Tuesday was our last day in Costa Rica, but our first real chance to spend time with our families. About half the group (including myself) went to a hot springs and recreation area about a half an hour from Aguas Zarcas. We relaxed in three pools of water: cold, hot, and uncomfortably hot. The relatively hot pool was my favorite. We ate a picnic-style lunch of beans and rice (gauo pinto in Spanish) and ham and cheese sandwiches. The beans and rice I had gotten used to, but the sandwich was my first since coming to Costa Rica. It drizzled the whole afternoon (another daily ritual in Costa Rica), so most of the time was spent in the pools or under a gazebo and not playing games of volleyball or soccer, which were available at the center. We returned home at about four in the afternoon to get ready for a banquet held in honor of us that night. Unfortunately I sat in wet paint earlier in the week so I did not have my best pair of pants for the banquet.

My family day was spent with the Henriqez-Millon family in Santa Rosa. The mother, Conchita, and all three children have participated in past exchanges, so this was a very happy reunion for me. Conchita teaches food preparation at the local high school. From Santa Rosa we drove to Los Chiles for a river trip to Cano Negro, a biological preserve. What a wonderful trip! Along the way we saw many monkeys, iguanas, birds of all types, and massive trees.

Adriana and Ricardo	Cano Negro Preserve
Henriqez Millon Family of Santa Rosa	A monkey in the trees near Cano Negro
The crown of a giant Ceiba tree