they used to drink alcohol and would end up not guiding any longer and sitting in their carts. Since the oxen had no guidance then, they would move all over the road. Now when someone says someone else is drunk, they say he/she is “on top of your cart

After exploring the grounds, Walter took us back for lunch in their restaurant. We were served tilapia (the middle portion and tail of the fish—still with bones in it), huge fried potatoes, rice, beans, salad with tomatoes, and this amazing juice---it was a mix between guava, pineapple, and bananas and it was delicious! At the end of the meal, we were all served coffee which was very rich but smooth. I added some milk and sugar (much like raw sugar and not as fine as normal sugar from the the US) to try it. The taste was very rich but natural; however, I still don’t like coffee.

After lunch it was time to head back to Tirimbina and take a break before the next activity. Most students decided to take a nap, but Karen and I went to explore the trails which Tirimbina owns. We took the Canopy and Ceiba Trails which took us across two suspension bridges. The first bridge was huge and crossed over a rushing waterfall. Looking down made me a bit nervous but being in the middle of the bridge meant there was no turning back. While walking across the bridge, we spotted 3 toucans! What colorful and beautiful beaks (probably the only part I really liked). They didn’t stay around long and with any loud noises they flew off. The second suspension bridge was not as long but much less sturdy. We also came across a fairly large bird but didn’t get a good glimpse of it’s because I was scared half to death when it took off right in front of Karen so I closed my eyes and grabbed my chest since my heart was beating so fast. All we were doing was following the path and I guess the bird (much like a herring we were told) was sitting in the stream and when it heard us it flew frantically off, right in front of Karen. We also saw some butterflies and heard lots of different animal calls. We were gone for about 1.5 hours and then returned to our room.

Next on the agenda was the Indigenous Culture Museum located just next door. We watched a video and looked around the museum, showing the life culture of the people. The museum showed their dress, weapons, dance rituals (Little Devils(Costa Ricans) and Bull (Spain)---they drink Chicha (alcohol) and the Bull beats up the Little Devils and then becomes the other way around, and art. Facts---only 2 % of the Indigenous people are left in CR, which means about 60,000 people.

Carlos  (executive director of this lodge) came to meet up and share more Indigenous Culture. He shared the Devil/Bull story, also a story about the Ulu---magic stick which is used over someone who is sick or has a disease and the stick is waved over the person and then burned.

After the museum, I went over to another hotel for my survey and then had some time to get online and go to dinner at 6:15. Dinner tonight was salad, rice, a thing that looked like manicotti—different cheese inside but quite flavorful and delicious, and we got a small piece of a tres leches dessert (3 milk moist cake).

After dinner, Karolina gave us a bat presentation which was very interesting. She shared that there are 5416 species of mammals and 21% are bats and in CR there are 113 species of bats. Bats have 5 fingers and use them very similarly to humans. Bats are colored blind and developed a sound transmitter which used echolocation—bat makes a sound which projects to another animal or person and a sound bounces off and comes back at the bat and the bat can create a mental image of this animal/person (knowing the size, location, how fast it is travelling, whether it wants to eat it).

Interest facts---bats with lines on their faces are all fruit eater bats, however not all fruit-eater bats have lines! Most bats beside frog-eating bats have to be hanging upside down to fly because they need to do down first before they fly. There are many different kinds of bats---nectar, mammals, fruit, fish, and vampire bats----feed on the blood of birds or cows. The benefits of bats consumes 1000 mosquitoes/hr, eats corn earworms and moths which destroy crops for farmers, consumes 60,000 seeds of Cecropia trees-which keep from an over abundance of new plants from showing up, pollinate plants/trees which people use, and also pollinates agave plants which makes tequila!

After learning about the bats, Karalina brought out some bags containing the bats just caught today. The first was a very young baby bat. I was definitely keeping my distance and not getting to close---even though it wasn’t a bird, bats make me a bit uncomfortable as well. But the other students really enjoyed getting close and touching the bat. After releasing that one outside, she pulled another one out which a little bit bigger and showed us its wing span. Then she released that one outside and had one more-even bigger bat. This one was a little too much for me so I decided to stay far away from the group. She released this one as well and then that was it. My roommates and I went back to our room, updating our blogs and answering Dr. Fernandez’s questions and then went to bed!

