november 11

Last night all the junk food Grant ate caught up with him and he threw up a whole bunch. Luckily it all made it into the bucket I brought him. He felt better afterwards though. Breakfast was potatoes that we’re beginning to get a bit strange with eggs. We missed ketchup – we must have forgotten to put it in the cart at the store yesterday. I spent the morning watering garden 5 really well, theni worked on pruning the plants behind #6. I also did 2 tours in the morning but none in the afternoon. I actually enjoyed pringing the plants in the afternoon. The area was shadded and the most perfect breeze came through the passage between the greenhouses. While I worked at the Conservatory, Grant was trying to help Glenn get the new wireless router set up at his house. Half way through the process it got all messed up, so now we have no internet. Again. They’ll have to work on it tomorrow, so no internet tonight. On the way home, Grant wrote our initials in the wet cement in the front of the house. We’re eternalized here forever.

november 10

When I woke up last night to use the bathroom, there was a bat in the shower! I left the light on and went to grab Grant, but he must have found his way outside because he was gone when Grant went intot he bathroom.
Since Glenn has to go to San Carlos today we’re taking a half day of work so that he can drop us off in La Fortuna for the afternoon, then pick us up on his way back home. In the morning I cleaned these little plastic parts (turns out they were part of sprinklers) for about 2 hours. I didn’t think they were dirty but it was easy so I just kept scrubbing them until my hands were raw from the water and bleach. When I was finished Leche told me to water gardens 7 and 5. I got through #7 without getting soaked by the leaky hose but I only did a corner of #5 before Kendra called me to do a tour with three Frenchmen. They were an interesting group, very quick because they didn’t take any pictures (that’s rare). I had to rush off at the end though because I had to relieve Kendra in the reception so she could take a lunch before I left for the day. Grant spent the morning changing the tire on Glenn’s car then washing and vacuuming it. It was a little strange work for a volunteer, but easy enough and Glenn let him go to lunch early. I forgot to give him thekey though, so he couldn’t get into our room. He busied himself getting lunch together and making doughnut holes out of the dough that didn’t rise until I got back from the Conservatory. I had about 20 minutes to pack my backpack and change and grab a bite to eat, then Glenn picked us up in front of our house. We both agreed that having a half day is a rip off for us. We work 7hours a day sinc we get 1 hour for lunch. With a half day of work we get off at 12:30, our normal lunch hour, but that means we’re only getting out of 2.5 hours of work instead of 3.5 hours. Plus, without a car it’s not like we can really do anythgin with that half day of. We’d much rather combine two weeks of half days into one whole day, although it’s working out for this one time.
On the way to La Fortuna Glenn told us to check out Grenada in Nicaragua which I think would be great. He also said it would be okay to take those 15 days off in January. If all three volunteers end up coming here that he’s expecting that will mean there are 8 people living in this house. There’s already barely enough clothes line and food storage space (shelves and refridgerator included). It’ll get interesting. When Glenn dropped us off we went to the little houseware store so Grant could get a pan that will double as a top for out skillet, and a ceramic bowl. Then we went to an art store so that Grant could use the bathroom before we sat in the park and ate lunch. We picked more peppers in the park too while we were there, and we got adopted momentarily by an adorable but smelly dog who refused the bit of our lunch that we offered him. He seemed content to sit literally in the bush by the bench we were sitting on then follow us until we got to the edge of the park. We visited both bakeries of course, and got 3 pastries each plus one loaf of sweetbread each. I ate my cookie and cinnamon roll but I saved my piece of pineapple pie, while Grant ate all of his stuff. We checked out a few tourist shops but we didn’t get anything. Out last stop was the grocery store where we bought a TON of food. We’re going to try and make it all last for at least 3-4 weeks, since it’s a hassle to have to use our days off to go to La Fortuna to get food when we don’t get that many days off anyways. We hauled our huge bags to the Burger King down the road at the edge of town and got a large coke (which Grant drank most of very quickly) and what they claimed to be a large fries but was neither cheap nor large (it was about the size of a small in the US). Glenn picked us up and took us home, and we put away our stuff and went to bed.

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.

