Last Sunday morning at 4.30 am we loaded into the back of my host uncle's truck and took off for a day at the river. I'm having a hard time finding the words to elaborate the adventure, as most of the day passed just sitting wedged between rocks, letting the river run past. We did break for a traditional lunch around 10.30 am (no joke, we were all ready to eat lunch around 9.55 am)- at which we cooked over an open fire and ate enough manzanas de agua to litter the dirt ground in the open air kitchen. At one point in the afternoon it started raining- the combination of the rain and the river started a laughing contest, during which I took home el premio. My host-cousin joked that we all better hide in the river as not to get wet by the rain.

Although I have no photos to support my other recent adventures- I will give a quick overview (a recipe will be coming soon as it is now Semana Santa and I am learning to make Empanadas con Chiverre on Thursday morning).

Two weeks ago my host dad took me, and two other Peace Corps volunteers to a Saprissa y La Liga soccer game. The game started with fireworks, baby powder bombs and paper receipt rolls thrown onto the field. Marvin (my host dad) knew all the songs, and we were quickly catching on (usually just a few mala palabras were repeated again and again). For the weekend I took off to visit my mentor, Katie, in her pueblo near San Isidro. The weekend was jam packed, kicking off with a fogata, camp fire, at the nature reserve where she works. A water fair attracted the majority of the community to the reserve, and we spent the weekend running activities for the kids, playing soccer in the rain and taking a hike to a nearby waterfall. I spotted my first white-faced monkey, and am now able to identify the Costa Rican butterfly. On Monday Katie and I left at 6.15 am to spend the morning at Dominical a nearby beach. Hearing her success stories with a recycling program, an organic garden and the start of a business program for youth, got me even more excited for the next two years. We finished out beach day at noon with delicious avocado, hummus sandwiches on homemade whole wheat bread... definitely beyond rice and beans. My visit ended with observing her English class and catching a dubbed version of "Alice and Wonderland" (complete with popcorn and Pops blackberry helado).