This past week has been very eventful. Last week Megan and I went to Cañas and Upala with Haro, an English teacher at San Ambrosio. At first we were a little nervous about what to expect, because everything here is so laid back and we never really got a definitive answer about what we would be doing.
We did know that we would be staying in firehouses because Haro is a volunteer firefighter. Over the course of the next 3 days, Megan and I went with Haro to his classes at the university. We helped the students with pronuncation and conversational skills. It was neat to help the students improve their English, and they helped us with our Spanish. On Saturday one of Haro's students took us to Arenal Lake and we saw the volcano and windmill farms.
On Tuesday Megan and I met up with the rest of the girls to go to Monteverde. Since we were separated, we planned to meet at the bus station in Tilarán and then get on the bus together to go to Monteverde. We had everything carefully planned out, and Megan and I started our journey that day early in the morning to catch the first bus.
When we finally arrived in Tilarán at 12:45, it was raining, we didn´t see any of the girls, and there was no bus waiting for us. A taxi driver came up to us and started motioning with his hands and trying to explain to us that the bus to Monteverde left 10 minutes prior and that he would drive us to catch it. Five minutes later we realized what he was saying and we got in the cab with him. We drove a few miles to a very muddy and unstable looking bridge with a bus on either side of it.
Apparently the bus couldn´t cross the bridge so everyone had to get out, walk across and then got onto another bus. Megan and I finally got on the bus and Stephanie stood up and screamed and started crying because she was so relieved to see us. After a long and bumpy bus ride, we arrived to a cold and rainy Monteverde. The next day we got up early and were picked up for the canopy tour. Even though it was cold and rainy, it was the most amazing experience to be in the middle of the rainforest. Later that day Megan and I went on a hike through the rainforest and saw a beautiful waterfall. The day we spent in Monteverde was definitely the best day I´ve had in Costa Rica.
I am really enjoying my time in Costa Rica, and I can´t believe that it is almost finished. I have learned a great deal about myself and about teaching.
Windmill farm near Lago Arenal
Lago Arenal
Cool tree---those are the roots
Megan and I posing in front of a giant bull, waiting for a bus back to Nicoya
Getting ready for Monteverde.