This week was awesome. I´ll start with the best part, which was Thursday. By this time I had made friends with two volunteers who had arrived last week, Simone and Farina, and Diego and his friend Dano had invited us to go to the waterfalls at Coopecampesinos. I had seen pictures of the place and knew how beautiful it was, so I was grateful for the opportunity, especially since it was going to take a huge chunk of the day and a lot of walking and both of them had already spent about six hours working that day. We managed to get a ride to the river, which saved us close to a 2-hour walk, and then crossed the river in a cage suspended on cables, which we used to pull ourselves across. Or should I say that Dano used to pull us across. As soon as we let go of the platform, we realized that Juan Carlos, our driver, still had Farina´s camera, so the guys dropped us off and went back for the camera. One of just many generous things they did that day.
We walked for at least an hour, most of it uphill, to arrive at the soda in Coopecampesinos where we paid 8000 colones (about $16) for the five of us to enter. We crossed the most amazing hanging bridge, 40 meters above the ground, with a gorgeous view of the waterfall, before we hiked down to the waterfall. We swam a big, played in the waterfalls, the guys did stupid things as guys will do. It was perfect.
We started the trek back in the rain and were wondering exactly how we were going to make it all the way back considering it was already 4 and it begins to get dark at 5:15. Farina´s flip flop broke shortly after we departed and she walked the rest of the way with no shoes, something I definitely could not have done. Diego offered up his shoes again, but she declined. Crossed back across the river and made the walk back to Santo Domingo right around 5 o´clock. One of the things I love about this place, it´s easy enough to hitch a ride. Diego simply asked a local guy how much it would cost for him to take us back to Silencio: 5000 colones and a 15-minute wait. Totally worth it. Farina made me sing a capella all the way back to Silencio.
It seemed like an absolutely magical day. I don´t know if it´s because I´m getting sentimental about leaving or what, but I´d have to say it was the best day of my trip thus far. I told Diego he gave me a gift that day, but I don´t think he fully understands how much it meant to me, maybe because I don´t have enough words in Spanish to really express it. Saying, ¨me gusta mucho¨ just doesn´t capture the full extent of my feelings. It was really just a special, special day.
This week I worked at the rescue center, but only because I wanted to work with a friend, not because I really wanted to work there. I have to say, though, that it was worth it on Monday because of a funny incident with a monkey. At one location there are three cages of monkeys, and there is a wild monkey that has recently been hanging out there. We sat two bags and a bucket full of food on a bench while we were cleaning cages and taking photos. I looked over to see the monkey walking upright toward the bench while looking in our direction. Before I could get there he had snatched a bag of food and was starting to run away. When I yelled at him, he dropped the bag and fled. I´m still laughing about it because he reminded me of a small child sneaking into the kitchen to steal food from the table, walking in one direction but looking in another to avoid being caught. He later snatched food out of Farina´s hand.
On Friday I ended up not working because both of the places I contemplated working at were full of people. In the afternoon, I had to watch Simone and Farina depart, which was sad, so I cheered myself up by watching the guys butcher a pig. Watching them kill the pig definitely made me forget about the girls. I´d say I´m probably scarred for life for having watched that spectacle. I won´t describe it here because it´s just too graphic and horrifying. I did help scrape some of the hair and skin off, just so I could say I helped. And when you look at the photos of that, know that I´m smiling and laughing not because I´m enjoying it but because I´m in utter disbelief at not only what I´m doing but at the fact that my friend was taking pictures of me. I enjoyed hanging out there and watching, even if it was a bit disgusting, and I´m fascinated by the fact that those guys can consume 2 liters of Cacique while working.
The only downside to this week was the arrival of some volunteers for whom I really don´t care for. They arrived via San Jose where apparently they were living with families who had servants. They definitely aren´t accustomed to the kind of life that is led in Silencio, and they don´t care for the town at all. Rather than embrace the laidback lifestyle, they want to criticize. One of them said this morning that Andres was supposed to be work at 5 this morning but that he wasn´t up when she left the house, and the other one laughed that he meant 5 in the afternoon because it gets dark 5 minutes after that. Considering that Andres worked 12 hours yesterday butchering 5 hogs, I was more than a little annoyed. I tried to remind them that a) life here is different and you have to learn to not need entertainment 24-7, and b) that the work here is often hard. For instance, yesterday the guys working in the palm trees had to work with barillas (a long metal pole with a scythe on the end) that were extended to 8 meters. I´d say a few hours of that is a full days´work. Just a differing of opinions, I suppose, but I´m glad to see that two of them will be departing Monday, a week earlier than they planned.
This week I´m sure I´m going to be a little more than sentimental as it´s my last full week. But I´m consoling myself with the prospect of returning in January or February. I´m doing now what I came to do--learn Spanish and live the life of a local. I´m sure it´s possible I could also find that elsewhere in Latin America, but if I´ve already found it here, then why not return to it. This ¨vacation¨ is definitely different from others. When I went to Australia, it was a constant adventure with new places to see every day. I came to Costa Rica partly because I wanted some of that adventure, like the canopy tours and the whitewater rafting, and while there´s still a part of me that thinks that will be fun, I also know that what I´m going to remember most about this trip isn´t going to be the tourist attractions, it´s going to be my daily interactions with the people who live and breathe this air every day. Like walking across a hanging bridge with friends who live here, not a tourist guide. Like teasing Diego in Spanish about the reason his back is hurting. Like accepting a bracelet that David made for me. Like sharing french fries with mayonnaise and ketchup as if it´s the best food we´ve ever eaten.
Hasta la proxima semana . . .
We walked for at least an hour, most of it uphill, to arrive at the soda in Coopecampesinos where we paid 8000 colones (about $16) for the five of us to enter. We crossed the most amazing hanging bridge, 40 meters above the ground, with a gorgeous view of the waterfall, before we hiked down to the waterfall. We swam a big, played in the waterfalls, the guys did stupid things as guys will do. It was perfect.
We started the trek back in the rain and were wondering exactly how we were going to make it all the way back considering it was already 4 and it begins to get dark at 5:15. Farina´s flip flop broke shortly after we departed and she walked the rest of the way with no shoes, something I definitely could not have done. Diego offered up his shoes again, but she declined. Crossed back across the river and made the walk back to Santo Domingo right around 5 o´clock. One of the things I love about this place, it´s easy enough to hitch a ride. Diego simply asked a local guy how much it would cost for him to take us back to Silencio: 5000 colones and a 15-minute wait. Totally worth it. Farina made me sing a capella all the way back to Silencio.
It seemed like an absolutely magical day. I don´t know if it´s because I´m getting sentimental about leaving or what, but I´d have to say it was the best day of my trip thus far. I told Diego he gave me a gift that day, but I don´t think he fully understands how much it meant to me, maybe because I don´t have enough words in Spanish to really express it. Saying, ¨me gusta mucho¨ just doesn´t capture the full extent of my feelings. It was really just a special, special day.
This week I worked at the rescue center, but only because I wanted to work with a friend, not because I really wanted to work there. I have to say, though, that it was worth it on Monday because of a funny incident with a monkey. At one location there are three cages of monkeys, and there is a wild monkey that has recently been hanging out there. We sat two bags and a bucket full of food on a bench while we were cleaning cages and taking photos. I looked over to see the monkey walking upright toward the bench while looking in our direction. Before I could get there he had snatched a bag of food and was starting to run away. When I yelled at him, he dropped the bag and fled. I´m still laughing about it because he reminded me of a small child sneaking into the kitchen to steal food from the table, walking in one direction but looking in another to avoid being caught. He later snatched food out of Farina´s hand.
On Friday I ended up not working because both of the places I contemplated working at were full of people. In the afternoon, I had to watch Simone and Farina depart, which was sad, so I cheered myself up by watching the guys butcher a pig. Watching them kill the pig definitely made me forget about the girls. I´d say I´m probably scarred for life for having watched that spectacle. I won´t describe it here because it´s just too graphic and horrifying. I did help scrape some of the hair and skin off, just so I could say I helped. And when you look at the photos of that, know that I´m smiling and laughing not because I´m enjoying it but because I´m in utter disbelief at not only what I´m doing but at the fact that my friend was taking pictures of me. I enjoyed hanging out there and watching, even if it was a bit disgusting, and I´m fascinated by the fact that those guys can consume 2 liters of Cacique while working.
The only downside to this week was the arrival of some volunteers for whom I really don´t care for. They arrived via San Jose where apparently they were living with families who had servants. They definitely aren´t accustomed to the kind of life that is led in Silencio, and they don´t care for the town at all. Rather than embrace the laidback lifestyle, they want to criticize. One of them said this morning that Andres was supposed to be work at 5 this morning but that he wasn´t up when she left the house, and the other one laughed that he meant 5 in the afternoon because it gets dark 5 minutes after that. Considering that Andres worked 12 hours yesterday butchering 5 hogs, I was more than a little annoyed. I tried to remind them that a) life here is different and you have to learn to not need entertainment 24-7, and b) that the work here is often hard. For instance, yesterday the guys working in the palm trees had to work with barillas (a long metal pole with a scythe on the end) that were extended to 8 meters. I´d say a few hours of that is a full days´work. Just a differing of opinions, I suppose, but I´m glad to see that two of them will be departing Monday, a week earlier than they planned.
This week I´m sure I´m going to be a little more than sentimental as it´s my last full week. But I´m consoling myself with the prospect of returning in January or February. I´m doing now what I came to do--learn Spanish and live the life of a local. I´m sure it´s possible I could also find that elsewhere in Latin America, but if I´ve already found it here, then why not return to it. This ¨vacation¨ is definitely different from others. When I went to Australia, it was a constant adventure with new places to see every day. I came to Costa Rica partly because I wanted some of that adventure, like the canopy tours and the whitewater rafting, and while there´s still a part of me that thinks that will be fun, I also know that what I´m going to remember most about this trip isn´t going to be the tourist attractions, it´s going to be my daily interactions with the people who live and breathe this air every day. Like walking across a hanging bridge with friends who live here, not a tourist guide. Like teasing Diego in Spanish about the reason his back is hurting. Like accepting a bracelet that David made for me. Like sharing french fries with mayonnaise and ketchup as if it´s the best food we´ve ever eaten.
Hasta la proxima semana . . .
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