Monteverde has been a very different experience, since we got to work in a variety of places!
For the first week, we helped out at a local school with their gardening project. There were multiple different beds that needed work, as well as a cute car tire garden that we created! The best part of that week was working together. The tire garden came together from nothing with everyone helping in different ways. It was nice to have a project to work on from start to finish, and at the end, we left our mark, with everyone painting their hands and leaving handprints! We had lots of fun and did lots of work! The kids at this school were just as welcoming as the last school, and we played games with them during free times. The kids were always willing to help, and insisted on grabbing our shovels and paint brushes and being a part of the team! The week at the school went really quickly, and our projects were finished pretty easily, but it was very nice to see our work through until the end.
In our free time, we got to explore the Monteverde Reserve, discovering beautiful overlooks and an amazing suspension bridge! It was wonderful to be able to actually get to know the trails that we worked on, and we loved the forests so much we went back for more, doing hikes over and over again and making sure everyone in the group got to see it.
Last weekend, we found out about some natural hot springs nearby and a group of us braved the long, slippery walk down to relax in them! It was definitely worth the hike- the view of the hills was incredible, and the hot springs were two levels high and right next to a beautiful waterfall. We spent the entire afternoon there, leaving right as it started to rain.
We’re very excited for our reforestation work next week, look out for more info and pics on it soon!
When we aren’t working, we’ve been exploring Santa Elena, finding great restaurants and ice cream shops! The area is beautiful, but walking the hills every day wears us out, so we’ve had early bedtimes here. The host families we’re staying with have been incredibly welcoming and accommodating, and we’re trying to practice our Spanish more with them!
It’s unbelievable that we all leave in 9 days! People are already making plans to visit each other- we’ve definitely become a team during our time here.
Off to enjoy our last week!!