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Published: January 29th 2010
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We left Monteverde to head to Spanish School. We decided we would break up the journey with a night stay in Alujuela. We were definately glad we decided to do that, as it was a bit of a long and slow ride from Monteverde. Unfortunately, we were on a shuttle with no air'conditioning - so it was a bit uncomfortable, but as always an adventure. Most of the journey was along the Pan American Highway, which is a major truck route. The road is quite curvy and hilly, and only 2 lanes. So although the entire journey was only about 140 kilometers, around 100 miles I think, it took us about 5 hours. We were stuck behind huge trucks carrying sugar cane, pineapples, and the like. For stretches, it seemed we were only going about 5mph up the big hills. Wish we could have gotten a picture of the lines of trucks and cars crawling along the hills - as far as the eye could see, but you probably get the idea. It was nice to arrive at the hostel we booked for the night and be familiar with our surroundings, we headed to a restaurant we liked for a cold
One of our noiser neighbors
There are many of these guys hanging around. None of them can tell time or can agree on what time it is. Soooo its always the crack of dawn. LOL drink - and practiced our spanish with a super nice waiter we met when we were in town before. He even remembered us! We had dinner at a fantastic restaurant called Jalapenos and got to take a hot shower, a nice treat after several weeks with only lukewarm water.
Sunday morning, the school picked us up and we headed to Orosi. Its about an hour outside of San Jose. We had come through the town before on a tour, and enjoyed the green rolling hills, beautiful vistas, and laid back relaxed atmosphere. The main street - calle principal - has some restaurants, fruit stands and bakeries, and everyone is extremely friendly. We registered for our class, got our matierials and settled into our little room at the hostel. We quickly met another student from Canada who was also starting classes and we ended up having dinner together and talking about our travel plans. We chose a small restaurant near the hostel, and we were greeted by a friendly Tico who made us feel welcome and at home. His name is Adrian, he was very familiar with the school and does some work around there. He´s a great musician, and
speaks multple languages, including English, German and Dutch! As the week progressed, we met a bunch of travelers - some studying at the school, and others just staying at the hostel. We became friends with a Danish couple, and folks from Germany, California, Colorado, and Canada and met folks from France and the Netherlands.
Our classes were very small - just Edward and me, so that was great. Classes run from 8-11 in the mornings, so we had our afternoons to study, do homework and explore the area. The school was also the training base for a worldwide teaching program, so there was a large group of folks there who had been in Orosi since January preparing and training to teach English as a second language at schools all over Costa Rica. The learning center had lots of people studying and sharing travel stories in the cafe area and lounge. Classes were definately a bit overwhelming, and most days our brains were on overload, but we both feel like we have learned more and actually wish that we had time to do another week. I wouldn´t say that we are fluent yet, but I think we are more confident
and have a bigger vocabulary. We also have a bit more confidence when we are attempting to converse with people we meet. We are definately planning on continuing to do our MP3 lessons, so as not to lose momentum. Today for our last class Edward and I brought an apple for the teacher and wrote a thank you note in Spanish to our teacher.
Monday and Tuesday afternoon, we mainly spent our afternoons practicing what we learned and doing our homework. By Wednesday, we were ready to take a little time away from the books. A group of us decided to go to the church ruins in Ujarras and also a small town near it called Cachi. We took the bus to Paraiso, and then a taxi to the ruins. The ruins are the Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Limpia Concepcion. After several floods and earth quakes the church was left to deteriorate, and is now ruins in a big park. After, a short visit there we decided to walk to Cachi. We walked past coffee farms, banana trees, and fruit and vegetable vendors. Along the way we stopped at a small restaurant for a snack and quick
rest. The walk to Cachi was about 5km, and was very pleasant - people all along the way were extremely friendly, calling out hello and smiling. As we got closer to the town, we got to the Cachi Dam and the Lago de Cachi, which supplies the area with electricity. We were able to walk right accross the bridge and see the dam up close. Once we got into Cachi, we headed to the Casa del Sonador -the dreamers house. Its a family owned woodworking shop. Although the origional artist has passed away, his sons continue their work and make carvings of local peasants or farmers, religious figures and animals. We were able to meet and talk to one of the artists, and Edward got a beautiful walking stick - although we aren´t exactly quite sure how we will get that home on the plane! That evening - we decided to cook a feast with our new friends - we made a big vegetarian meal for 7 people for under $20!!! That night there was also the weekly hot tub gathering at the hostel for all the students. The hot tub is a good sized ceramic tub, which is heated
by a wood stove! A couple of people brought guitars and yukeleles, so there was music and singing. We had a really great evening and made some great new friends.
We can´t believe how quickly the week has gone here. We spent Thursday studying and reviewing, and had our final class this morning. Tomorrow we head to Turrialba for a night. We are hoping that we can get to the Monumento Nacional Arquelogico Guayabo, which is at the Parque Nacional Volcal Turrialba. It is an archeological site which has aqueducts, giant cisterns and petroglyphs, although many of the artifacts that were found are at the Museum in San Jose, it still sounds like an interesting place. We aren´t sure we will be able to get to see the area though, as Turrialba has been active the past several weeks, spewing ash and as a result - parts of the park are closed. So we´ll see and hopefully we´ll have some pictures to share. After Turrialba its off to the Slotch Sanctuary for our 2 weeks of volunteering...
!Pura Vida!
Hasta Luego
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elle
non-member comment
fun times
Great pictures!!!! Looks like everyone is very friendly and congenial. Makes practicing the language a little easier. What an amazing experience.