Gringo's in the Rainforest

Hi everybody, it’s about 6pm on Sunday night as we write up the next two blogs. Remember that half the group did the horseback ride and half on the creek walk and on Monday we will reverse. You will hear about Sunday’s adventures on the next two blogs. Right now it’s dark, all the students and chaperones are gathered in the lodge talking, playing Euchre with Sean, chatting in the lounge area, or helping to prepare dinner. It was a long day of great adventures that are now being shared by the two groups.

P.S. the first photos are of our morning walk on Sunday...

CB out

First you’ll hear from Danielle about the horseback riding adventure:

Hey Guys!!!!! *Danielle talking*
All goes well here in Costa Rica. So, this morning there was a short tropical downpour and we woke up to loud rain pounding on our cabinas. Thankfully, most of us stayed dry, except Mary Kate and Emily’s cabina got a few drips. Though the rain may have happened, we still got to go horse back riding and creek hiking. I was in the group that went horse back riding, so I’ll tell you about our trip. So first we took a bus to the town and we got picked up by a tractor. The ride took two hours!! But it was still fun. Then, when we finally got there we got assigned our horses. They were all pretty short so no one had to worry much about getting up on them. The trail was AMAZING! The milieu (notice the vocab word Mrs. Wabler) was so beautiful. The trail was also around two hours and it was really hot as well. Afterwards we got to go to the creek and just relax and cool off. On the tractor ride home we sang lots of songs.

To my family:
Hey guys! I am having so much fun and I really miss you guys. I hope Miles and Hogan are doing well too. And it’s good to hear that everyone is feeling well and not missing me too much. I can’t wait to go home and see you guys. I love you all and keep blogging to me =) it makes me happy =)

Hola!

This is the el dinero controller Jerome. My Spanish is a little weak so I just put “el” before English words and muddle throughJ This trip is fantastic! It is a wonderful experience for everyone. We are experiencing Costa Rica from an amazing perspective – truly feels like we are like we are living as natives at the Jungle Lodge which allows us to explore, slept in the outdoors, eat native food,etc. We are “all in” Costa Rica!

Yesterday I did the creek hike with half the group. It was truly educational as Gary brought along a native guide (Adonis) that pointed out several interesting facts about the land, animals as well as his personal life experiences. The sighting of about 15+ monkeys playing in the creek was an unbelievable experience, almost like they were entertaining us. The zoo will never be the same!

The kids are wonderful and having a great time. They are all so polite, respectful and inclusive. We have really enjoyed watching them together …we play group games each night and there are lots of loud cries of laughter on the beach and in the Costa Rica Jungle. Last night Sean helped the kids organize a prayer service for the group. Anna, Abbey, Mark and Kate led the service with songs and scripture readings. It was a special way to celebrate God’s blessings in our lives in such a beautiful setting.

Probably the most interesting fact of the trip is that Jeanne’s hair has gotten about an inch shorter each day as it curls up in the humidity. We are all fascinated to predict where this science project will end.

Adios amigos! Michael, Morgan and Patrick – Be good. I miss you guys and can’t wait to tell you stories when we get back. Keep the blog comments coming!

Senor Jerome

morning walkers

crab hole and tracks

We ran into Tom Hanks in town and he left us his friend Wilson on the beach...

homework

bus trip to town for the horseback ride

Rio Nuevo horseback ride -- tractor blazing at 6 mph

a flying insect

Mr L and the Golfo Dulce in the distance

post ride cooling off at Rio Nuevo Lodge

strangler tree -- 300+ years old