Costa Rica Day 5!

 Hi everyone! It’s Zoe. 

Day 5 began with a delicious breakfast of oatmeal with bananas and honey before getting right to work back at the construction site and we continued our work on the building. We mixed several batches of concrete to form the columns of the building, and completed two out of the four.

We also met some bug friends during this time, which we named Fred, Ted, and Ned (not pictured). They are a type of grasshopper, a common pest to Costa Rican agriculture. 

After a couple hours of work, we headed to Mano de Tigre (translates to Tiger Hand), which is an indigenous women’s organization as well as the home of one of the community leaders, Elides. She prepared for us a delicious lunch of traditional soup (Olla de Carne) to eat. 

(Photo translation: the earth has a feminine name, therefore it also belongs to us)

After, we began our creek-hike through the jungle, guided by her son, Alexis. We essentially hiked up a mountain, then down a creek, climbing on rocks and logs and down waterfalls. This walk was very challenging, with many, many slips and falls, but we all made it out alive. We can now all say that we enjoyed the hike. My favorite part was Alexis showing us some petroglyphs and artifacts along the way. We saw the fossilized head of a coati, various pieces of old pots/bowls, grinding stones, and a large spiral petroglyph carved on a rock in the middle of the creek. 

By the time we finished the hike, lasting about 2.5 hours, it was raining heavily, and we began our trek back to Mano de Tigre. We were greeted with a snack of papaya and plantains. It was now time to head back to camp in the drenching rain. 

We returned to camp, all craving a nice shower and a nap. After an hour break, we all gathered for a well-deserved dinner of chicken, rice, fries, carrots, and green beans. After some reflection, it was time for bed. Today was definitely one of the most physically exhausting, and the weather didn’t make it any easier. There was intense heat in the morning and pouring rain in the afternoon. Nevertheless, I think we all had fun and it is definitely a day I will remember :)

¡Pura Vida! 

Zoe