Pura Vida!

Shamelly and Sebastien 

We'd played hard and so in the third week it was time to work hard again. We stayed with host families in San Ramon, and we we worked on a house building site. Our host mummy was called Shamelly and between her husband speaking a little English, our wee phrase book and google translate on Shamelly's phone we managed to communicate. Her and her family were really lovely, and her two year old son Sebastian was adorable. He would come out to meet us when we got home and untied our boot laces for us! Every meal that week was typical Costa Rican rice and beans but we discovered something to make them  the yummiest rice and beans we've ever had- Natilla. It tastes just like sour cream and by the end of the week, Shamelly just gave us the tub rather than spooning it out for us. We also broke up the food monotony by visiting a cafe everyday after work. They didn't seem to mind us traipsing in covered in mud, maybe because we had a cake /milkshake every day- they were really good!

Our Bedroom 

The house we were helping to build belonged to a young couple who had been given the money by an organisation with the idea that they build their own house. This meant that they really valued our help...even if all we did was dig a hole for the sewage tank. After a week of digging the "sh*t pit crew" and "trench wenches" managed to dig all but 80cm of the main pit, we were pretty proud. Towards the end of the week it was our friend Bonnie's birthday and the family went all out for the fiesta, with balloons, cake and even a home-made Pinata.

And the digging begins...

The site when we started

Don't know why Katie was trusted with a pick axe 

The completed trench 

Bonnie and Ffion's birthday party

The pit at the end of the week  

The house at the end of the week 

As a treat one night Sarah and some others went to the cinema to see The Croods...the only downfall was that it was in Spanish. With our limited Spnanish (we managed to pick up a little bit in the last 2 months), and the obvious cartoon actions we managed to understand a fair amount of the film, but there were a couple of times when we were the only ones not laughing...

Meeting the number 1 bull rider in Central America

The week we were in Sam Ramon so was a fiesta (ie. Fair), with fairground rides and bull riding. We went more than once that week to have some churros, get Sarah's hair braided and watch the bulls. The bull riding was great fun to see but sometimes the baiting was a little hard to watch. For people who don't like the idea of tormenting a bull until it charges, you have to understand it's a way of life over there. The majority of bulls aren't mistreated too much and it really is quite fun to watch crowd members jump into the ring and become wusses when the bull mock charges them. When travelling around Costa Rica we were quite conspicuous (7 Brits, 6 of us were girls) and so we drew some attention at the fiesta s usual. This time we had a nice chat and photo with Costa Rica's number on bull rider, Laisa Patterson- pretty exciting. He explained that his ankle had recently been injured by a bull while riding and he showed us videos of him riding backwards while blindfolded!

Sarah and Bonnie with their hair braids- not sure they got the same value for money!   

Volcano Arenal 

Last week of our amazing adventure and we went out on a high. After our week of digging we headed to La Fortuna which is a small town at the base of the active Volcano Arenal. This volcano is quite unique because it has 2 craters one of which erupts, and when it does the lava flows down one side. This means that La Fortuna is quite safe at the side of the volcano covered in vegetation, whereas the other side is barren and covered in scars from the lava. On the afternoon we arrived we thought we deserved a massage, and even had a pedicure thrown in. It felt good to relax and have the knots from digging holes worked out of our backs. The poor women did have to scrub at our feet though after 9 months of travelling, and we came away with our nails prettily painted.
That night we went out for a really yummy Costa Rican meal and good ice tea. The rest of the evening was spent making friends with some Americans and playing the best game of Ring of Fire (drinking game) we have ever played, with lots of running around and strange noises being made. This was before we hit a local club and shocked the locals with our poor salsa skills, and in the end, our ceilidh dancing, because we were fed up not knowing the dance moves.
Next on the agenda was a walk through the forest up to the lava field at the base of the volcano. Again we were on the lookout for snakes and were unsuccessful, but we did see some colourful lizards. Unfortunately that was all that we saw because we were not alone in the forest, a large group of the noisiest Costa Ricans we'd met were also enjoying a Sunday walk. The lava field however, was stunning, as were the views, and we even visited Costa Rica's 2nd largest tree.

