Futbol, Volcan Poas, y Cafe Britt

My feet hurt, I will never complain about Vuvuzuelas again, and I am finally not feeling so jittery from caffeine overdose. Let me explain.

On Friday night, my friends Ale, Leo, Devon, Faith, Shelby and I went to the Costa Rica vs. Belize game at the National Stadium in San Jose. The stadium is commonly known as angel wings because there are two large curving walls that come up from each side that cover the stands but leave the field open to the sky. The stadium was surprisingly empty for being such a popular sport here. Apparently the team is not playing well at all so people are just not going to the games at this time. Regardless, it was awesome. The people get so into the game that everyone jumps and cheers when something happens: good, bad, or neutral. People yell, blow into horns, bang on drums, and whistle. The amount of noise that was produced was definitely impressive with the amount of people there. Costa Rica won 1-0. After being there, and planning on returning for the USA vs. Costa Rica game, I will never complain about hearing Vuvuzuelas again. Most people, instead of vuvuzuelas, blow air horns that make vuvuzuelas look like child's play.

After the game, we all went to an "American Bar". The waitresses were wearing cowboy hats and boots with plaid shirts. What I have gathered is that when people think of the US, they either think of downtown cities or Texas. I think it is so cool to see what they think of us because we always have stereotypes of other people and we think that other people don't have the same stereotypes of us.

The next day, after only about 3 hours of sleep, we left for a full Saturday.  First, we stopped at a small coffee plantation and had some coffee. It was amazing coffee. Definitely the richest I have ever had. My friend even had strawberry coffee that was incredible. After, we drove up to the Volcan Poas. It  was a winding road that took us up and up. By the time we arrived at the Volcano, it seemed like we were in a different country. It was cold and misty. Ok, misty is an understatement. We literally were in the middle of a cloud. We walked up a path, which, by the end, left me rather soaked. We looked over the edge of a railing and saw nothing but white. Apparently there was a crater down there that is amazing. Apparently you can only see it if you are super lucky and come on a clear day. Apparently that only happens if you and God strike a deal. No worries though, it was a fun experience. After looking at the "crater", we walked, or rather, hiked up a path to look at a lake. The hike put my out of shape body to shame. It was a path that wove through the woods and rainforest and was so beautiful. It was just as green as my face was red. We hiked for what seemed like hours, but was really only about 10 minutes, to see a lake that, not surprisingly was also covered by a cloud. A wonderful workout with incredible scenery is what I'll sum that up to.

After a little drive, we went to a resort named La Paz Waterfall. We had a buffet fit for a king and were able to walk around for a couple of hours to see the different attractions the area had. There was a monkey house and butterfly house. The monkeys were cool to look at but after seeing them be trouble makers on the beach a couple of weekends back, I don't know if I could ever call them cute again. The butterfly house is a large house that had hundreds of butterflies. If you stand still enough and luck is on your side, they landed on you. I can't stand still, unfortunately. There was also a garden that had hummingbirds, or colibri, that you could walk through. I have never seen so many hummingbirds in one place in my life. The large attraction, though, were the waterfalls, or caratas. You walked down a good amount of stairs, turned a corner, and bam, there was a huge waterfall. You followed the path further back, and you were right next to the carata. Amazing. Then, after a little walk the other way, you were at the bottom of another waterfall that you only saw the top of before. Once again, after a little walk, you could stand behind the waterfall and look out. I was so impressed. It put the waterfall at Apple Canyon Lake that we talk about each summer to shame.

Needless to say, after a  night and day like this, I was exhausted and very happy to come home and sleep in my bed. I slept for 10 hours in my full size bed with freshly cleaned sheets thanks to my familia tica. I really like living with them; they spoil me.

On Sunday, we were allowed to sleep in until 9. Whoa, that was amazing. We then drove to Cafe Britt, a very popular brand of coffee's plantation to take a tour and have lunch. They had free coffee samples. Challenge accepted. The tour was made for tourists so it was funny but cheesy.We learned how to try coffee the right way and how they make the coffee. Here, instead of Mr. Coffee, they use a chonete, which is a sack filter that you fill with grounds and water and it filters over the cup. After the tour, we walked around downtown San Jose. Here's the deal about downtown. It is not very safe or clean. I heard that living there for 2 weeks is like smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. There is also garbage everywhere. Obviously, I'm rather spoiled with Chicago. Also, downtown is a little on the dangerous side. They say not to wear any jewelry because it will be stolen, especially if you are an extranjero (foreigner). I think that I like the barrios better.

This weekend was jam packed. I really enjoyed it. Some of my favorite parts are the bus rides were we make jokes, tell stories, and even try our hands at pick up lines. I've made some pretty amazing friends here. I enjoy experiencing it all with these people because feeling exhausted, or cold, or shaky from 6 cups of coffee is only fun when you share it with others.