This morning we nostalgically left Limon and set off to Fortuna! To get out of our hotel in Tortuguera, we took an hour or so boat ride to reach land. At the tourist pit-stop, there were many people on bus tours similar to ours all taking a break and getting situated. I saw one little girl petting and hugging a dirty homeless dog with her mom looking on and smiling. To top it off, they fed the dog a bag of Cheetos. I wonder if my laughter at this typical Gringo situation means that I have officially lived here long enough to have made the transformation into a Tican.
(Above: pineapples! A worker has to poke a hole in the tarp each time before they stick a frond in.)
(Above: towel animal courtesy of our hotel maids)
Today marked the half-way point of the trip; I can't believe how fast time is flying! Pura vida!
We stopped off for lunch at a private restaurant in Civolo en route to our hotel in Fortuna. At the restaurant, a few people performed a dance portraying the Costa Rican cavemen becoming friends with the animals. It became awkward when the main character forgot his dance moves. We were then allowed to walk around the beautiful grounds of the hotel, where we saw a giant tree, a few sloths, and a venomous frog of some sort. Rolando was not afraid of the poisonous frogs, however, and scooped one up to show us. Not even the fear of venom can slow this guy down.
Next, we visited a pineapple plantation! We were given a crash-course on useful tips about pineapples. We learned that, to pick an ideal, ripe pineapple, you should look at the eyes; the bigger the riper the pineapple. The pineapple should be green on the top and yellow at the bottom, and have symmetry.
We also learned a little bit about the daily life of a pineapple farmer at this particular plantation, which has caused me to cross pineapple farmer off my list of potential future careers. The life of a pineapple farmer sounds extremely rough; these men stay bent over for long hours sticking the fronds of pineapples into the ground-- it hurt my back just hearing about it! Another interesting fact we learned was that an average of seven pineapple field workers per year get struck by lightning in Costa Rica, since there is so much open space. As soon as the presentation was over and I returned back to my seat in the bus I started doing homework-- I've never been more motivated to earn my degree!
The pineapple plantation itself, however, was stunningly beautiful. A diverse collection of plants, blue skies, and thousands of pineapple fronds made for a great afternoon to just look around and soak in the beauty.
We arrived at the hotel around three and were given the rest of the day to just relax, which was lucky for us because the hotel is stunningly gorgeous! I keep looking for Oprah or another A-list celebrity to walk by, as there is no way this place can go unnoticed by the rich and famous. Flowers, greenery, waterfalls, ponds, streams, warm hot springs, pools, and a three-hour happy hour all made a great afternoon for us. The cherry on top is our view from the hotel: an active volcano! I feel like this place is too good to be true.
(Above: the volcano)
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