Day 5 9/1/12
This
was quite a day! So much happened. We took our first taxi to Las Musas Water
Park! Driving through the country we thought we were going to die! The roads
were narrow and the cars were driving so fast. We kept swerving and there was
an endless supply of bumps. But the further we drove the more beautiful it
became. Now this is what I thought of when I imagined Costa Rica. Vast
rainforests with green that goes on for miles. Muy bonita. Blue skies and lush
trees and greenery.
When
we arrived at the “park” the Maria (the taxi meter) didn’t stop! It just kept
adding on and on as we sat there trying to collect our money! It was taking
forever for us to add it up so Hillary just ended up paying for it so we
wouldn’t end up paying a fortune. I’m pretty sure that they are not allowed to
do that, but of course, us gringas didn’t know what to say.
We
could see the whole park from up on the hill and it was so pretty! There was a
giant pool with a big slide in the middle of the rainforest and we could see a
breathtaking waterfall in the distance.
So
the group headed straight for the waterfall. The water was flowing off the
cliff like sand in an hourglass, so smooth and weightless. It was splashing and
sending mist in every direction.
We
had to cross this tiny rickety bridge that would have been SO much scarier if
it were more than four feet off the ground. I got right into the water when we
made it to the waterfall. After swimming in the Green River on a not so hot day
this summer, I’m pretty sure nothing is cold to me. A bunch of the girls were
screaming and freaking out saying how freezing it was. The bottom was a little
gross with lots of mud and leaves. But we swam across and a few of us went
behind the waterfall and jumped through! It sucked because of course I was
wearing my glasses because of all these stupid eye issues I’ve been having, but
I won’t get into that. The mist made it impossible to see. I was in some major
need of some glasses shield wipers. When I would take my glasses off, I was
basically blind. Therefore, it was a lose lose situation. But I managed. When I
jumped through I was a little scared because I didn’t know where the rocks
were, but I just went for it (almost scraping my knees on the rocks, whoops).
When
we were done there, we went in the pool and Syd and I went on the slide. It was
fun but was kind of painful at the same time. It hurt your back all the way
down. And Chandler sucked at taking our pictures…
After
swimming around we ate lunch at the restaurant. The worker guy was a little
creepy. He was just a little too nice. He kept asking this one girl in our group
questions and bringing us free samples, and taking our pictures. He kept
winking and touching and telling this girl how beautiful she was. It was a
little weird haha.
The
food wasn’t all that great, but what can you expect at a water park I guess. As
we are all eating, this drunk guy comes out of nowhere behind me and starts
whispering in my ear. It freaked me out! He was crouched down and I thought he
was a worker asking me a question at first. I couldn’t really understand him,
but he smelled like straight up alcohol. I thought I understood what he was
saying, but I was just so confused about the situation. We were all just
staring at him, scared and confused. He asked if we spoke Spanish we said a
little. Then he asked his question again, if I/we wanted to leave with him and
his friend or something! I’m just like hold on! WTH!? Drunk guy, slurring
words, 12 in the afternoon, 13 gringas eating lunch, whyyyy is this happening? I
was beyond creeped out. I looked up at my friends with terrified eyes and then
said, “no gracias, lo siento,” for everyone. And he said ok and left. Few,
thank God! We all just started laughing so hard.
Later,
as we were waiting for the bus that never came to pick us up, two, somewhat
nicer or more normal looking guys started talking to us. Although they seemed
cool, I think they may still be stocking some of the girls from our group, so
they might have been a little strange after all. We ended up taking 3 taxis
home and ours of course took an alternate route. Our driver took a different
turn away from the others and we were all freaking out! He kept saying “la
calle, la calle?” And we were just like, the street? “No, el centro, el centro,
la iglesia!” And he says “San Jose?” And we are all just like “no! San Ramón!”
haha He couldn’t understand what we we meant and had to radio the other taxis
to figure out where we were going. “El parque,” he said. Oh… right you know
where the park is, but not the church or el centro where this is all located.
But finally we ended up making it back.
My
family wasn’t going to get home until late, so Chandler and I walked from my house
to hers after dark. These creeper guys started walking behind us. Of course
everything is scarier at night. So we grabbed onto each other which I’m sure
made us look even more vulnerable. Chan was freaking out and started fumbling
for her pepper spray. My heart was thumping and I started to think, “omg, this
is it. This is how we are going to go. That or I am about to stab someone, that
is if only I could find my damn pocket knife!” But we crossed the street and
they went a different direction. So plan avert death was a success.
At
Chandler’s house we chatted with her mom and the Tías as we call them. I told
them my major and they said that if I write a book I can dedicate it to my
second family in Costa Rica. Chandler’s niece, Valentina was running through
the house like a crazy animal, eating hot chocolate powder and screaming and
laughing at the top of her lungs for a little attention. Of course, I indulged,
and laughed every time, only enticing her.
We
ended up playing cards with Valezca and Valentina. It was so much fun. We tried
to play Go Fish, but we couldn’t remember exactly what all the rules were.
(Sorry Grandma Dorothy!) It was crazy to think that a 6 and 9 year old were
teaching us how to play card games in Spanish. It was really interesting and we
learned new words. It was really fun.
Isa,
one of the Tías, made us fresco, something really good she whipped up in the
blender. She placed a plate of cookies on the table, and I thought Chandler was
going to die as she saw a tiny ant scuttle across the plate. So I instinctively
started trying to kill the ants with my fingers so that all would stay calm
haha.
Overall,
it was all just another great adventure in Costa Rica J
More to come!
Chau!
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