Hello everyone . It is Tuesday morning, at about 7:30 Costa Rica time. The only internet access is one computer at the lobby of the hotel we are staying at, which is called Volcano Lodge. It is appropriately named, because we are within a few miles of the volcano Arenal. It towers over our rooms, and we can see it from any spot in the hotel. The hotel is more like a large park, with rooms scattered throughout. There are tropical plants, hummingbirds, armadillos (yes, we´ve seen 3 so far!) and beautiful scenery all throughout. Each room is well-furnished with a great view. Last night, we could see the lava on top of the volcano glowing a faint red.
Let me give you a run down of yesterdays activities. We left our hotel in San Jose and drove toward the volcano. It was a long, windy, up and down kinda drive. Through mountains, across small bridges, and up into the rainforest. We made a few stops - one at a beautiful lookout point (where the students bought more suvenirs, of course), and another at a unique restaurant that feeds iguanas, so there were probably 25 or so large, male iguanas just basking in the sun and in the trees. (Iguanas grow to be over 6 feet long, by the way, so it was pretty crazy!!)
We arrived at the Volcano Lodge for lunch - and it was a great lunch!! The food has been fantastic. We always get a choice between chicken with rice, fish, meat, or just chicken. And there is great service, with fresh juice, bread, and ice cream for dessert. Even David and Schneider are getting full after the meals!!
After lunch, we were able to relax and explore the beautiful hotel compound. Several of us took advantage of the sun and jumped into the pool. It was really refreshing. But we´d get many more chances to swim throughout the day. Next, we drove up to the rainforest, and walked down about 1,000 steps to a huge waterfall. I would say about 300-400 ft. high. It falls into some deep pools, and so we were able to jump into the fresh (and very cold!) water and swim for about an hour or so. Some students found a way to climb up the side of the hill, and jump into a deep spot. Others explored down the river, finding smaller waterfalls. One or two students accidently fell into the water, and got more wet than what they had intended :)
After the waterfall, it was only a short drive to the hot springs - definitely the highlight of the day. These hot springs are naturally heated from the volcano. It is a wonderful facility that provides you with a locker, a towel, and a shower afterwards. There were about 6 different pools, each a different temperature. Ranging from not heated at all, to so hot you can only sit in it for about 10 minutes, even though they are constantly spraying it with a cool mist. They served tropical drinks (no alcohol of course!) and we were able to really, really, relax. It was great!
We headed back to the hotel for another wonderful dinner and then had devotions pool side. We enjoyed singing some songs underneath the glow of the volcano, with lightening sparking in the distance. It was an awe-inspiring evening. Students shared where they saw God that day, and also about aprehensions they had about the trip and how they were overcoming them. Each is learning to pray with expectancy, as our guide Cherith is challenging us to do.
It´s another early morning, with lots to do. We are going to the rainforest again, to go on a series of zip lines (I think I heard there are 15!) And then in the afternoon to the orphanage at La Fortuna for only a few minutes. Then we will make the long and windy drive back to San Jose where we will check back into the same hotel.
Hopefully I will get internet connection on my laptop again in San Jose, so I can upload all the great pictures. Right now, you´ll have to settle for about a thousand words....
I´ll write more tonight -
A website for updates, stories, pictures and videos from the 2009 GCCS senior class trip to Costa Rica!
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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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1 comment:
It sounds like you guys are having a wonderful time. Thank you for the great updates. You do such a good job we ALMOST don't need pictures. Tell Katie we said hi.
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