Last weekend in Santa Cruz, one more week of FBT
Hi friends and family!
I had a great, busy, fun weekend and now I'm beat :) Right now it's about 4 pm on Sunday afternoon and I just got back from the pool and I got a nice tan from the sun today. It feels nice to be in the air conditioning.
On Saturday I woke up at 7 to get ready to go hiking. We left at 8 in the two white Peace Corps Land Cruisers we are known for and drove about 20 minutes to Meambar - Cerro Azul, which is a national park right outside of Santa Cruz and known for it's cloud forests and mountains. We first took a short trail to a beautiful waterfall, although it wasn't huge. To get there we got to go over a wooden plank bridge hung over a river, which is always interesting! We took pictures of the group in front of the falls. Then we started the long hike up the mountain. The temperature was pleasant and the trees blocked the sun, but pretty soon we were all soaked, both from sweat and the moisture of the rain forest. It was a clean sweat though, if that makes any sense. The hike was challenging. In some places it was very steep with uneven terrain. Some spots were soft with layers and layers of moist leaves which have accumulated over the years. The rain forest was green with plants with huge leaves and vines and sometimes the trail would be very narrow and you could see down quite a ways. We had to stop several times because all of our hearts were pounding so hard and our legs were really tired. It took about 2 and a half hours to climb to the top and by that point I was thinking twice about going on the hike because my legs were like jello, very shaky and tired. The top was amazing - it was like we were up in the clouds, which we were. From the top of the mountain you could see most of Lake Yohoa and way into the distance. The pine forests looked tiny from the top. We sat at the top for a while, eating snacks we had brought and guzzling water, and again, I was drenched. I seriously had to ring out my hair - yuck. I was sort of dreading the long descent down the same path. The 13 or so of us sat at the top for about 45 minutes, talking about everything and anything. We finally started back down and some places were tricky and slippery. I fell twice but it wasn't bad because the ground was soft and I caught myself with my hands! My friend Brian and I passed the time by singing show tunes in a really loud obnoxious way :) We went through West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera, Oliver, Lion King, and Aladdin. Yep, I know. But it was fun and it distracted me from my spaghetti legs. When we got to the bottom and hour and a half later it was pretty cool and I was very glad I did it.
We decided to reward ourselves by driving the few minutes over to Lake Yohoa and treating ourselves to an amazing lunch of seafood at Agua Azul hotel. I got a huge filet of bass encrusted with garlic breading, it was amazing. And since I had been rehydrating myself since the hike some of us ordered some Salva Vida beers too :) The view of the lake was really beautiful and the light breeze, the food, the beers, and the company made for an enjoyable time. After we stuffed our bellies we made use of the hotel pool, which is right in front of the view of the lake and mountains. It felt great. We came back around 4 and I was beat but happy.
Today I went with my family back to La Laguna pool where they have a little cottage there where the dad works and lives every other week. My friend Lauren came with me and we had a good time. My host mom cooked up these huge whole Tilapia fish, fried of course, and delicious. I also made up a strawberry cake with pink vanilla icing and heart sprinkles, which my mom sent me for Valentine's Day. They loved it and had never seen cake in a box before and were amazed it actually tasted good! It was a cultural exchange moment. Then we played in the pool all afternoon, it was great.
I can't believe we only have one more week of FBT left. This second month has flown by much faster than the first month, I guess because we were so busy. I am looking forward to returning to Siguat and seeing the rest of the group and my other host family again. My host sister Lizeth, in Siguat, has been writing me emails and letters and called me this morning to tell me how much she misses me and can't wait for me to return. Well I am going to try to answer some emails for once. I love you all and hope your lives are happy and that you continue praying for me :) Vaya pues.
I had a great, busy, fun weekend and now I'm beat :) Right now it's about 4 pm on Sunday afternoon and I just got back from the pool and I got a nice tan from the sun today. It feels nice to be in the air conditioning.
On Saturday I woke up at 7 to get ready to go hiking. We left at 8 in the two white Peace Corps Land Cruisers we are known for and drove about 20 minutes to Meambar - Cerro Azul, which is a national park right outside of Santa Cruz and known for it's cloud forests and mountains. We first took a short trail to a beautiful waterfall, although it wasn't huge. To get there we got to go over a wooden plank bridge hung over a river, which is always interesting! We took pictures of the group in front of the falls. Then we started the long hike up the mountain. The temperature was pleasant and the trees blocked the sun, but pretty soon we were all soaked, both from sweat and the moisture of the rain forest. It was a clean sweat though, if that makes any sense. The hike was challenging. In some places it was very steep with uneven terrain. Some spots were soft with layers and layers of moist leaves which have accumulated over the years. The rain forest was green with plants with huge leaves and vines and sometimes the trail would be very narrow and you could see down quite a ways. We had to stop several times because all of our hearts were pounding so hard and our legs were really tired. It took about 2 and a half hours to climb to the top and by that point I was thinking twice about going on the hike because my legs were like jello, very shaky and tired. The top was amazing - it was like we were up in the clouds, which we were. From the top of the mountain you could see most of Lake Yohoa and way into the distance. The pine forests looked tiny from the top. We sat at the top for a while, eating snacks we had brought and guzzling water, and again, I was drenched. I seriously had to ring out my hair - yuck. I was sort of dreading the long descent down the same path. The 13 or so of us sat at the top for about 45 minutes, talking about everything and anything. We finally started back down and some places were tricky and slippery. I fell twice but it wasn't bad because the ground was soft and I caught myself with my hands! My friend Brian and I passed the time by singing show tunes in a really loud obnoxious way :) We went through West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera, Oliver, Lion King, and Aladdin. Yep, I know. But it was fun and it distracted me from my spaghetti legs. When we got to the bottom and hour and a half later it was pretty cool and I was very glad I did it.
We decided to reward ourselves by driving the few minutes over to Lake Yohoa and treating ourselves to an amazing lunch of seafood at Agua Azul hotel. I got a huge filet of bass encrusted with garlic breading, it was amazing. And since I had been rehydrating myself since the hike some of us ordered some Salva Vida beers too :) The view of the lake was really beautiful and the light breeze, the food, the beers, and the company made for an enjoyable time. After we stuffed our bellies we made use of the hotel pool, which is right in front of the view of the lake and mountains. It felt great. We came back around 4 and I was beat but happy.
Today I went with my family back to La Laguna pool where they have a little cottage there where the dad works and lives every other week. My friend Lauren came with me and we had a good time. My host mom cooked up these huge whole Tilapia fish, fried of course, and delicious. I also made up a strawberry cake with pink vanilla icing and heart sprinkles, which my mom sent me for Valentine's Day. They loved it and had never seen cake in a box before and were amazed it actually tasted good! It was a cultural exchange moment. Then we played in the pool all afternoon, it was great.
I can't believe we only have one more week of FBT left. This second month has flown by much faster than the first month, I guess because we were so busy. I am looking forward to returning to Siguat and seeing the rest of the group and my other host family again. My host sister Lizeth, in Siguat, has been writing me emails and letters and called me this morning to tell me how much she misses me and can't wait for me to return. Well I am going to try to answer some emails for once. I love you all and hope your lives are happy and that you continue praying for me :) Vaya pues.
posted by Lauren @ 16:53
1 Comments:
At March 15, 2005 at 10:55 AM,
Anonymous said…
Lauren, it sounds so beautiful there! i'm jealous of all the amazing hikes you've done..but the heat sounds unbearable! i hope you get the assignment you want, i liked that analogy! cant say that i miss that feeling at all :) love, Brittany
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