Es lo que es

It is what it is. Es lo que es.  So far that has been the mantra of our adventura en Costa Rica, and it has been just that so far, an adventure.  When we arrived Friday at about 11:30 local time, we were excited to see a familiar face to greet us outside the airport, as Sylvia from Elon waited for us.  We immediately boarded our bus, what will prove to be our home on wheels this week, and set off for La Fortuna.  My first Costa Rican meal (this trip): arroz con pollo y agua.  Muy interesante, si? We drive northwest to our first hotel where we can barely see the giant, towering Volcan Arenal through the clouds and mist from the storm we've been driving through.  Despite the rain and thunder and lightening, we decide to go to the hot springs anyway.  

Es lo que es... we're going to get wet in the water anyway, right?  We shrugged off the massive thunderstorm and found a lovely hot spring with a lovely bar and took a lovely group tequila shot.  We explored the springs and found many of varying temperatures, and even a water slide!  It was both stormy and dusk, making a rather magical atmosphere in the volcano hot springs.  At once, while (nearly) the whole group found a nice hot pool to settle in for our last few minutes before dinner, a huge crack of lightening struck, brightening the whole place.  Then, we were left in complete darkness.  The power had gone out.  On the side of a volcano in a thunderstorm, it. gets. dark.  Once we finished all the screaming and OMGs, we made a plan to all join hands and walk down the path to the locker room area together, kindergarten style.  We did just that, and found some people there with candles and flashlights.  All at once we realized... WHERE'S DESMOND?!?!  

A few selfless group members trekked off in the rain and darkness with a tiny flashlight to find him.  And where was Desmond? At the bar!  I'll give you the short version of what happened next: LOTS OF WAITING.

Es lo que es... We had all of a sudden had an impromptu, non-contrived team building experience, and  I was impressed by everyone's positive, laid back attitudes.  After a lot of waiting, we all cheered when the power was restored, and we headed up to the top of the resort for dinner at the restaurant.  The food was delicious, but we were all exhausted by now.  We had been awake for easily 21 hours at this point, and were thrilled to go back to the hotel and go to sleep.

The next morning, we set off in the bus again for the west coast.  I was excited for my first visit to the Pacific Ocean, and looking forward to some relaxation and free time.  The drive was long, but we stopped for some photo ops of monos y Lago Arenal.  Getting close to the coast, suddenly our speed slowed and the roads turned to gravel.  We were lost.  

Es lo que es... we'd been in the van for about 7 hours at this point, what was a few more?!  After getting directions, we headed full speed for Playa Grande.  As soon as we arrived and settled into our rooms, we ventured out to the beach for a long walk and took it all in.  We headed to nearby Tamarindo for dinner and to pick up our final group member.  We ate at La Panga, and just as dinner was served, guess what happened.  The lights went out.  Darkness again.

Es lo que es... This time we were at a beach front restaurant, food and "beverages" already served, so the power outage was much less stressful.  The dinner was delicious, and we returned to Play Grande where a few of us extended the fiesta at a neighboring bar.  Now it's Sunday morning, and I'm sitting in my bathing suit waiting to eat breakfast and spend a day at the beach with my new friends.  Es lo que es, y es bueno!

I'm going to be FAMOUS!

I've yet to share much info about the most imminent of my excursions, Costa Rica, simply because of my own lack of knowledge as to what the trip would entail. Well, it's less than 48 hours to departure, and now I have all the details!  Best news about this trip, a videographer is accompanying us to make a documentary of our trip to be used in marketing material for the Elon M.Ed. program.  Translation: I'm going to be FAMOUS!  Of course that is entirely dependent on your definition of fame, but let's not be picky!

Lucky for me, I am meeting the group at the RDU airport which means an extra bit of sleep for me on Friday morning.  The crew will be boarding a bus in Elon around 3:30 or 4 in the morning, but I will simply have to be at the airport at 5 am.  We will fly into San Jose, Costa Rica via connection Miami, but then hit the road right away to our first destination--La Fortuna where we will see Volcán Arenal and visit a hot springs resort.  Our trip planners have been kind enough to consider that we are within days of finishing what was most likely a busy and stressful school year, and thus scheduled vacation-type activities for the first weekend.  After our first afternoon/evening in La Fortuna at Hotel La Pradera, we will depart Saturday morning for Guanacaste.

We will get to spend our weekend at Playa Grande in the comfy RipJack Inn.  With no real plans, we've been encouraged to try surfing, yoga, and do some relaxing.  I guess that's something I can comply with!  We'll stay there until Monday morning, when the work begins with two school visits to Brasilito School and La Paz School.  After that, we will trek back to San Jose where we will stay for the remainder of the trip at Apartotel Maria Alexandra in the suburb of Escazu.

While in San Jose, we will visit a vocational school (Colegio Vocacional Monseñor Sanabria), a Catholic school (Nuestra Señora ...I think that's the right link), and a private school (St. Michael School).  Additionally, we will get to meet and socialize with a group of Costa Rican teachers and visit the Ministry of Education.  We'll finish the week with a group dinner Thursday night, and then a day-long trek back to RDU via Dallas/Fort Worth on Friday.

I'm SO excited to be heading back to Central America for an entirely new experience!  Check out the "Costa Rica Map" tab at the top of the page for a cool interactive view of our journey!