november 9

Today we had the day off (!). we woke up a little after 7am and Grant went to buy bananas while I made toast and eggs. Albert’s bananas were a little on the ripe side (too much, really) so Grant got a deal on them. We froze half for future banana breads. The other half were made into a delicious smoothie (sans blender – grant just pounded them in a cup for a while). Then we packed a lunch and headed out to the Arenal Observatory Lodge, which was fabulous. We tried hitch hiking but didn’t get picked up until just before the gates. Still, the ride saved us from a steep hike up to the reception area. We crammed ourselves into the backseat of a car already pretty full of three Swiss guys and an Israel girl who were camping in the area. We tried to horseback ride, but the horses weren’t working today because the guides were busy spraying the weeds on the side of the main road. So instead we took the Old Lava Trail, which says closed on the map but the guy at the reception desk said was open. After leaving the deck in front of the hotel restaurant (which has SPECTACULAR views of both the lake and volcano) the trail quickly became terribly steep and pretty unkept. There weren’t any branches in the way or anything, but the stairs that were worked into the steep trail were basically washing away. At the river the trail seemed to end, which confused us since the map indicated that the trail continued on the other side of the water. We took off our shoes and wandered across, and Grant scouted the other side for a bit. We took a barely used access trail for a few meters, then came across an obviously used trail. We headed up, where it quickly steepened and more stairs jutted out of the steep path. It wasn’t a far distance, but the sheer altitude gain was pretty incredible. It was very much worth the hike. The end of the trail was marked by a lack of paths and a small tent like structure made out of black tarp and tree branches. There were benches inside (more tree branches) and you had a perfectly unobstructed view of the volcano, as close as you can safely (and legally) get, as well as the 1968 lava flow, where vegetation is slowly growing back. It was tranquil, awe-inspiring, to be at the literal base of this explosive mountain. We sat and enjoyed the view for about 45 minutes, until a couple from Argentina came through. We left them to enjoy the volcano in peace. Back at the lodge we had lunch on the deck, looking out at the lake and volcano. The clouds moved so gracefully across the landscape. We’ve really lucked out so far with out days off: they have all been pretty great weather. We walked around the hotel a little before we left, and were quite impressed by the pool and the view from the observation deck. The little museum was cute also, with it’s seismograph and newspaper articles. On our way down the driveway to the main gate we saw an interesting animal, similar to a raccoon but not exactly the same. I don’t know what it’s called though, I couldn’t find it in the wild life guides. At the main gate a guy from Spain picked us up, since he was heading to El Castillo next to go to the Conservatory. He spoke all in Spanish, and I’m pleased to report that I understood just about all that he was saying. The Spanish accent (from Spain) is interesting. They have a sort of lisp that I don’t particuclarly care for. The costa rican accent is a little different from what I’m used to as well: it has more of a “Jah” sound instend of the “Yah” sound wherever there is a double L. Personally, I still prefer the sound of Mexican Spanish overall. When we got back to the house we had a little time before the group meeting at the Conservatory so we did some laundry before heading up. As it turned out, we didn’t have to go to the meeting since it was our day off (another one for the growing list of instances where Kendra has assumed some responsibility when she’s not totally sure it’s the thing our superiors want, something that neither of us mind now that we recognize it). Since we were already there though, we stayed for the meeting which was conducted wholy in Glenn’s bad Spanish. He is fluent, but his accent is so America, so Texan, that it’s a bit hard to understand. Kendra says she’s pretty sure he makes up worde too. After the meeting everyone scrambled to mark the days off of work that they want, and we arranged the days for our Nicaragua trip to renew our visas. We walked slowly down the hill with Glenn and Ana, and we brought up taking 15 days off when my family comes. Basically, it wont be a problem, and if it is we’ll just do as Grant suggested and not come back here after my family leaves. Since they’re getting another volunteer in January and another in mid-February, it shouldn’t be a problem though. I’m pretty sure my plane leaves February 22, so we’re thinking of finishing here February 15th or a few days before, then traveling to the Carribean side before we leave for home. We also found out while walking home with Glenn that aside from running the Conservatory he also does stock market stuff, investments in currencies and things like that. He said that’s how he makes money, since all he does is spend money when he’s in Costa Rica, mostly on the Conservatory I’m guessing.
After the meeting I made dinner and we both made the squash pie (in the form of a pumpkin pie) that turned out pretty incredible.