One Week Tomorrow!

I am so sorry I cannot update much! I am borrowing a charger tonight but the volunteer leaves tomorrow and I will be without a computer for the rest of my journey! I am going to try and update as much as possible with this post.


I arrived on Monday and lived with three other girls in a room with a bathroom (toilet doesn't work). We have 2 small crabs and a tiny kitten living in the room and cockroaches in the bathroom (really, could be worse). However, yesterday two girls left with the tiny kitten (Tika). Everyday is the same routine pretty much with lots of free time. When I arrived there were around 15 volunteers but by Thursday there will only be 4 of us with the volunteer coordinator and her boyfriend. Below is my schedule: (Costa Rica is one hour ahead of Washington time btw)


5:30- get up. 
6:00- cleaning the little platform and feeding the sloths berros and green beans.
9:00- baby time. Take babies and/or 3-toed sloths out for walking or teaching the babies how to climb. 
11:00- vegetable peeling. Possibly the hottest part of the day and hardest part. Just because it is so hot and monotonous. 
2:00- afternoon feeding of vegetables. 
8:30- usually bedtime (went to bed at 11 once, never again). I thought that the other volunteers were joking when they said they went to bed around 8:30, but I was surprised that night that they do. Sometimes earlier because the sun goes down promptly at 6:00 every night and it gets scary after dark (bats, spiders, mosquitoes and more). 


At the moment, each task takes around an hour to do. So other than that, we are free to do whatever we want. Canoe trips, laying down, eating, going to the town an hour away. The hours go by super slow (we joke that what feels like an hour only takes 5 minutes in Costa Rica time) but the days go by super fast. I'm trying to take lots of pictures and will update them all when I get back to the States and back to a charger.


What makes Costa Rica hard: the bugs (already used the bug spray up, you were right grandma! Should have gotten alot more), cannot flush the toilet paper because the sewer system cannot handle it, and the heat. The heat or the bugs is number one because it's miserable to get up and start sweating at 5:30 in the morning and i keep getting eaten alive by the bugs. 


Overall it's been a great experience and I only have 9 days left at the sanctuary. The days have gone by super fast. I will update when I can, and if not, when I get back to the states I will update with stories and information about the sloths and videos and pictures I have taken. Adios! 

First Day in Costa Rica

I am so exhausted. I had four hours of sleep this morning and that has been it for the last 24 hours or so. Costa Rica has been different than what I expected. It´s been overcast and rainy all day. But it´s warm so it evens out in the end. My computer charger decided to die so I have no phone and no computer to communicate. So I´m not sure when I will be able to post again. I am using the hotel´s computer at the moment to type this. I made sure to take lots of photos and try and write down my experiences on paper at least. Everyone here is super nice and willing to help out no matter what. The only thing that´s wrong is the lack of communication and the huge, man eating spiders they have here. The huge spider by the dining room went missing between my exploring the pool and dinner which has made me jumpy with bugs. The chicken lasagna that the staff made was delicious and I made sure to take the rest in a to go box. I get up super early again tomorrow for my bus ride to the sanctuary. But I am more than ready to finally arrive there. 48 hours to travel somewhere is wayyyy too much for my liking. And I get to do it again for the journey home. Wow, instead of Dancing with the stars, they have Dancing Kids but in the same outfits pretty much. Well, I will try and update with photos as soon as I can but who knows with the no computer charger. I miss everyone back home and miss the United States as well. Bye!

12 Hour Wait and A Bird

Twelve hours. In an airport. This is what I am experiencing right now. Not only did I have to wake up at 5 AM to get here, 12 hours in an airport has to be suffered through. After this, I will get on an airplane and fly down to San Jose where I will stay at a hotel through Monday morning. I will then take a five hour bus ride to the Sloth Sanctuary. And then repeat the process in two and a half weeks. Brutal on my sleep and entertainment level? Yes. Would I trade it for anything? No, well besides maybe an easier trip. It’s still hard to believe that in 48 hours I will be holding and feeding baby sloths. This is a kind of trip people only dream of. It’s the kind of trip people see on TV and think, “wow, I would love to do that” but never actually get to do it. I am so thankful for this opportunity and probably still won’t believe that I am able to have this opportunity until long after my trip is over.

The only hard part is the waiting. I arrived here in Denver around 12:30 pm. My plane for Costa Rica leaves close to midnight. It’s painful. I was able to get an internet connection on the top right side of the airport but not on the bottom left where I am currently. Down here with all of the terminals is loud and busy. I liked it better on the walkway where there is literally nothing besides a few wild birds that fly around inside the airport. However, I have to sit against a pillar and on the hard floor up there for internet and power. Instead of relaxing in the food court with a table and chair. I should go and explore the rest of the airport instead of the A terminal where my flight came in and will leave from. But knowing me, I would probably get lost somewhere that’s top secret.

All of my money in 10,000 and 5,000 increments 

Cougar!

While here, I exchanged $150 for the money they use in Costa Rica. Which was 61,000 colones. I feel like I am super rich and will carry this belief for the rest of my trip. I like their money, they put animals on the bills including a cougar on the 10,000 colone bill. I made sure to take pictures of them and post them. Other than that, there is nothing here really to take photos of. It’s an airport with planes and fast food restaurants and shops. Maybe I will go explore to find something exciting to take pictures of. I tried taking videos of the birds flying around, but they are hard to capture. So, with that, I am off to find and do something exciting in the Denver Airport.