Rafting and tucans

Yesterday we played soccer and went white water rafting! Coach Chino, a devoted and passionate soccer coach who volunteers his time to coach kids who can’t afford to pay for a typical soccer league, lead us and his players through intense warm-ups and drills. It was very hot, we had bananas and watermelon while watching a half-time show of back-flips, and the Costa Rican kids were very grateful because it was very special to have support and know that we wanted to learn from them and play with them. Some of these kids didn’t have shoes to play in but across the field was a team with shiny uniforms and new soccer balls. The kids we played with didn’t seem bothered by this because they had a great coach and knew they didn’t need fancy uniforms to play the game they love. We accepted each other and had a great time.

After lunch we took a bus to the drop-in spot of the Sarapiqui River and learned all the safety information. Carlos and Davis (our instructors) taught us rafting calls like “lean in”, “get down”, “back paddle”, and “front paddle.” At some points we even got to fall out the boat and swim around in the river. We saw tucans, trees, sloths, and vultures. Because the water level was low we also saw layers of twisted roots, rocks, soil, and sediment. It looked perfect and unreal, like it hadn’t been affected by humans. We took a break half way for a quick swim and fresh pineapple. We went on class 2 and class 3 rapids! After 2 hours of rafting we changed and took a bus to the lodge where the leaders did A.N.C.H.O.R. (appreciation, news, concerns, hopes, oddities, and a reading). We then walked to our home stays and spent a relaxing evening with them.

Today we woke up and had breakfast at our home stays (pancakes and fruit). We then walked to the Chilamate School to work again. We cleaned, painted, and had fun! Now we are looking forward to taking a cooking class with a local and then eating our creations and concoctions.

¡Pura vida!

~Eleanor Murphy, Mylana O’Reggio, and Victoria Sotomayor.