That afternoon we had a wonderful time wandering around the luxurious Baldi Hot Springs, heated by the volcano. The complex has 25 pools varying in temperature, and even 3 flumes. Sarah went down all three, reaching up to 45km per hour on one of them, before embarrassing herself when trying to readjust her bikini underwater. She was waving her legs in the sir while doing this meaning a man. thinking she was drowning, went to save her- everyone in the bottom pool laughed. We also sat at the bar in one pool but declined buying a drink when an orange juice turned out to be $6. Some of the pools were so hot that we couldn't spend much time in them, and even needed to dip into the cold pools for a reprieve. We even sat in a natural sauna created by hot water flowing through a cave structure.

Time for a trip into the Costa Rican rainforest, so we headed to Heliconias Eco-lodge next to the Tenorio national park which encompases the stunning Rio Celeste. Firstly, we hiked in the grounds of the lodge and got a birds eye view of the forest canopy from three hanging bridges. On the walk we heard and saw lots of howler monkeys, even a wild turkey and although the bridges provided excellent views, Sarah didn't enjoy their height very much. The walk through the forest, gazing at the interesting plans, was much more fun.

Holding onto the tree nice and tight

Taxi

After this we headed to an agro-ecological farm where they breed orchids and butterflies for export around the world. They also rescue reptiles, especially snakes, and release them back into the wild, far away from human populations. We wandered around their land looking out for sloths in the trees and eating carrot0tasting termites, before it was time to head home in a Costa Rican taxi ie. standing in the back of a pick-up truck.

The next day involved a gentle horse ride up to the boundary of the national park, and then a hike through it. Our horses were nameless work horses but that didn't stop us from naming them as w sauntered through local farm lands. Then we jumped off, grabbed a stick to walk with and headed into the park. Costa Rica has quite a lot of rain and so we struggled slightly in the mud but soon came to the top of 200 steps down to a stunning waterfall. Lets just say that the climb back up was slightly tiring but the waterfall was totally worth it. Wr continued through the park looking at fantastic views of the Tenorio volcano and walking by the Rio Celeste, where the water gets its amazing colour from a chemical reaction between sulphur and calcium carbonate.

Mixing of the chemicals

This truck even had a sofa for us to sit on! 

We made it back out of the park just as the heavens opened so we enjoyed our lunch under the roof of a local soda. A soda is a Costa Rican cafe and we ate the traditional meal of rice and beans with meat and plantain ie. a Casada. In Spanish this means married and the meal gets its name form this because before a man marries a woman she must cook a little bit if each food to prove she will be a good wife.

Playa Grande was the last stop of our 9 month travels and so we chose to make the absolute most of it. It is a surfers paradise on the pacific coast of Costa Rica where we met a lovely American girl running a little hostel on the beach. We spent the first afternoon enjoying the three hour long happy hour at a local hotel where the drinks and appetisers were half price YUM. Then, most of us spent the next day doing what people all over the world go there to do- surf! Our instructors were very good looking and the waves were constant making it the perfect way to learn to surf. So we spent hours that day riding the waves and making huge splashes as we wiped out. Katie, on the other hand, decided she would make one last trip to the dotors for old time's sake. She stood on something and got an infection in her foot meaning we travelled home a couple of days later with her foot wrapped in a bright purple bandage.

Sarah surfing...

...not for long! 

Our gorgeous hostel 

Playa Grande 

The last injury 

On our very last night of our world adventure we had another traditional Costa Rican meal (with plenty of fried plantain mmm...) and a cocktail to celebrate with the group. Perfect way to finish the most amazing adventure ever!

We would like to say a huge thanks to family members around the world who put up with us, and also those at home who supported us in our travels. We have had the most incredible time and met such wonderful people, and we hope you have had as much fun reading this blog as we've had writing it!

"Home-made" banner 

Best welcome home!