Mi Fortuna

I AM SORE! I had a "hard ass" weekend.. literally. Almost everything I did hurt my ass. Friday night we drove up to the AMAZING Baldie hotsprings. These are natural pools heated by the inner earth- Arenal Volcano! They were so so amazing. So warm, so nice. They made a little resort out of these hotsprings so there were waterfalls and beautiful little hidden passages.. it was so romantic- engaged friends of mine, this is an IDEAL honeymoon spot! We had such a good time exploring and going down waterslides and just hanging out..

Saturday we got up early and went to La Fortuna Waterfall. Again, so amazing. One of the other girls and I rode horses to the waterfall, while the rest of our group drove in a bus. This was the beginning of my sore ass. My horse's name was Sarita, and had a behavior problem. Luckily, I still got it when it comes to horseback riding, and I was able to control it (mostly) but definitely was running more than walking. It was so amazing though. Riding a horse is like riding a bike, I was able to pick it back up where I left off like 10 years ago. I was told I had "good form" which was a nice compliment considering last time I rode a horse I literally couldnt walk for like 2 weeks. (Remember girls when we lived in the "partment" and I was on codine and couldnt fit into any of my pants from my legs being so swollen??) It was sucky. This time though, while in pain, I am doing fine. We saw a perezoso which literally means lazy, but is the name for a sloth. This is why I love the Spanish language- it's so literal!!!



Upon arriving at the waterfall, we were told that there were 400-something stairs to walk down, which you guessed it, means there were 400-something stairs to walk up.... so on the way down it was all fun and games.. we played in the cold water, explored a little, but then had to hike back up. Let me tell you, it was not easy. Part 2 of my sore ass. As though riding the horse was not enough to make my legs want to be left at the waterfall, these steps kicked our butts! Then we had to ride the horses back to the barn. OUCH. So worth it though.. It was truly amazing.

After our adventure to the waterfall, we packed up and went to a town called Monteverde. We took a boat here as it was closer by "lake". We arrived in time to eat dinner and after our long and tiring day, we were in bed by 8pm! We woke up early the next day for a canopy tour- which was AMAZING! We went ziplinging all over the world it seemed like, but again, hiking up mountains hurt my ass. There was a tarzan swing that was SO scary, but so fun.. We also "supermanned" one of the ziplines and flew across the world as though we were him. The rest of them were so beautiful, but in the typical sitting position. The long ones were the best and we were so high above the trees. I recommend this to everyone! (Except if you're afraid of heights!)

I am so glad I got so see such beautiful things, but missed my normal group of friends. This weekend some of the classes had class field trips so we were all split up.. Next weekend we will be split up again, but our very last weekend here we are planning a last trip together.

This is my last week of Spanish class and I have one more week of Dialect class. I cant belive how fast time has flown!

Daniel in the Tech dept at Veritas fixed my computer, and it is like new- in fact better! He did say there was an issue and he lost some of my files (actually all of them) but he is going to send something to the US and have it fixed and then send it to me in Chicago so I can have all my files back. Because of this he didnt charge me, but I feel bad so I am going to at least buy him a coffee tomorrow.

I hope all is well with all of you. I feel like I am not that far away but also that I am in another world. Being so far away and being alone here really makes me appreciate who I have back at home. I appreciate you all reading my blog and caring what I am doing and caring that I am ok. Thanks for being in my life and thanks for loving me. :) Believe me, it is returned. LOVE to all.