Vactioning- Part Uno

My High School Teachers group

The past two months have been a whirlwind of great things.  June was a trying yet fantastic month.  In June, we finished up the 5^th and 6^th conversation clubs of my service.  Conversation clubs bring teachers from all over the district together to speak English as well as share ideas they use their classroom. 

My Elementary Teacher Group

June also brought the end to all institutional and circuito spelling bees.  You can read about the spelling bees here.  All that is left for spelling bees is our 1^st Annual Regional Spelling Bee which will be August 6^th. 

The reason for the title---My family visited at the end of June!  I had been looking forward to and planning this trip for ages.  It was my brothers’ first times out of the country and my dad’s first trip to Costa Rica (you can read about my mom’s surprise visit here).

They were great troopers and experienced live as we do.  They stayed in our house (see photos of mi casa here) and took buses.  I loved hearing their thoughts and seeing their expressions as they saw things that have become normal to me (throwing away used toilet paper, chickens running around, no a/c, walking everywhere). 

The first day was filled with eating local food, sweating, and walking.

The second day was my family’s first time to snorkel and they baby brother’s first time in an ocean that he can remember.  The baby brother was the first of us to jump into the ocean with his snorkeling gear on.  He has no fear. 

While snorkeling, we saw an octopus, a shark, eel, and really colorful fish.  My brothers dove down with the guide to see some of these cool things.  Seeing them come up after diving down and high fiving the guide (from Pacific Coast Dive Center*) out of pure excitement was enough for me.   While two of us got sea sick, the siblings survived (the siblings have a HUGE distrust of throwing up so it was an accomplishment to not throw up), we still had a great day.  After that, the boys basically dragged the rest of us to the beach so they can play in the ocean.  We had to strike a deal with them to get out before the torrential downpour ensued. 

Day three was filled with hiking and meeting new people.  One of my parents’ requests was to meet (and feed) some of our Peace Corps friends.  So we met up with three other volunteers and two of their friends to hike Rincón de la Vieja Volcano (the old women’s corner) and then eat pizza.  It was a 3-kilometer hike around a volcano.  Everyone was a trooper. 

The Peace Corps Volunteers

The Fam Bam

Day four was the much-anticipated day at the beach for the brothers.  We brought our boogie boards and dominated the water.  Again, I loved seeing my brothers search for sea shells, “punch” the waves, boogie board, and basically smile the whole time. 

The next day (day 5) was zip lining with Pura Adventura* (great company).  We came a way with some war wounds (a “baby brother vacation”-aptly named because he got hurt almost every other day).  Another first for my brothers and dad.  While it wasn’t a favorite for some, it still was a successful day.  Later that night we feed 6 of the 8 volunteers who live in our cluster (Volunteers are placed near each other Costa Rica) and it was a HUGE success.  The PCVs have labeled it Taco Night and legend. 

We are ready to conquer some fears! 

Some of the wonderful Volunteers who live near us

Their last full day in Costa Rica (day 6) was another beach day and then off to see a momma sea turtle lay eggs thanks.  This was another awe inducing activity.  It didn’t come without its hiccups.  It is the beginning of sea turtle season here in Guanacaste and we were only ensured an 80% of seeing one turtle. 

We got to the beach and waited.  And waited.  And some even fell asleep.  Finally, our guide from Samara Adventure Company* said, “No turtles tonight, I am sorry.” We marched ourselves back up to the reserve station.  As we were getting ready to leave our guide's telephone rings.  He says, “Verdad? En serio?  Ok, vamos.” He turned to us to announce with a smile on his face, “There is a turtle!”  We rushed back to the beach to see this one lonely momma sea turtle make a home for her babies. 

Day 7 was a tough day.  It was the day the family had to go back home.  It wasn’t a terrible sad good bye because we were going to see them again later this year and then be back in the States in 8 ½ short months for good. 

I cannot believe that their time here has already come and gone (even though I am trying to convince the baby brother to come back for his spring break or something).  It was a joy and treat, to see my family, show off where we live, and bring some of our stories to life for them. 

Stay tuned for Vacation-Part 2!

*I highly recommend any of these companies for tours while staying in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.  They are bi-lingual and are very accommodating.  They do not know I am writing about them.