Volcanos and Mid-terms

This morning we were off to the airport once again to take Becca’s mom, sister and niece so they could fly back to Colorado. We have had a whirlwind week! What a time we had – it was great to see loved ones and show them around this beautiful country that we have called “home” for the past few months. Over the weekend we went to see a volcano called Volcan Arenal in the northcentral part of Costa Rica. It was a stunning sight. This volcano is active and has lava and smoke continuously coming out of it, as well as audible eruptions. It was a very surreal experience to see such power and realize that if the volcano decided to really get serious, we would be history. Such is the power of God’s creation. It actually is a miracle that we even saw the volcano. October here in Costa Rica is the rainiest month of the year. The entire weekend was perfectly clear at the volcano, but we heard it rained all weekend here in San Jose. So I guess we picked a great weekend to go. The hotel we stayed at had three pools and 3 water slides. It was a blast and really fun to see Brooklyn get a huge kick out of the swimming. Even Grandma Vicki went down two of the slides - at night, but we do have a video that recorded all her screams, just in case you need proof that she did it! Last night we ate our last dinner together at a nice restaurant that has a special “show” every Wednesday. The show followed a buffet of typical Costa Rican food, which we thought was good (I don’t know if our visitors thought the same). The food is definately different, and it is NOT Mexican for those of you who think nothing exists except tortillas, tacos, and burritos south of the border. The show was very entertaining. The first part consisted of traditional music and dancing with beautiful garb worn by both the men and women. The second part was dancing again but this time with people wearing really unusual masks. Becca’s niece Catie was dragged out to dance – she was horrified but was a really good sport! Finally the night was finished up with fireworks. All in all, a neat experience to see this side of the Costa Rican culture. Tommorow we have “mid-terms” at school. It is hard to believe that we are already half way through this trimester, which also marks halfway through school for us. Six months down, six to go. Man has the time flown. We did find out this week that we now have a house in Ecuador. It is exciting to see that come together, although Becca and I both won’t be able to believe it until we are actually setting foot in Ecuador.













Volcan Arenal















Costa Rican Wildlife