TRAVEL DAY

After an extremely long day of travel, we are in COSTA RICA! :) Yesterday was both tiring, but interesting for all of us. After about a five hour plane ride, we arrived in San Jose, CR.

(and for all of my family members wondering how my first plane ride was, it was just FINE. I wasn't nervous and take off and landing were un-eventful. My ears didn't even pop!!) It was Ralf and Levar's first plane ride too.

We then endured a very long six hour bus ride. Which turned into something that felt much, much longer. But, we were able to put the windows down and take in all of the scenery along the way, and it was just beautiful. We saw all different parts of the country, and all of the different ways people live here, along with the different atmospheres.

After about two hours on the bus, we stopped at a restaurant called Rancho Robertos. We all were very impressed. The food was delicious. It was also very fun to listen to everyone read the menu and try to figure out what we were actually ordering, but with the help of Leslie (who speaks fluent Spanish!) and our tour guide Pablo, we were able to figure it all out. As our meals arrived, our chatter all stopped as we indulged into our first meal in Costa Rica. The tastes and smells were so different than we are used to, and we eventually ended up trying all of each other's meals and having a wonderful time. We even shared a little with the dog who kept coming in and out to visit us!

Back on the road, with the warm breeze coming through the windows, we all sat and watched the scenery as we drove through this tropical country. For many of us, it was our first time seeing anything like this. The trees, the roads, the way people drive, it is all just a very different environment. It isn't every day that you see miles upon miles of banana trees! The drive also gave us all the chance to learn a lot about each other as well.

We finally arrived in Manzanillo, CR around 8:30pm. The road ends, and that is where the town of Manzanillo begins. We arrived at Something Different, the place we will be staying throughout our time here, and met the wonderful CR natives who work and own the cabinas. They are so welcoming and friendly, I think we all felt right at home the moment we met them. They cooked us a delicious dinner of chicken and rice, and right then and there we all decided we were pretty excited to eat here the remainder of our time.

Although exhausted, we all made it down to the town community center called 'Maxi's', and ordered some refreshing beverages before we all went to sleep, anticipating the next day's work and all we are about to learn.