Bags were down at the bus well before the required time of 0630; we paid our bill and wandered around the shop until breakfast opened at 0630. The weather was clear but cool and the restaurant was a tad cold which meant the cold fruit did not seem so appetising this morning - I tried some but it was not as a tasty either so I reconciled my hunger with cereals, toast and coffee.
Today we got a glimpse of Costa Rican life - we headed to a small village called Trinidad and went to a school that Exodus and Camino travel support. We were there by 0830 - instead of the expected time of 0930 - no traffic on the roads was the explanation - but I am still not sure if during normal work days we would have been much later! Anyway as the children were still arriving, especially from their holidays just for us, the extra time enabled us to quickly look inside a church that looked new and as if it was just completing construction - a painter played very non religious music on his radio while he worked! We then went to another SODA or local cafe for a nice $1 mug of coffee. It was back up the hill and a really clean transport style cafe with great views - it would have been good at some point to have tried the food at a SODA as it seemed as if it would be both appetising and cheap.
We returned to the school where all the children were in national (red white and blue) and regional (including green and yellow) costume. The teacher welcomed us in spanish while Juan Carlos translated - we first stood to welcome the national flag; the schools colours and hear the national anthem. The children then performed 4 dances for us - today's picture is the two youngest members who danced a romantic dance where the man went to town on his horse to meet his lady which also enabled the horse to do the same - so man and horse were both very happy! They ended with a participatory dance and some of the group were invited/dragged willingly to the floor to join in - I kept my camera to my eye and took photos as members of the group danced past! After the dancing we looked round the school - very basic by English standards but very good by African standards. The gift to the school from the travel companies, for their hospitality, was a rice cooker which will make the cooking of the one meal (lunch) a day for the 41 children who attend much easier. The children actually attend in two shifts am and pm;the classrooms could not accommodate 41 in one sitting.
We said our goodbyes and headed off down the hill for an hour and a quarter walk to the home of a Costa Rican lady who owned a small farm. Enroute we passed a farmer milking his cows by hand and saw a red tailed hawk flying in the valley - spotted by John. It was a lovely walk clear blue skies, a breeze and lovely scenery.
On arrival we were welcomed into her house and drank homemade blackberry juice before going on a tour - first stop the small but colourful garden which was full of different fruits - we tried a few which were ripe - we then went to her small dairy where everyday she made cheese from her small herd of 14 cows. The morning milking gave her 15kg of cheese and the afternoon less. She sold it to a local restaurant and passing local customers for 2300 colones a kilo (approx £3). We then went down to see the cows in the stalls being milked - by machine nowadays - the calves and the bull - he was very small by our standards but she is trying to breed small high milk yielding cows as the smaller cows cope better with the very steep terrain. It was also noteworthy that all her power needs are provided by the cows - she creates her own bio fuel - I think our farmers could learn a lesson or two. Next stop was lunch which she had prepared - it was typically Costa Rican - tortillas with cubed and seasoned squash like vegetables, homemade bread, cheese rings (similar to small bagels/ cheese straws) corn bread and of course her cheese. Washed down with hot chocolate or coffee - I had both! It was the best lunch of the trip and all vegetarian. Juan Carlos explained that the lady and her sister, who we also saw milking the cows had remained unmarried as their parents had needed them to work and consequently they did not have time for boys until it was too late. She said that her family and her love were her cows. This was a great visit and a real insight into rural Costa Rican life.
Next stop was the bustle of San Jose and our final meal together - we set off early tomorrow for the Bahamas, Liz and her mum head back to the Pacific south west for some diving in an idyllic spot and the rest have a trip to explore volcanos and waterfalls or ambling and sight seeing in San Jose before their late flight to Madrid/London.
We we arrived at the Fleur de Lys Hotel - last seen on our first night- and before going to our rooms we said goodbye to Juan Carlos and Gerardo the driver as a group.
John and I popped into San Jose to get some dollars out of an ATM we had one scare when the screen went blank and the card remained in the machine - a few button presses and anxious moments later it sparked into life and the card was returned so we headed to find another less scary machine. On the way back we stopped at the Macdonald's Mccafe and had a frappucino.....just what was needed and it lasted ages as it took a long time for the ice to all melt.
At 1830 we all met for a drink and then had dinner at 1900; I had talapia in a white wine and caper sauce and John had grilled chicken and both were excellent. We said our goodbyes at 9ish and went to get a few hours sleep before our 4am alarm; 4.30am call to make sure we are up and 4.45am taxi. They were a great group of people and made for excellent companions to share Christmas, New Year and our Costa Rican experience with.