We boarded the bus headed toward our next destination- the Arenal volcano area. We had several stops to make and things to learn on the way. First we stopped to visit the Maleku tribe. They are indigenous people who are trying to maintain their culture and traditions. There are only about 600 of them left in Costa Rica. They have a reservation. But they dress as we do and live in modern homes now. Today, they were dressed in traditional Maleku clothing. The Maleku fished and ate a lot of fish. They used bow and arrow for hunting and fishing. They let us practice with the bows and arrows. The target was a tree trunk. On my last try, I hit the tree! They also acted out a drama for us showing how the Maleku ask for a woman's hand in marriage and perform a wedding ceremony. If a young man wants to marry a certain young woman, he tells his mother. His mother will ask the girl's mother for her daughter's hand. But, first the man must prove that he is a good provider by bringing an animal that he has hunted for them to eat. This is presented to the mother of the girl. The whole family visits when the mother asks for her hand in marriage. If the girl says "no" it is a huge insult and means that she doesn't think the man can provide. The family that was turned down will leave the other family as enemies and will curse them. If the girl agrees to marry him, they have a ceremony that includes just the two families. The students asked the tribe members many questions (in Spanish). They participate well and are genuinely interested in the activities!
Then, we continued to La vida campesina for lunch. They are farmers that grow their food on their ground and prepare it and serve it in the restaurant. We will go back tomorrow to learn about sugar cane and their farm. First they taught us how to make tortillas and we all made one that they cooked. Then we all went through the buffet for a very delicious lunch with rice, beans, beef in sauce, chicken in sauce, yuca, mashed potatoes, yuca chips, salad and star fruit juice fresco. We also had coffee and a fried dessert. Traditional Costa Rican coffee is made with a little cotton bag that hangs above a coffee pot. The coffee grounds go in the bag and then hot water is poured through it and into the coffee pot.
After lunch, we went to visit an elementary school in the town of La Fortuna. December and January is the summer break for the school. So, class was not in session. But a group of 15 kids were there to show us some traditional folkloric dances. They escorted us by the hand to the area where they were to dance. They wore traditional dresses with either black or white full skirts for twirling. They did a beautiful job. We all got to participate in a dance called "El pavo" (the turkey). El pavo stands in the middle of the circle dancing with a broom. When the music stops everyone finds a new partner. The person that doesn't have a partner is the new "pavo" and has to dance with the broom because he doesn't have anyone else to dance with. Afterward we had a little question and answer session. Our students asked the kids questions about them and their school and vice versa. Our students really enjoyed the young kids and appreciated that they came on their summer break.
Next, it was time to drive into the La Fortuna Waterfall where we spent the rest of the afternoon. We hiked down many, many steps to get to the bottom of the waterfall. We had great views of the powerful waterfall surrounded by beautiful rainforest! We were able to swim downstream of the waterfall and carefully climb on the rocks. The water was so cool and clear. We all enjoyed the waterfall. It was amazing!
Finally, we headed to our hotel in La Fortuna called "Montaña de Fuego" (Mountain of Fire). Everyone was excited to see cute individual cabins with great views of the volcano! We decided on an 8:00 pm supper, giving us 2 hours to shower and relax. Some of the students went to the pool which also has warm thermal pools! We ate supper at our hotel restaurant and we all really enjoyed being together and sharing some laughs! Tonight a few students had mishaps with forgetting their keys in their room and losing a key. They used their Spanish at the reception desk and were able to communicate what they needed successfully. After supper, we had a recap of our home stay and plans for the rest of the trip. Tomorrow is another full day! Can't wait to zip line and go the hot springs!
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