It was so nice to fall asleep to the sound of rain hitting a tin roof! It rained for a few hours over night and we woke up to a nice cool morning. We had breakfast at 7 and met some new people who would be joining us. Mateo and Ashley are two surf guides who work with the Surf and Service group. They got in late last night from San Jose after bringing the last group to the airport. We were also joined by Ryan, a teacher from California who is working with Rustic Pathways this summer taking pictures for them. After cleaning up, we hopped into 2 vans for the short ride to Bahia Ballena School.
The school is really beautiful. The teacher lives in the first building, which is connected to 3 others by a wooden boardwalk. It is all open-air, so the wood is exposed to the elements. We were split up into three different groups and rotated to different stations for the next two hours. One station was applying an oil seal to the wood, another was painting a classroom, and the last station, everyone’s favorite, was playing with the students. All of the students did a WONDERFUL job! It was so hot and humid, but nobody complained about sweating, the sun, or tired arms from brushstrokes.
At the end of the morning, we said goodbye and thank you. We had cookies and juice with the students and gave them some of our toys. Ryan took a nice group picture with our group, guides, and the students. It was a rewarding and enjoyable morning.
We came back to the house for yet another delicious meal prepared by Salvador- chicken with rice and beans and some other traditional Costa Rican sides, including plantains. Everyone hung out until we had to leave at 2 to walk to the beach for surfing again.
The waves seemed much stronger today. Diego told me that they really weren’t all that different, but after talking to some others in the group, I was happy to find out I wasn’t the only one who thought so. The waves may have been stronger, or we may have just been tired from the work this morning, but either way, we didn’t last quite as long. Jacob, Stuart, Blake, and Nate continued to dominate the waves, while others opted to end a bit earlier today. We swam for a while and watched Diego, Mateo, Tito, Chris, and Ashley take to the waves.
We all washed the saltwater away and went up to dinner. After we enjoyed some burgers for dinner, we dispersed for some fun and games until… Drew’s birthday surprise! Mau, Chris, and Gerald picked up a birthday cake, Fanta, and a piñata for a birthday party. We were also joined by another Rustic Pathways group (Costa Rican Adventure) who was also at the beach today. They all played Mafia together, we sang “Happy Birthday” to Drew in Spanish, and then he got his crack at the piñata. It was a great surprise filled night!
Mateo gave everyone instructions about our very exciting outing for tomorrow- we will have our hike to the cave! It will be a long, hot day, but well worth it. We will have the opportunity to swim at different waterfalls along the way, then rappel down our last waterfall at the cave.
Each day brings new and wonderful surprises! We are all having a great time J Buenos noches!
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