Montezuma and In Service Training

The past couple weeks have been pretty crazy with a lot of different things going on. Things at my site have overall been going well, but for the past 10 days I have been around and about throughout Costa Rica doing a variety of different things away from my site.

This month I decided to go on a trip with 8 other volunteers to the beautiful beach area of Montezuma. It is located in the lower part of the Nicoya Peninsula. It is very hard to get to and require various different transportation steps to finally arrive. But the trip was well worth it.
We arrived late in the afternoon the first day, but that did not stop us from going to the beach. The beach was absolutely beautiful. Quintessential beach with long views along the coast lines, lined with palm trees. The waves were really strong that afternoon and we all played in the waves trying not to get completely pummeled by the waves. That night we went out to dinner at this beach side restaurant and feasted on steaks, pasta, and seafood. Then we took the party back to the hotel which was located literally on the beach. Overall it was an amazing first day.

The next day we hit the beach early and setup shop down the shoreline and took in some sun. My friend Andrew and I went on a 3 hour long hike up the coastline to progressively more and more secluded beaches. We also climbed up this river and found a small 10 foot waterfall which we hung out at for awhile. That night we went back to the same restaurant this we liked it so much. Then of course brought the party back to the hotel room, and then went to the club to go and dance the night away. Writing this entry reminds me of the ridiculous life I live.

The next day we woke up early and chartered this small private boat to take us to Isla Tortuga, a small island off the coast of the Nicoya Peninsula. My friend Andrew organized the boat, the 8 of us left on the boat for the 45 minute trek up the coast to reach the small island. We spent 4 hours on the deserted beach and just took in all that the island had to offer. Lots of sun, fun, and great swimming. On the way back we stopped at this snorkeling spot, which was pretty cool. Later 25 minutes into the boat ride back we noticed large spurts of water splashing in the ocean in the distance. The spurts of water were whales snorting through their blow holes. We ended up getting extremely close to the 2 massive whales which to me seemed to be humpback whales. It was insane to be so close to such gigantic creatures, especially being in such a small boat. It was an awesome experience, and our boat driver said we were very lucky to see them so close, closer then he had ever seen them before. We then came back late afternoon and went out to dinner to another restaurant by a river feeding the ocean.

The next day we woke up and hiked an hour to some insane water falls. They were really cool to see and a great place to just go an hang out at. At the second waterfall higher up, which required a climb there was a rope swing and a few other spaces where you could jump into pools of water. We spent hours just hanging out by the falls. It was an awesome time.

Later that day we took the last bus out of Montezuma to head to San Jose to begin In Service Training. In Service Training occurs after the first 3 months of service. It was held at a really nice hotel. It was great to have hot water, good food, and not be surrounded by farm animals.

For the next 5 days we took classes in learning how to teach English better, cultural classes, technical classes, safety and security classes, and medical information sessions. Overall it was very informative, but very intense as all Peace Corps training events are. There is always a lot of information to cram into a small amount of time. Right now I am writing this blog from the hotels fast wireless internet connections which is awesome.

During the past couple days I have had the opportunity to compare and contrast stories and experiences among the other volunteers in my group. It was really a treat to spend so much time with the other volunteers as well as receive valuable training. It has given me the opportunity to really think about my experience here.

At this point in time I am very happy with everything going on and my life here. I am thankful for the freedoms I have, as well as the responsibilities of living and working for and in a rural Costa Rican community. I feel I have the capacity to really complete some great projects in my time and hopefully leave the town with more resources and skills for further development. Everyday I look forward to the next days adventure and learning experience. The Peace Corps has truly to this date been an amazing experience with many ups and downs but overall at the end of the day I can still say Tuanis.