A few more photos of Costa Rica

Hola!
I'm back home and it's great to be back, although I will miss Costa Rica and all of my travel-mates.
Since I last posted I visited two really wonderful schools.  The emphasis on environmental sustainability at all of the school we visited was really impressive.  I'm posting some photos of a school in Heredia.  Three ninth grade boys were our tour guides and did an excellent job.
They took us on a nature walk through the forest on their campus where they have a butterfly house and a trail called "Jurassic Park."  They also showed us their recycling center, where students bring newspapers etc. on a daily basis.  I'm also including a couple of photos taken in Turrialba, which was a very nice place to spend a couple of nights.
It was the experience of a lifetime and I feel like I really got to know the people, and the country well.  Hopefully I'll get back there in the not too distant future.

Manuel Antonio and Turrialba

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We left Manuel Antonio this morning after four days of mostly working on curriculum.  Manuel Antonio is a touristy beach town, which was a big change after the rural tourism experience at Asoporola.   Even so, we all appreciated having internet access and warm showers and a nice pool.  Our hotel grounds were full of monkeys!  (See photo below) They swung from the trees and walk right past us poolside.  A large iguana slithered up to our table as well.  We noticed some of the other hotel guests feeding it - not a good idea.  I'm also including photos of President Laura Chinchilla from our first week - one with our group and of course I'm always the tallest and always in the back! I've discovered that I can copy my friend's photos from facebook.  So, I've added a photo of me and Kalee after ziplining and a picture of me as I'm boarding our plane for Puerto Jimenez.  I'm also including a photo from one of the most mystical/magical places I've ever been but it's hard to describe.  It was an artists home in Asoporola, Monteverde, and the ladder that you see leads to his treehouse.  Everything in the treehouse is made of recycled materials and as you can see, he used old tires to make the ladder.

Asoporola Eco Lodge - La Amistad

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I'm back online after three days in Asoporola Eco Lodge in La Amistad.  There are 72 families living in Asoporola and they all work together - producing coffee and bananas organically, growing vegetables, working with honeybees, and making cosmetics.  They have cattle, chickens and pigs and "live off of the land."  They also provide "agro tourism" experiences, which is what we participated in.  We milked cows, (photo below) planted coffee, learned how to make mosaics, jam and cosmetics, and hiked in the forest.  Somehow they share in the profits, but it's still not clear to me exactly how that works.  They live next to a national park and help to preserve it.  La Amistad is the largest national park but the least visited.  The government isn't interested in increasing tourism in the area, but they do research there.
Now we are in Manuel Antonio, a resort area on the ocean where we have internet access and can work on our curriculum projects.  I've traded waking up to the roosters crowing to the monkeys howling!
Below are some pictures of Asoporola - a local artist named Pancho created mosaics on almost every building - I took a shower in an open air bathroom make entirely of mosaics.  Hope the photos give you some idea of what it was like.  It was an experience like no other - I loved it!
I'm also adding a couple of photos from the walk on the beach back in the Corcovado Reserve so you can see our guide cracking open the coconut with his machete.  Several of my friends here have bought machetes to bring home - not me!