Poas Volcano National Park/Tirimbina

One of the girls woke us up by 6:30 or so we thought so we could get breakfast at 7, however, the time on her phone had not adjusted and we were still an hour ahead. So we were actually getting up at 5:30AM and wondering why no one else was up! Ooops! We ended up getting to see the sun rise this way though and the first sight of Costa Rica---it was lushly green, with tall green plants. All the houses were gated off and had barbed wired around the top of the gates (it seemed like a thing everyone did and not just the neighborhood we were in). Barb-wired I found out was very common to keep people was entering when you left the house.
We all went back to bed for a short nap and got up just after 7 to grab breakfast. We had a beautiful fruit plate (pineapple, bananas, papaya, and watermelon) ready for us--and it was delicious (juicy and just ripe). We also had toast and marmalade (couldn't tell you the flavors but one was red and the other yellow-both good), OJ and also frost flakes (which I added my bananas too of  course).  It was a very filling breakfast and soon it was off to  pack again and head to the Volcano.
I got one of my surveys completed by the Inn's owner and then hopped into the van. Since Carolina and her friend were accompanying us the van had 13 people in it so our bags were strapped on top. They were covered in garbage bags in case in rained, but it was rather a sight to see (a van loaded with people and topped with suitcases).
The first place we drove (an hour travel) was Paos Volcano National Park. It was 8,200 ft (an altitude of 2708m). Today was warm (probably about 70 or so)--however because we were travelling so high up the temperature kept dropping. There was also a lot of fog which made it really hard to see when we got to the top. This crater I was told is the largest one in the world and there lies a pool of water (which is shrinking in size). Catalina shared that the shrinking means that the temperature of the crater is getting warmer and warmer and that an eruption is going to happen soon. After seeing what we could between the fog, we walked down to the Laguna Botos---this was a rainforest hike. It has such bright green plants, a few squirrels, a few birds, and was rather steep to walk up. When we got to the top, again it was very foggy so we just relaxed a bit. The oxygen was rather thin and had dropped a few degrees as well. We looked around and then headed back down---we were all starving by then (but luckily I had some peanut butter crackers to save me!).
We headed to back to the van and were off to lunch! Along the way, Catalina spotted a sloth so the driver (Carlos) pulled off and let us out! It was a female, three-toed sloth hanging on a wired off the side of the road. She moved a bit (as if she was posing for the pictures). She moved very slow, tried to grab leaf a few times and then gave up since it was too far out of reach.
We continued down the path to find a strawberry farm. We were greeted by some strawberry wine tasting (it was good-but after Italy's wine nothing compares) Cecila bought some for us some strawberries to share and we were off again to find lunch. We finally reached a little, local restaurant just down the path. It was delicious---I had some grilled chicken, salad, and rice (beans which I didn't have were also part of this staple Costa Rican diet). Also we all got smoothies---made from fresh fruit and ice--I got a pineapple one which was just delicious! Mmmmm fresh, tasty blended fruit! This restaurant also had free wifi so some of us jumped on to the internet for a few short minutes. After eating our delicious lunches it was back to the van for another 2 hour drive. This drive was a bit more nerve racking. It reminded me of driving in New Zealand on the edge of cliffs with no railings or guides. The roads were very windy and completely downhill. Carlos (driver) did an outstanding job! There are no lines deciphering right of left side of the road and people drive down in the middle sometimes. Also, trucks and vans try to pass each other even when the road is so narrow to begin with. It was a bit scary a couple close edges but I knew we were safe! We passed more strawberry sellers and also found a huge, gigantic waterfall. It was extremely powerful and the biggest one I have ever seen. We jumped out of the van and were all getting misted on even though we were still very far away--- it was a beautiful sight! We all got back in the van, heading back down the path. Along the side of the road we saw Coati--which are Costa Rican raccoons (looked like a mix between an ant eater and raccoon) and also howler monkeys! The Coatis walked right up to the van, looking for food and the monkey was in a tree which we couldn't get very close to but got to see one at least.
We finally made it to Tirimbina which is the lodge we were staying at for the next 4 days. Tirimbina is a resort which has education programs for kids, students, and adults-spreading the need to save animals and their habitats. Tirimbina shows the benefits which the animals they have have provided. Tirimbina has 185 species of plants, 1003 species of butterflies, 180 species of birds (yipee!....not), and 103 species of mammals! The place was covered in plants, hiking paths, and reserves.
We met with Catalina to learn a little bit about Tirimbina and then jumped on out computer and went to the restaurant which they have for dinner. I had a salad, chicken on the bone and some steamed vegetables. There was also ice cream which was delicious. I had a vanilla bean pop which had some coconut in it as well! Mmmmm just the perfect way to end my first day in Costa Rica! For the rest of the evening, everyone jumped online. Since the wifi in my room doesn't work, I had to be in the lobby on the internet. I spent the evening updating my fb and my blog and then we all headed to the room. I showered and then crashed---it was a long adventurous day and its only the beginning!
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