Saturday, Jan. 16

Sat, Jan. 16

Today was a big traveling day.  We had breakfast at our Arenal hotel restaurant.  While eating, we noticed that the clouds were finally parting and giving us an awesome and clear view of the volcano for the first time!  Of course, we had to get some pictures.

 

Then, we loaded up to travel to Manuel Antonio- a 6 hour drive.  We made some stops along the way.

Our first stop was to see a traditional market.  It was a market with many fruits and vegetables for sale.  Julio explained many of the tropical fruits to us and we got to taste several- granadilla, mango, true banana, and others.  A true banana is smaller, the inside is more yellow and sweet.  The bigger ones are for exportation- the ones we eat in the states.  We also saw a meat market and and many other shops.  We decided to go into a variety shop with costumes and all kinds of items imported from China.  The owner had lots of colors of wigs as well.  Our bus driver, Henry, has no hair.  Previously, they had made jokes about getting Henry a bright red wig for the party with our host families.  (The ticos are always joking around!)  So, we thought it would be funny to actually get him a wig!  So, we bought him a bright pink wig.  Abby got to present it to him in a box and she said “This is a special present for you because you are special.” (in Spanish).  Then we all chanted for him to open it and put it on.  The look on his face was priceless!

 

We continued driving.  Next, we stopped to the crocodiles at the crocodile bridge.  There were about 10 of them.  They were around 17 feet long.  And they laid very still in the water because of the heat.  One had a part of his mouth (snout) missing.  It was probably due to a fight between him and another male- trying to establish dominance!  We also stopped at a fishing village and saw some scarlet macaws!  They used to be almost extinct- they had been hunted for their feathers.  Hunting scarlet macaws is now illegal and they are trying to grow the population.  These birds like to eat cashews.  So we saw them perched in a cashew tree and flying.  They were very beautiful!  The village was a small fishing community.  We went to the ocean and saw a few fishing boats.  It was exciting to see the ocean since we were driving all day and some of the students hadn’t seen an ocean before.  

   

 

We also stopped for lunch at a cafeteria where we could choose what we wanted and they dish it up for us.  After lunch, right next door was a big souvenir shop with a lot of beautiful wooden artifacts, ceramics, t-shirts and many other items.  Many of us bought gifts for family at home.

When we finally arrived at Manuel Antonio it was around 4:00 pm.  We checked into the hotel as quickly as possible and changed to our swim suits.  We met at the lobby and headed for the public beach!  We had to hurry because the sun sets at about 5:30 here (all year round, since they are so close to the equator).  And we needed to leave by sunset.  When, we got to the beach, everyone was so excited.  The beach was big and full of people swimming, lounging and doing water sports.  The water was very warm and the waves weren’t too big.  We watched the sun set behind a rocky island.  

Then we went back to the hotel to shower and change for supper at a restaurant called “El Avión”- which means “the plane”.  Inside there is a real plane cockpit.  It was a very popular place and there were lots of people there.  So, it was pretty loud.  But, we still enjoyed it.

 Afterward, I felt so tired that I couldn’t finish my blog.  That is why I’m posting this a day late.  ¡Buenas noches!