Talamanca= WIN

Hi guys! I must say I am in love with Tico time, I can be late to everything and still be on time! I am soaking up some morning sun before Spanish class (yes I do always write these before Spanish) and simultaneously uploading Talamanca pictures to face book! go check them out dudes!
Talamanca was amazing, we learned a lot and had loads of fun being jammed into awkward positions for hours on end in a little bus. We stated out and had lunch with Timoteo, an indigenous leader who speaks Bribri (native language) as well as Spanish. After eating with our hands from banana leafs we went on a short hike to an amazing waterfall. There we swam, and wow, the force of the water was spectacular. He also did a short ceremony where we all sat in a circle and he chanted. I was indescribable. He than told us all about the battles he and so many other indigenous are fighting over land rights and how their practices have been hurt by excessive mining and major corporations that want to exploit the resources of the land. When we returned to the microbus Max, our fantastic driver, had gotten it suck it the mud and we created quite a spectacle jumping on the back of the bus and pushing from the front, but in the end we got it out. We than proceeded on to Suredka and our hotel which was very nice. It reminded me of my TTS days a little, being jammed into busses and carted around. Also, the humidity was way worse because we were so close to the coast, so the failure feeling of constant thin sticky sweat returned and my hair took to curling.
The next day we had really neat meeting with an indigenous community, the Awa, or healer, talked to us about the alternative ways of healing and his people’s traditions. He was speaking in Bri Bri, so we had quite a train of translation going, everything had to be translated from Bri Bri to Spanish, than Spanish to English. It was very interesting and the area was stunning. After another finger-food banana-leaf lunch we had another ceremony which was just as indescribable at the previous but in a totally different way. Than we all piled onto a bus and went to the chocolate co-op which was, to say the least, delicious. Mmmmmhmm yes.
Our last day on the road we went to the Cahuita National Park and spent all morning soaking up rays and swimming on the pristine beach. The water was perfect, warm and salty, and the morning slipped by in a lazy fashion. After lunch I chose to go on a little guided hike and saw all manor of animals. We saw a sloth, monkeys with babies, some snakes, a impressive ant hill, frogs, crabs, plants that close when you touch them and a mired of butterflies. Our guide told us all about the park which is actually mostly marine and the good it has brought to the area. He also told us about how drilling and pollution from farther up the coast come down with the currents and hurt the coral reefs that the park protects.
By this point I was dead tired, but we continued onward to a Calipso dance class. The people in the class were extremely talented and I was thoroughly impressed. I tried for a wile, but shortly gave in to my tired legs and watched the class move. Finally we all piled into the microbus one last time and made the five-hour drive home.
It is funny, I had to write a paper for Spanish about this exact same thing, so actually I have written my Talamnca description in two different languages. Neat eh? I am overwhelmed by how lucky I am to be here and so grateful to all of you who helped out! I hope you are all happy and healthy where ever you are and that you continue to be so! Another update will be here soon. (Allegra. HA.)
xo
greta