Two nights in Puerto Jimenez

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We've reached the point in our journey where we are seeing more and more biodiversity which is really exciting.  We had our last Spanish class on Friday and while it was very good for me I'm happy to be finished with sitting in a classroom and the homework.  Now I can just practice what I've learned.  When we left school we drove to the airport in Tamarindo, which was pretty funny - no check-in desk, no airport security and one short little runway.  They just checked our names, and we got on our charter flight to Puerto Jimenez.  I'm posting a couple of photos of the view of Peninsula de Osa (our destination) from the plane below
Yesterday we went on a guided hike in the Corcovado Reserve, in the Peninsula de Osa, which is probably the most incredibly beautiful place I have ever been.  In this Peninsula there are 10,000 species of insects, 360 species of birds, 140 Mammals, and 5 species of cats:  Jaguar, Puma, Ocelot, and Consila.  We hiked along the beach where the waves pounding, and the view was magical - misty mountains ahead and lush greenery alongside us.  Then we walked into the forest where there were streams to cross and things to learn about.  We had three guides - two of them carried huge machetes!   The machetes were used to split open the coconuts perfectly so we could drink the juice and then eat the coconut.
We saw so  many Scarlet Macaws (they are endangered but abundant in this particular area) I couldn't count them.  I'm so used to seeing them in cartoons etc. that it's hard to believe they are real with all of those bright colors - red, blue, and yellow.  We saw capuchin monkeys, which have cute white faces, two different kinds of snakes, lots of hermit crabs, a big group of coatis (similar to raccoons but wilder looking) an anteater, other really interesting looking birds and lots of gorgeous plants.  We were in a puma's territory but didn't see one.
I won't be able to post pictures from the hike here since I took photos with my phone and not my iPad but I'll be happy to show them to you when I get home if you're interested.
Today we're headed to an Eco Lodge in La Amistad and will do some community service work with some of the indigenous people there.  I won't have internet access again until Wednesday or Thursday so I'll share some of those experiences when I get back online.  I'm adding a photo of an Iguana that crossed my path on the way to breakfast this morning.

Two more days in Playa Flamingo

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Just in case you are worried about me working too hard, as you can see below, we spent some time in the Monkey Bar in Playa Flamingo.  Eddie and I are in the pool, and some of our friends our sitting on the side.  We had a nice lunch there and used the WiFi and pool before meeting our Playa Flamingo families.  I'm also posting the picture of the Iguana that I promised - it didn't come out as well as I'd like and the Iguana looks like a gopher, but it's really an Iguana!

Second Day in Playa Flamingo

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I got a bit teary-eyed leaving my host family in Monteverde on Sunday.  The kids were so sweet and I enjoyed life in the beautiful countryside.  I can't complain though because now I'm in the beach town of Playa Flamingo.
I'm learning so much Spanish and so much about Costa Rican culture - it's exciting.  Yesterday after class we visited the town of Santa Cruz, which is known for its beautiful Catholic Church in the center of town and a nice park with a huge sculpture represnting the graphic art of Costa Rica's indigenous people.  I'll post a photo of the Christo Negro (Black Christ) in the church which has a good story behind it that's too long to tell here and of the sculpture.  Also posting a phot of me in front of  a statue of a bull and a toreador - what's left of the original church is in the background.
We also went to a small town called Guatil where they are famous for the pottery they have been making there for generations.See the photo below of Kaylee learning how to throw a pot on a wheel made from recycled auto parts that you spin with your hand!
I've moved to a new town but the roosters are still my 4:30-5:00A.M. wake-up call.  I'm posting some photos of my walk from my house to the meeting place where the bus picks us up and takes us to school.  If you look closely at the photo directly below you can see the Pacific Ocean at the end of the road.
Today I took a Latin Dance class, went swimming in the pool at school and then to a little place called Johnny's Subs.  Not to be confused with Jimmy John's at home. :)  While we were eating we watched an iguana the size of a cat climb the roof next to us.  I don't think my photos of the dance class and iguana are on my ipad yet so look for them in future blogs.

Oh, and I'm doing curriculum work too!  A couple of things I love about Costa Rica:  They abolished their military in 1949 and use the extra funding for schools and the environment.  The other thing is that they have bullfights but they don't kill the bulls.   It's a peaceful country. 

Last Day in Monteverde

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I've been enjoying all of the youngsters who come to visit their abuela, (grandma) my host Mom.  The two 11 year old girls go to a wonderful little school called the Cloud Forest School where all of their subjects are taught in English.  We visited the school yesterday and they are always looking for teachers if any of you are interested.  The school is in the middle of a beautiful forest and focuses on environmental sustainability and English.  The students work in a beautiful garden right "on campus"
and there are beautiful paths for nature walks.  Took photos with my phone which I can't post here right now but it's a sweet school.  There are some American students and many Costa Rican students on scholarships.  I've learned that in Costa Rica they teach English in the public schools but it's like Foreign Language in the U.S., if the students don't use it outside of class, they don't get very fluent.
In a town like Monteverde it's very important to speak fluent English since the tourist trade is so big so families do what they can to send their children to private schools where all subjects are taught in English.  Here's a photo of me and Ana getting ready to plant trees at Life Monteverde:  

I'm posting photos I took at a hummingbird garden where there were so many hummingbirds it was a bit reminiscent of Hitchcock.  The hummingbirds flew by so close to my head I could hear the buzzing of their wings.  I loved it.  Also posting the road leading to my house here, a photo of  the Farmers Market here this morning - a bit different from Meridian but I felt right at home, and a photo of a delicious salad I had for lunch today at a restaurant called Morphos - with painted butterflies everywhere.
Tomorrow morning we leave for Playa Flamingo and our last home stay.  It it's anywhere near as nice as my first two homestays I'll be happy.

