Oh! The Places You'll Go!

The first quarter is finished!  Which again, means time is marching on!  (Oh, that reminds me of some insects that were also marching on...which I'll write about later...)

I did manage to finally see my first volcano.  Volcan Irazu!  And I must say, it was gorgeous!!  We drove up for quite some time, then hiked a bit.  We really were above the clouds, it was amazing!!  Let me just show you:)

Volcan Poas is in the background.

We lucked out how clear it was that day!

Above the clouds:)

In the crater.

Successful day at Volcan Irazu:)

Now...Grading...check.  Report Cards...check.  Parent-Teacher Conferences...check.  The last week was very busy!  Long days at school, but we got it all done.  Most of the parents speak English...but I am proud to say I did have a successful conference in Spanish.

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

-Dr. Seuss

Needless to say, we were ready for a break!  So we did what any normal teacher would do over a week break...we went to Nicaragua!  Okay, maybe not any normal teacher...

Costa Rica is a small country and is close to Nicaragua...but, it is not the easiest to travel around.  We had a long day on a bus from San Jose, Costa Rica to Granada, Nicaragua.  14 hours.  We left our house at 4:30am.  And were on our way...everything was going well (except for the uneasy feeling of giving your passport to the bus driver and not seeing it for hours).  When we did finally get them back, I was surprised at the method of return...We were all standing on the side of road (let me say it is getting very hot now), and the bus driver had a stack of passports and would call a name and you had to push through the crowd to get your passport!

We were making great time, and were 5km from the border...when we come to a stop.  And we were stopped for about an hour on the bus, then another couple of hours at a run-down restaurant.  So close to the border, but not actually in Nicaragua yet!  It is always slow at the frontera due to thorough checks of semi-trucks for drugs and such.  But on this particular day..it was even slower due to a semi-truck driver strike.  They were upset because of how long the frontera takes to cross.  So they decided to slow the process even more and park their trucks perpendicular across the road, and now nobody could pass.  You would think the drivers would think of a more clever way to get their point across rather than sitting on the border even longer...It seems a bit ironic to make the time go even slower than normal!

But sooner or later we were able to pass...well, drive the 5km to arrive at 'no man's land'.  Again, we gave our passports away and waited...for another couple of hours...there were so many people! A lot of Nicas live in Costa Rica to return home for the holiday.  Everyone was just waiting...in the heat, not knowing how long we'd be there.  We were waiting as well as keeping an eye on our bus (because there were many!)

Craziness at the frontera!

Around 4:30pm we were able to track our passports and get back on the bus to proceed to Granada!

We were exhausted, but so happy to be there!  6:30pm arrival!  Granada is a very cute town...with a bit of Spanish influence.  In the two days we were there...we did a lot!

Volcan Masaya

Lagoon Apoya-a lagoon inside a crater...which we were able to swim in!

We learned pottery with an indigenous family:)

It brought me back to my pottery making days:)

Huge, volcanic, rock-face wall!

Boat ride around some islands

Feeding Spider Monkeys

Granada, Nicaragua

Lagoon Apoyo

$3 bike rentals!  A great way to see the city!

Lago de Nicaragua looks like an ocean!

Semana Santa Procession through the streets of Granada

Our time in Nicaragua was coming to an end.  And of course we were not exactly excited for another travel day...this time we were headed for Guanacaste (northwest CR).  Instead of one long, direct bus, we decided to take a mix of different public buses with a couple of taxis thrown in the mix.  Let's just say our first public bus was a shock!  It was PACKED...and HOT.  Have you heard of chicken buses?  This was one...We didn't think there would be room for us.  But, sure enough, they said 'claro que si' (of course!). So we jumped on the back.  It was a little crazy!

After the chicken bus, and a taxi ride...we made back to the border.  Funny enough, we pretty much just walked through 'no man's land' with no problems.  Just some random stops of people looking at our passports and "searching" our bags.  We were actually surprised how quickly we were able to get through.  It helped not waiting for buses.  There were still many people waiting to get into Nicaragua (as we had done a few days prior).  It was amazing to see the long line of semi-trucks..waiting, yet again.  That would be so frustrating.  (This is the only entrance between Nicaragua and Costa Rica).

Some drivers had a great idea of setting up hammocks for a siesta while they waited in the line of traffic.

After many hours, and several buses later..we made it to Guanacaste.  Playa Brasilito!  This was the relaxing, part of the vacation!  Not too much to report, just beauty, reading, swimming, resting!

'The Treehouse' as we called it:) (Hotel Conchal)

We saw our third type of Costa Rica's monkeys: The Howler Monkey...and yes, they do howl!

Hanging out and relaxing!

A wonderful, trip indeed!!  But all good things must come to an end...time to go back to work.

We are back at school now.  It is already busy..as always.  2nd quarter, here we come!  Sorry this was so long!  I'll write about the insects at a later date...Let's just say rainy season is coming...and so are the insects:(  I hope all is well and I miss you all!!