Day 8: Isla Tortuga & Family Stay

Hola!

Today we had the opportunity to go to paradise on earth.  It is an island called Isla Tortuga, or Turtle Island, and it surpassed any expectations we might have had for it.  We boarded a really nice catamaran with sturdy nets up front for people to sit or lay on and began our voyage from Puntarenas to Isla Tortuga.  The trip lasted about an hour, and the workers on the boat brought us beverages and fresh pineapple, watermelon, and papaya to keep us hydrated in the hot sunlight.  From the boat, we were able to see a pod of dolphins jumping playfully out of the water, and the sight of the beach from the distance was tantalizing.

When we arrived at the beach, the crew pulled out a foot bridge for us and quickly began unloading and setting up all the necessary supplies for a shore lunch.  We occupied ourselves by playing sand volleyball, applying and re-appplying sunscreen, burying kids who wanted to be buried with sand, and playing with Sofia, an unusually tame and friendly wild boar that hung around our area and took multiple siestas throughout our time there.

The whole place was set up like an island cafe, with a giant hut with a thatched roof and wooden pillars, picnic benches with tablecloths, a kitchen area with a gigantic grill, and a bar area for us to take advantage of all the pop we could stomach. 

Our time there (about 4 hours) flew by, and it was difficult to say good-bye, but we were pretty burnt out...some in more ways than one.  ;)  The boat ride home was our last opportunity to soak in every moment of this tremendous excursion- potentially the exact type of thing that the saying "Pura vida" was meant for.

Upon arrival back at the port, we changed out of our beach clothes and into more appropriate attire in order to meet our host families.  We drove about 2 hours to San Jose and were surprised that most kids did not sleep on this bus ride, which we were sure they would, having been out in the sun for a good 6 hours (including the boat ride there and back).  I think the anticipation of meeting their new host families might have kept some of them up.   In any case, we had a great time listening to Spanish music (Erik held my iPod earphones up to the tour guide's microphone so that all could hear what was playing) and marveling at traffic in San Jose.

Bad traffic was complicated by the fact that there are no street names or numbers in San Jose- people get places by using landmarks.  For example, a house might be described as being 500 km west of the cathedral, 250 km north, and next to the brown house with the red door.  As you can imagine, this makes for some pretty interesting routes, especially when you throw in one-way streets and terrible traffic.  After getting sufficiently lost and asking several people for directions, the kids met their host families (with whom they'll live for the next 5 days), bade farewell to Ricky and Scooby (our tour guide and bus driver), and set out on the next portion of their Costa Rican adventure.

Erik and I had the opportunity to stay the first night with the mom who arranges all the family stays- Marcela.  She was hosting two students in our group, Olivia H. and Rachel K.  It was so much fun to get an insider's perspective of the first night of a family stay.  Marcela's helper, Milagros, had prepared a delicious meal of a rice casserole with vegetables and some type of soup to season it (cream of something, perhaps?), and served that along with delicious guacamole and rolls.  For dessert, homemade tiramisu.

After we were sufficiently stuffed, Marcela brought us across the street to the local grocery store, where she pointed out and told us the Spanish name of every single fruit and vegetable sold there.  It was awesome.  We were all totally exhausted and in need of a good night's sleep, but it was still interesting to hear Marcela's lesson on (especially) local fruits and vegetables.

We hobbled home and went to bed, and were asleep before our heads hit the pillow.

Thanks for reading!

Profes Simmons and Olson