#11, Check!

This morning was our trip to the Poas Volcano! First off, seeing a volcano is on my bucket list of things to do before I die. Check!! We had to leave an hour earlier than usual, but it was very worth it. Our tour guide was Louis, and he was great. He told us lots of fun stories about Costa Rica. Some of the fun things he said:

-His son will be president of Costa Rica someday

-The cows in the mountains produce a very sweet milk and it is very famous.

-He has us hold our hands in the air, crossing our fingers that we could see the volcano- and we did! Afterward he thanked god because he was Christian that we could see it. It was cool to me, because he was really cool about it- not afraid of being politically correct like in America.

-There were these giant leaves that were the first plant of Costa Rica. Long ago, Costa Rica was the last country to emerge and the volcanoes rose with these leaves on them. They only exist in the "cloud forest"- the forest that is high enough to be in the clouds.

-He really wanted us to experience things, so he had us stop many places along the way.

-He also told us we were learning Spanish today, and taught us Spanish words all day.

We drove across San Jose and into the province of Alajuela. The mountains began and we started out trip up with beautiful sights to see. Louis had us stop to take pictures with the Central Valley in the background. It was amazing to see. We continued on and stopped to get some Doka Estate cappuccinos (the coffee company we traveled to later). I don't like coffee, so I got a mocha. After adding sugar it was actually pretty good! It seems I keep travelling to areas of the world that specialize with my least favorite drinks(ironic?)- and I end up starting to like them!

Then we went to the Volcano. He told us that if it smelled like sulfur than we could only stay for a maximum of 10 minutes. Luckily, we couldn't really smell it and could stay a little longer. At first it was all foggy and we couldn't see anything. But then all of a sudden the clouds were gone and you could see the crater. It was one of the coolest things I have seen in my life! After that trail we walked up another to the Botos Lagoon. It was beautiful blue water surrounded by forest- very idyllic.

After the lagoon it was time to hit the road again to head for lunch. On the way, we stopped to buy strawberries. This area isn't just none for coffee and sweet cow milk, but for strawberries. I got a bag for 1-2 dollars and was in heaven. Then we stopped down the road for strawberry milkshakes. They were different than what I expected from a milkshake- but they were really good! Forget being lactose-intolerant. :)

Then we were finally on the way to lunch. We headed to the coffee farm, Doka Estate, and had a buffet lunch. The desert items were plantains and a coconut bar thing- which was actually pretty good despite my dislike for coconut. They gave us mango juice to drink, which had a strange taste but was better than nothing. After lunch we had a tour of the coffee farm. It was really cool- and like I said before, I don't like coffee. They took us through all the steps and it amazes me just how much goes into the process and how long it takes. The coffee is still hand picked, also, and people get paid I think a dollar per bucket of berries- which is a lot of picking! They said it is not a job people like, and I can see why. At the end of the tour, they set us free in the gift shop where they let us try chocolate covered coffee beans. I absolutely loved them, and bought two bags. I think I ate too many though, I could feel it.

When we got back to the hotel it was time to get some homework out of the way. After that, we went to dinner as a group with Cyndi(the director of JCPenney Leadership Program and our teacher for the trip). We went to a restaurant that looked like a house, and ate on the "patio," which meant that our chairs were in gravel. It was strange, but it was a nice place and the weather was great. I love getting to eat outside so much. Dinner lasted for a very long time, given that it is a nice restaurant and there are over 20 of us. I ate bruschetta and a tilapia dish. Dinner was also accompanied with a "panel" of boys and girls giving relationship/dating advice. It was very entertaining. After we finished, the bus had a flat tire. They boys tried to help. The first problem was it had rained all day and they had trouble with the jack. Then the nuts couldn't be taken off no matter how hard they tried (they even broke one). Someone said they were cross-something, if that means anything to you all. Cyndi ended up calling taxis for us, and that was the end of our night. Because dinner took so long, class got pushed back 30 minutes for tomorrow!