Another place I visited was Puerto Viejo. It is a small Caribbean coast in Costa Rica. it is beautiful place with a mix of people ranging from the tourists from around the world to the orignal indigenes who are called the Bri Bris. There also some Jamaican descendent living here. Some of the things I did in Puerto Viejo was to relax on the beach, shop for souvenirs, and hang out with some new friends as we enjoy the various life music going on.
The orchids women during one of the open markets days
Every fridays, there’s usually an open market where farmers and other sellers go to sell their products. The orchids women also go to there sell their flowers and I always join them. It is a fun place to be. You get to see all sort of Costa rican fruits, vegetables, art crafts, dogs and cats (Yes, they sell pets too) and other stuffs. There’s usually a form of event going on ranging from live music from a tican musician or a kind of display from the people. I really like open markets days here.
A man selling his flowers
The open market
A man playing an instrument and singing
The dogs being sold
A boy playing with the cats being sold
A coconut drink called Pipa Agua
During my first weekend here, I and another World Endeavors volunteer went to see Volcan Poas. I must say, it is one of the most amazing things i have ever seen. it is still an active volcano, so you can literally see the smoke emitting from the crater or the sulfuric pool. It is safe though; the site is set in a way that allow visitors to clearly see the crater keeping them far enough to avoid any injury. i heard it is one of the most visited volcanoes in the world. Going there, we had to take a bus from Atenas to San Jose, then we took another bus to Volcan Poas. The driver took us all the way to the top of the mountain then we hiked our way through the forest to the volcano and a Lagoon called Botas. The whole place is a national park with the major sites being Volcan Poas and Lagoon Botas. If you like hiking, then this a place for you since you have to hike to these sites and if you still want more, you can hike your way through pavement set in the cloud forest.
Hiking to Volcan Poas
Volcan Poas from afar
A closer look
Lagoon Botas
A pathway in the cloud forest
A map of the park
A model of Volcan Poas
Vivero Orchidias is where my volunteer placement is. This particular orchid nursery was started by some Costa Rican women that wanted to expand their income base with the recent coffee crises in the country. They produce flowers, mostly orchids, and sell to the public during the open market days. I work with them from Mondays to Fridays. Some of the things we do are plant new flowers, remove weeds, package organic sand to sell and most importantly, manage the nursery.
These pictures below show our some of the flowers that are grown.
A picture taken from my room window
I arrived Costa Rica at 2:00 am and I was really tired. I was expecting the airport to be crowded but it was almost empty, probably because it was really late. The airport is small compared to Chicago’s O’Hare airport. I like it that way. It was very easy for me to find my way through the immigration, baggage claim area, customs and exit gate. I changed some of my money at the foreign exchange service place located in the airport. The exchange rate from Dollars to Colones is about 446 CRC. That was my first shock. The exchange rate to dollars is high and they use very large bills. For example, they have a 10,000 CRC bill, so you don’t have to walk around holding a lot of bills.
When I went through the exit gate Marta Barquero (the person responsible for World Endeavors pick-ups) was the first person I saw. She drove me to my host family house. The whole place was silent and dark. I couldn’t see much but you can tell from the street lights and roads that Costa Rica is filled with trees and mountains. I got to my host family house (Mr and Mrs Rodriguez) around 3:00 am. Mrs Rodriguez was awake to welcome me and show me to my room. I was really glad that everything went smoothly.
This morning I was awaken by the sweet tunes of the birds. When I looked out the window, the beautiful view above greeted me. It is nice to see how the houses are set up on the mountains amidst the trees. I didn’t really do much today. I just to arranged my belongings, rested and ate :). I also had a chat with the Rodriguez for awhile which was fun. I barely understood Mrs Rodriguez, she speaks Spanish really fast. Her children however, Jose and Priscilla, speak good English. They have being my translator but I seriously need to learn more Spanish. Hopefully I won’t need a translator in a month’s time.
Hi readers,
My name is Asabe Dawudu. I am a Nigerian presently doing my MBA program at Illinois State University. I am going for a women development volunteer program with World Endeavors. The program will be in Costa Rica. I am really excited about this trip. This will be my first time in a Spanish speaking country. I’m a bit nervous though. I heard its normal, especially when you are going to a new country that has its own culture and language. I leant a little bit of spanish so that I won’t be completely caught off guard when I get to Costa Rica. I used the Pimsleur beginners’ spanish program. I had to pay $9.99 for the 10days beginner’s program CDs. I was also offered a 30days free trial language CDs. I think it was quite effective even though I would have to confirm that when I get to Atenas. I will be leaving tomorrow from Ohare Airport in Chicago. The flight is about 6hours which is not that long for me. I have my cloths all packed along with all the things I was recommended to take. I also have my camera ready. I’m going to try and capture everything I experience so that I can share with my family and friends. I think I’m going to enjoy this volunteer trip. I have heard good things about the place. Especially about the weather and food. I will be working on two projects: the Orchid Project and the Tortufauna Project. The Orchid project deals with working with a group of women in Atenas that started an orchids business in order to diversify their income base, while the Tortufauna is about caring for fresh water and terrestrial turtles. I’m excited about the two projects. I am going to help as much as possible as a managment student and volunteer and at the same time I am going to be receptive to what this World Endeavor program has to offer. I will be posting more about the projects and my experience by next week. Till then, Adios!!
Sent from my iPad
so here are my luggages. I’m trying to travel as light as possible. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I heard its normal though, especially when you are going to a new country that has its own culture and language. I leant a little bit of spanish so that i wont be completely caught off guard when I get to Costa Rica. I used the Pimsleur Approach DVD. I think it is quite effective even though I will find out how effective it is when I get to Atenas. I will be leaving tomorrow from Chicago. I got my cloths all packed along with all the things i was recommended to take. I also have my camera ready. Im going to try and capture everything i experience.I think I’m going to enjoy this volunteer trip. I have heard good things about the place. Especially the weather and food. I will be working on two projects: the Orchid Project and the Tortufauna Project. The Orchid project deals with working with a group of women in Atenas to diversify their income base and start an orchids business while the Tortufauna is about caring for fresh water and terrestrial turtles. I’m excited about the two projects. I will be posting more about the projects and my experience next week 🙂
Welcome to the World Endeavors Volunteer in Costa Rica blog. Our travel correspondents will be sharing their stories and photos here throughout the year, so check back for updates!
WE Travel Correspondent Blog: Volunteer in Costa Rica 