Two more days in Monteverde

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Just as I'm becoming acustomed to the routine with my host family in Monteverde, I'll move again on Sunday.  I can't complain though because my next host family lives in Playa Flamingo - a block or two from the ocean!  Both of the families I've stayed with so far are early risers and they go to bed early which works well for me.  My host Mom serves me breakfast at 7:00 and here's what I've had so far: Empamadas with beans, eggs and toast, pancakes and today an omlette in a tortilla.  Muy bien.
We eat breakfast and dinner with our host families and often eat in a restaruant for lunch.  The avocadoes and mangos here are amazing!
Just in case you are wondering, I am doing quite a bit of curriculum work and homework while I'm here - it's not all about beaches and ziplining.
Here are some photos:  A few of us getting ready to go ziplining, our group having lucnh at a great restaurant in San Juaqin called Super Snacks, a phot of me and some young women who were staying with my last host family and some of the young family members at the birthday fiesta for their grandmother who turned 80.

More of Beautiful Monteverde

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I had an exciting morning here in Monteverde.  We went on a zipline tour of the canopy of the cloud forest, which means we were above the trees.  O.K., I know my family is amazed that I did this since I'm not much of a thrill seeker.  It was so much fun!   Riding on chairlifts in the mountains of Colorado was good preparation.
The other experience that has prepared me for life in Costa Rica would be spending time at our family cottage on Crystal Lake.  Many of my colleagues here are complaining about the bugs in their houses but so far the cottage has more bugs in it than any place I've been here.  They say Playa Flamingo is bugier though and I'll be there next week.
I didn't take my ipad with me on the zipline so I can post any pictures of it now but friends took videos and photos so I have proof!
We were already a very close group of people before the zipline tour, but that was definitely a team-building experience.
Below is a picture of me in a beautiful orchid garden that I toured after having an Agua Dulce Con Leche (My new favorite drink - sugar cane, water and milk) in the Orchid Cafe.
I'm also posting a photo of my host family here in Monteverde and a photo of me standing in front of a fountain at the school where I'm learning Spanish.  Pretty nice looking school huh?  When I'm sitting in class I watch the hummingbirds outside the window!

Third Day in Beautiful Monteverde

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Monteverde is a beautiful area in the mountains with green hills and lots of open space.  We spent a wonderful morning yesterday at a farm called Life Monteverde where they grow coffee and have goats, chickens, pigs and huge gardens.  We learned a lot about sustainable, organic farming and planted some trees.  Tomorrow we'll go to the Cloud Forest and Thursday we have a Zip Line tour through the canopy.
Today we have time to use the internet and work on curriculum.  It's a good thing because I have all kinds of ideas swirling in my brain and I need to get them in writing.  For you teachers out there, last week was like the first week of the school year - so many new people to meet, names to learn and information overload.  Exciting and exhausting.   Now I'm used to the schedule and my Spanish is improving little by little, although never fast enough for me.  Below is a view from the yard of my new home in Monteverde:

Below is a photo of my new host family in Monteverde - my host Mom Virginia, her daughter and granddaughter.  She also has another daughter, Fabiola, who has a one year old daughter named April and she has a son Erich.  They weren't home when I took this photo.  I'm also posting a photo of their house from the outside.  The little building on the right of the house is where the rooster lives. The photo of the woman weaving was taken at the school where I'm learning Spanish.  I have class for four hours a day - during our break we watched some of the indigenous people weave and work with wood and heard them speak about their craft.
Other photos are of Life in Monteverde Farm.  It's difficult to capture how beautiful it all is but here you go: