On Friday, some members of our group were suffering from general illnesses and stayed behind in a hotel with a pool and the beach to recover while the rest of us went on to see the Bribri indigenous people. The border between Panama and Costa Rica is split by the Yorkin River so we got to see two countries at once. Of course Panama looked just like Costa Rica, but the experience was still cool.
We were not sure what to expect from the indigenous people but we were excited when they greeted us warmly and welcomed us into their homes. They showed us where the local kids all go to school together and the building where they meet for general community meetings. Our rooms were cozy with bunk beds surrounded by netting to keep the bugs out. They served us lunch when we got there, and afterwards everyone had a great game of soccer against the local kids. That night after dinner they told us about how they started their co-op and what they did to make it successful. It was definitely an inspiring story and we loved getting to hear the history of how they started.
On Saturday we were supposed to hike to the Panama waterfall, but because of weather issues, we were not able to go. Bummer. We did play another game of soccer instead and splashed around in the Yorkin River. We were sad to leave the Bribri people, but excited to get back to those we had to leave behind because of illness. After that, we stayed at the Atlantica hotel and enjoyed a day of swimming and being at the beach. At night we got a chance to eat out at some of the local restaurants and look for souvenirs from the many shops that are along the beach.
On Saturday we were supposed to hike to the Panama waterfall, but because of weather issues, we were not able to go. Bummer. We did play another game of soccer instead and splashed around in the Yorkin River. We were sad to leave the Bribri people, but excited to get back to those we had to leave behind because of illness. After that, we stayed at the Atlantica hotel and enjoyed a day of swimming and being at the beach. At night we got a chance to eat out at some of the local restaurants and look for souvenirs from the many shops that are along the beach.
On Monday, we drove back to San Jose, but along the way we stopped at an Iguana farm. We got to see how they raise the iguanas and later release them back into the wild. On Tuesday, we went to see the Poas volcano. It was quite an amazing site. We hiked up to the large crater and got to look down on a lot of smoke and surrounding burnt scenery. It was cooler than it sounds. Afterwards we hiked up the Botos lagoon and got to take a lot of pretty pictures. For lunch we went to La Paz, and then we got to see all of the different exhibits they have. They keep jungle cats, monkeys, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other animals in really neat exhibits. After we saw the animals, we hiked to several of the different waterfalls there and got to see some really pretty scenery and of course, take more photos. We are all getting to know each other really well and establishing some great friendships on this trip. We are looking forward to our last week of Costa Rica together.
That’s all for now,
Bekah, Christel, Krista, Tyler and Angele
Bekah, Christel, Krista, Tyler and Angele
No comments:
Post a Comment