DAY 1
Welcome to Costa Rica, after their flights, we picked them up at Daniel Oduber Airport (Guanacaste, liberia) where we started going to the first stop which was the El Jardin Restaurant and they tried their first Costa Rican food. On the way to the Hotel they had the opportunity to see monkeys, birds, some typical trees from this area and the beautiful Flamingo beach. A couple of minutes later, we got to Casas Del Toro where students are going to stay in beautiful and comfortable rooms. Later on, we had dinner and Carlos from Siempre Amigos talked some details about the next day for the volunteer project in Lorena where they are going to work. The group was very excited for the next day! Pura Vida.
Day 2
Buenos días Costa Rica, starting the day with a traditional Costa Rican breakfast so called gallo pinto and getting ready to go to Lorena communitY. At la plaza, which is the soccer field we got some indications and tasks to do, so we started working in a good rhythm, the weather was good not so hot, with a good breeze. Some kids got approach and talk to our students, they were very excited to share with them. At 12 pm we had a delicious lunch that was cooking by local woman with firewood kitchen.
Day 3
Another beautiful day, eating breakfast and getting ready to head over to Lorena where kids were already waiting for us, as soon as they saw the bus they started running to reach us at the plaza. We enjoyed a small tour at the primary school and meet some of the teachers and primary school's principal. After lunch some mothers from the school they were selling copos (ice cream flakes) and our students bought some some, they liked the taste very much. After a good day working, we visited Flamingo Beach, where our students were swimming and relaxing with the view of north Pacific Ocean of Costa Rica.
Day 4
The group kept working while some students from the school kept engaging us in very fun conversations. Some mentioned that they are in a political party for the school, and they said vote for their political party. We how they won! Kids normally visit us at the workplace to give us a hand and also to play.
Rain came and we ran to seek shelter under a roof, we were hearing the sound of the rain which made us feel relaxed and happy. After dinner, we were preparing some materials for the next day because we are going to share with those kids at the school in the classroom. An exiting presentation awaiting for us the next day, looking forward to sharing with them.
Day 5
Today we shared with students from Lorena's primary school where we had the opportunity of explaining the idea of our project in the community, our goal was to build a recycling center and also encouraging the kids in how important is it for everybody to recycle. We are very proud of what we have done so far, a good teamwork and spirit of collaboration fill every day.
Day 6
Rain cannot stop us! We keep working in the structure of the recycling center, sharing work with locals and foreigners who work in the community. It has been interesting talking to those people and learn Spanish there. Due to the rain, we changed the place for lunch. We went to the house of a local women, her name is Rosa and she was so happy to welcome all of us and give us the delicious food that she cooks with her sister, typical dish rice with chicken, potato chips, potato with eggs, smash beans and iced tea juice.
DAY 7
Breakfast today was even better! We got rancheros eggs, pan cakes and fruits. Everything was absolutely mouthwatering!
At Lorena most of the day we were painting the roof, the group felt so proud of their efforts making lots of progress. Later on, we went to Playa Conchal one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica with light blue waters and lots and lots of shells! I was really worth it spending time there and recharging energy. Watching sunset was a magical moment all of were very impressed with those colors.
Day 8
Waking up early and heading over to the day adventure at Hacienda Guachipelin! The adventure started with horseback riding along the forest where we had some views of the volcano after that we got ready to go down in the river the activity was tubing, and it was fun all of us ended wet. Canopy our third activity, we got to see impressive and breathtaking views of the forest, plus the adrenaline was amazing! Finally, after lots of adrenaline, we deserved some relaxation, the hot springs was exactly what we needed to relax our body.
DAY 9
After a good weekend, we wake up feeling a little bit tired but in a very positive mood because this week we know that is important because we have seen progress in the project and we would like to keep the same energy because our main goal is to see the project finished. As Carlos said '' ¡A ponerle ganas al trabajo!''
