2
Location: San Jose
Today was the second day of our Costa Rica volunteer trip. We woke up early this morning and ate breakfast at 7:45. For breakfast, we ate rice and beans, eggs, and fruit. Then, we loaded the bus to head out to La Carpio, which is a poorer Costa Rican community outside of Santa Ana. While we were in La Carpio, we painted a colorful mural and the police station. For lunch, we ate rice, beans, and fruit. We were given a small walking tour of the community, and it didn’t take long for some local children to bombard us with hugs. We played with the children, who were energetic and excited. After hanging out with the kids, we headed down to the river. As we walked down the path, everyone in the group was pretty quiet and tried to take everything in. We saw a lot of stray animals on the way down, as well. When we got to the river, there was a lot of trash, and the water was very dirty. We were told that people take the water in a pot and boil it for drinking. People also bathe and play in the river. After a long day in La Carpio, we headed back to our hotel for downtime. Some of us tried to swim in the pool, but the water was really cold. At 5:30, we got together to talk about our expectations for this trip. We figured out that the majority of the people on this trip do not like spiders. For dinner, local families picked us up and invited us into their homes. We had a delicious meal full of vegetables, fruit, chicken, and rice and beans. It is safe to say everyone will get a good night of sleep and be ready for another long day tomorrow. Keep reading our Costa Rica blog to stay updated on our adventures!