november 8

This morning Grant baked the bread he started last night (the Traditional White Bread from the volunteer notebook). Since it’s a big loaf, it should have probably stayed in the oven for a bit longer but it still turned out really good, slightly doughy. While he did that I made the pie crust for the pumpkin pie that we’re going to bake tonight. In the morning at work Grant and I finished with as many of the vines as possible. We planted the last 4 that we had dug a trench for yesterday, then dug a trench for the next 50 vines we have to plant in the next few days. Grant dug one side while I dug the other side. It was really hard! I would never want to do manual labor for the rest of my life. It’s really exhausting. We kept digging up tarantulas too, which made the job that much harder for me. I wanted to take a picture of them, but I don’t have my camera on me. I think I need to start carrying it with me at work, since there’s usually something interesting going on, it’s just an awkward thing to put in my pocket with my radio, and I really don’t want to loose it. I brought it today though because I wanted to take another picture of the mating red eyed tree frogs, but they weren’t mating today. The masked tree frogs were though! It was pretty cool to see. I spent an hour in the reception as well, while Erika took her lunch. I feel a little weird about the work set up here. Ana works in the lab, which makes sense since she owns the place, at least in a sense, because of her marriage to Glenn. Erika was hired to work in the reception and she’s here part time because she has two daughters. Kendra is in the reception 90% of her time at work. Now that Ana’s back, she isn’t in the lab as much (it’s just Ana and Delvin) so in the morning Kendra has been helping Delvin with caterpillar stuff in the gardens or little projects. I guess it’s because she’s been here longer than us, and she has also committed a lot more time to the Conservatory, but her work is a lot less physically demanding and much more geared towards becoming a butterfly expert, to a certain extent. This makes sense, she teaching her everything is an investment in time and resources. But, I’d much rather do some of that work. I feel like a gardener almost all the time, which I don’t particularly enjoy although it isn’t terrible. The guys seem not to know what to do with me some of the time, I don’t think they’re used to having a girl in the gardens working and so giving me orders is strange for them, not to mention my level of understanding is still low. That may change though – Ana mentioned wanted to do English classes with me (she and Erika have studied together in the past) but Erika can’t do it tonight. Ana is going to ask Bismarc if he wants to study tonight. I’m tired today since it’s our 6th day straight of working, but I don’t feel like I can say no. Especially since it will help me a lot too, to get help with my pronounciation and vocabulary. I need to sit down and get back into doing a chapter in my book a day. That’s my new goal, since I have lately only been doing it when I know I have the afternoon to sit in the recetipn. So, ever other day I’ll do a lesson. (Grant mentioned last ngiht that he’s interested in going back and reading about my perspective on our trip, but I’ve been so analytical when I recount our days so far. I’m going to try and put my thoughts in here also).
In the afternoon I planted 1 Heliconia with Grant before I got called away for a tour. As soon as the group made it into the first garden, the Howler monkeys that we’ve been hearing off and on passed right over the gardens! They spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the trees central to the conservatory. Luckily I had my camera on me and the group I was with when the monkeys arrived came back to the paths with me to watch them. I got some great videos and pictures while they were hanging out in the trees. I don’t know if it’s in appropriate to use my camera while I’m with a group, but I don’t really care – these things are amazing to me too. We had to stop looking when the couple’s son got bored of the monkeys and wanted to go into the gardens. As soon as I finished the tour I got called for another one. This couple was a little strange. The man spoke decent English but his wife did not. He was terribly awkward: sandals with dress socks kind of thing. He videotaped everything while his wife took a million pictures of everything she could find. She was wearing a black T shirt with no bra – and the t shirt was see-through, and she was not a small woman. It was a bit intense. Those tours took me until the end of the day. After work grant and I headed up to Glenn’s house and worked with Ana on English and Spanish. It was good practice, though a little scattered. It was nice to spend time with her also, she’s really sweet. Her artwork is beautiful as well, paintings and pcitures with artfully arranged wings from butterflies found dead but intact in the gardens.

november 7

This morning we finished off the last of the oatmeal. When we got to work we went to look at the frogs like usual. We have to find them every morning, since most are nocturnal and so they change sleeping spots every morning. The tank with the male and female red eyed tree frogs had a surprise – the two adults are mating! The male is clinging to the females back (called amplexus) and they were fast asleep. I brought my camera after lunch to take a few pictures of them. I spent most of the morning watering greenhouses 8 and 5, and by the time I was done I was soaked. I literally watered every square inch in order to increase the humidity inside, and the hoses both had leaks in them that kept soaking my lower half. Thank goodness for quick dry pants from North Face. It felt silly to water the greenhouses since it was pouring rain most of the time right outside. I gave 2 tours in the morning also, and after lunch I helped Grant plant vines around the greenhouses. Some of them are passion flower, which is my new favorite thing. They have the most delicate structure but the most wonderful part if the sweet smell they have. I wish i could capture it, it’s so beautiful. I cant wait to have more of the vines around. After work we did some laundry and we researched pumpkin pie recipes. We’re going to use the other half of the squash we bought last week to make a pie, probably tomorrow.

november 6

This morning Grant and I helped Jose plant trees along the river walk, but I got called to give a tour almost immediately. (I planted 2 though – only 90 more to go until I reach my goal of planting 100 trees). The gorup I gave the tour to was awesome. They were from Maine and they were very interested in everything I had to say. I rejoined Grant and Jose as they started to plant vines near the Gazebo, but I got called away AGAIN for another tour with some grandparents and their baby grandchildren. It wasn’t much of a tour – the kids were WAY too young to enjoy anything, thus the grandparents didn’t enjoy much either. Afterwards I took over the reception for Kendra’s lunch, where I messed up my conversion between colones and dollars when I gave a French couple their change. We were short 7000 colones, or $14, at the end of the day  after lunch grant did 2 tours at the same time while I helped Jose plant more vines. It was really difficult because the location was on a hillside. It’s hard enough to plant plants since you have to bend over a lot, but add a steep hillside with loose dirt and a huge bucket of compost balanced between your knees as you lean over the hole in the ground and it’s a workout. After work I skyped my parents (!!!!!!!) and had dinner and crashed, exhausted.

november 5

This morning everyone worked to prepare the Conservatory for the huge group of 30 people who were coming at midday. Grant and I raked literally all of the paths, and by the time we were finished my neck and back were aching from moving the rake back and forth and then caring bags of compost to the piles. Grant was going to help with the large tour, but it turned out they all spoke French only, so we left them to Glenn and the translator. After work grant and I went to Cabinitas because Danielle from the art place told us they have live music at 7pm on Saturdays. This week there isn’t anyone playing though, so we just had a milk shake each at the bar (grant’s banana one was better than my pineapple one, I think). Milk shakes are a much better deal than anything with alcohol. Afterwards, we went home and read.