(Follow the links to see the photos!)
There is a plaza at a nearby church, so everyone went there on Wednesday afternoon to participate in different sports activities, such as the three legged sack race, tug of war and of course, soccer. Emily and Joe held their own. There are several stores in the same area, so between events, people went to get ice cream and sodas. Several of us took the opportunity to explore the area, buy some postcards and stamps, and start looking for hats. (Yeah, Jennifer!)
After dinner, three of the four groups crowded onto one school bus to go to the nearby hot springs. People were sitting three and four to a seat, and there were others standing in the aisles. They made all the boys get off the bus until all the girls had seats, but Jennifer and Emily saved part of their seat for James. Clint did some bonding with Jonathan, a pleasant and well-mannered young man from Minnesota.
The Hot Springs of Taracon are heated from the active Volcano, Arenal. They were delightful and relaxing. We kept busy exploring the miniature waterfalls and enjoying the warmth of the springs, as opposed to the frigid showers (we wished we had brought our shampoo).
Originally, we had planned to go to the volcano that evening, but it was too cloudy, so everyone piled back on the bus and the minibus for the trip back to the camp. Julia and Jennifer's host was not feeling well, so they had to leave early.
Back at the camp, there was a short assembly and then the group divided by gender to prepare for the serenata, where the boys sing to the girls and the girls sing to the boys. After some practice, the girls pretended to go to sleep at lights out time, and after about twenty minutes they went outside the boys' windows and serenaded them with several Spanish songs, as well as the inevitable Titanic theme song. At this point in time, Clint and Elliott, not knowing what they were missing, took the opportunity to explore the local cuisine (i.e. "Luigi's Pizzeria, English spoken here"). Everyone who had not collapsed long before went to sleep shortly after that.
This morning we all straggled in more or less in time for breakfast, which was pineapple, papaya and meat sandwiches with what tasted sort of like mayonnaise on it. Joe tells us that this is natilla, a light, sweet cream. After this, there was an assembly where they gave each group its assignment for the morning's work project. Shortly, though, we learned that we would get to go to the same waterfall, Catarata de Rio Arenal, that everyone else visited on Tuesday. However, unlike the larger group, we did not have to walk several kilometers to get to the trail (which was enough exercise in itself.)
The waterfall was the most spectacular thing we've ever seen. "I wish I had a waterproof camera" was the most common phrase of the morning. Several of us are altering our future plans and becoming nature photographers, and all of us have planned to return together in twenty years, or maybe next summer.
We returned in time for a good lunch of rice and macaroni. During a career workshop for the Spanish-speaking participants, we planned our presentation for Friday morning. We are singing several songs, including the national anthem AND one we wrote ourselves, in Spanish! More practice is needed.
We just got out of the assembly where all the workshop groups presented what they discussed. Now we have a little time to relax before dinner. After that, we'll have time to prepare for tonight's dance. In the meantime, we have some more shopping to do, so Adios!!
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