We had the typico breakfast: rice & beans with eggs, pineapple, and papaya, then prepared for our day. The group put on their swimsuits, applied their sunscreen/bug spray, then made sure they had their water bottles filled. We packed up our pillows, sheets, and sleeping bags and stacked the mattresses- you couldn't even tell that we were there. We followed our guides out of the cave and went to a waterfall to swim. This was another grueling hike because the waterfall was up the mountain from where we were staying. So we hiked straight up for 3 hours yesterday, then hiked straight up again today. Thankfully, this excursion wasn't as long, but we were pretty close to the summit. The stream had a pool that was about 9 feet deep under a small waterfall. We couldn't jump in because the trees had grown over the edge. The water was refreshing and everyone swam with the guides or spent time catching tadpoles in the shallow sections. After about an hour, we put on dry clothes and prepared for our descent.
People were complaining about sore calves this morning, but it will be interesting what they'll say tomorrow after our excursion back. We took fewer stops (pretty much just one long stop in the garden) because physically it wasn't as exhausting; however, all those little steps and muddy patches that we had to climb up yesterday, we now had to stabilize our legs going down. Each student had their own little strategy, some that worked better than others. Scotty had an interesting time in particular. There is now a count for how many times he slides while hiking. He hasn't fallen down (much), but he's in the 30s for the number of times he's lost his footing. He says it's his shoes, but his friends seem to think otherwise... it's become a bit of a game for them :)
Marco picked us up in the bus at the bottom of the mountain. After a quick bathroom stop, we went back to Uvita. All but three people slept on the short ride back. We went to Sibu Cafe in Uvita for lunch, which the students gave reviews like "we should eat here every day!" Everyone had a salad, watermelon juice, and the option of quesadillas, burritos, or sandwiches. If they wanted, they could spend their own money on milkshakes. I didn't think anyone was leaving hungry until we went across the street to the grocery store and many of them stocked up on Oreos, Frosted Flakes, and other American snacks again. A few of them are opening up to the Costa Rican snacks, which is nice to see.
We had a short amount of time back at the hotel to shower, nap, swim in the pool, or, in my case, blog. Then we went out to Bahia Ballena. This is one of the beaches that is a national park. The tide was starting to come in, so after a safety talk, we went out about hip deep to swim. Some of the group stayed on the beach to play hacky sack, others decided to sit and read. There were live sand dollars everywhere; many of the students saw live ones for the first time today. They were all pretty small, but they were all over the place. We also followed snails and tried to catch a few crabs.
We just spent an entire night at the cave and yet the commotion before dinner was about bugs in the room. They were surrounded by cave crickets and glow worms all night, held Golden Orb spiders yesterday, now there are running and screaming over a simple problem... Once the dust settled, they showered and played card games until dinner at 7:30. Tonight, it was a taste of home: pizza. The restaurant has a brick oven for making thin crust pizzas. They could choose between cheese, pepperoni, or veggie pizza. There was also a special treat for dessert: a chocolate fountain with fresh fruit and marshmallows. I don't think any of them have had chocolate fondue before because they created these giant kebabs of marshmallows, drenched the entire skewer in chocolate, then tried to carry back to the table/eat it over a plate that was far too small for the monstrosity they created. It was quite the sight. It is absolutely fascinating how much they eat. Please do not worry about if they are getting enough to eat for all the activities because they are not shy about seconds, they take breaks to eat Frosted Flakes during hikes 30 minutes after breakfast, and they ask about trips to the grocery store. I am so sorry for all your grocery bills back home.
Half of them are absolutely exhausted and were ready for bed at 6:30. The other half has caught their second wind and there is no sign of stopping them. We'll play games for a little while before bed. They will need all the energy they can get because tomorrow is another physical day, but we'll be in the sun the entire time. We are going on our boat tour of Cano Island. If the conditions are right, we'll get to snorkel and swim for most of the morning. In the afternoon, they'll have another surf lesson.
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