Tuesday is Water Day

If the kids aren't waterlogged it's amazing. We had a busy day surrounded by water. This morning we were up again and eating breakfast at 7. They all seem to be eating well. Eggs, toast, rice and beans, sausage, tons of fruit. We left early to head over to La Fortuna Waterfall. The walk down to the pool was over 500 steps and very steep. It wound along the edge of the mountain. The waterfall itself is beautiful. At the bottom are a series of pools that the kids could swim and play in. After a couple of hours it was time to go. Those 500 steps were a bit tougher on the way up.

After La Fortuna, we drove to Lake Arenal to go kayaking. Lake Arenal is a man-made lake/resevoir. The country took over the land to expand the existing lake after the 1968 eruption of the volcano when two villages were destroyed. The villages are still at the bottom of the lake. According to our guide, when the water is very low the cross on the steeple of the church can be seen sticking out of the water.

It goes without saying that everyone was exhausted after kayaking. Back at the hotel we had lunch of rice, vegetables, beef, beans and fried planatains. The kids talked to Victor and he agreed dinner could be something different. We had pasta with either meat sauce or a white sauce that was sort of like alfredo. The kids also asked for chips and salsa which they got for us.

After lunch we all went to the Baldi hot springs. It's a resort just outside of town with natural hot spring pools. Everyone relaxed in the pools and had a good time hanging out together. After dinner we took the kids for a walk to get icecream and water for tomorrow's trip. Right now, they're all in their rooms watching TV or just hanging out on their balcony. It's been a busy two days.

Tomorrow we get up early again and head to Montverde. Our first stop is at a local school to see how the kids are taught and they will perform some traditional dances to us. The boys are hoping to play soccer with them. :) In Costa Rica children are required to be in school from the age of 7 - 15. After that they can quit, however, if they want a good job they continue on. School starts at 7am and ends at 5pm. They begin learning English First Grade and in High School they have to learn French as well.

After the school we'll be heading to our next hotel for lunch. We're curious to see what this one will be like. The big event for tomorrow is the zip line canopy tour in the Santa Elena Rain Forest. The kids are really looking forward to it.

I'm going to try to upload more pictures as I can. Here at the hotel in Fortuna, we can pick up the wi-fi sitting in the open courtyard, but not in our room. The kids are using their iPods and checking Facebook, etc.

We'll be updating again soon! I know I keep saying it, but, you've raised a great bunch of kids.