Hot Springs

Wednesday

I tried going to sleep last night by counting backwards from 1200 by 12's. But when I reached zero, I realized it didn't work. Eventually I fell asleep. I woke up early with the daylight, but stayed in bed.

We got up around 7. We got dressed. I took supplements, and read a little online. We all met in the main area at 8 for breakfast: fruit, egg and toast. The lady came around and added rice and beans for those who wanted some. I had orange juice to go with it.

Around 9, we checked out of the hotel. We headed through Turrialba towards the coast. I got some cash from Chris to pay Jessica back. Then we got stuck in traffic because of an accident. When we found out how long it might take, we turned around and went another way.

Driving through a small town, I spied a fabric shop near the plaza. So he parked and we got out to walk around the plaza. We shopped at the store, but they didn't have much cotton. Then we walked to a bakery and used the restroom. Walking back to the car, we looked inside the church. On the way out of town, we stopped at a fruit market. I got a coconut and a water apple. It tasted like a soft pear.

Then we drove to Hacienda Orozi. It is a coffee plantation and farm. We signed in, then had lunch by the lower hot springs. Afterward, we went to the cabin in Coffee Picker Village. Four of us put on bathing suits and went to the private hot spring for the 'village'. We talked, and swam. I picked leaves out of the water. A lady came, talked for a bit, soaked, then left. Balls of mud were provided and we mudded each other.

Jessica went back to the cabin to take a shower. Later I went back, barefoot because I did not want to get my new shoes wet. But my feet paid the price on the pebbles. I took a shower and got dressed. Chris came back. I got online, and activated my credit card. I posted to my blog for yesterday, then read e-mail.

At 7, we gathered in Gabriel's car. The security guard gave Jessica a radio to call in case we got back after 10. Then we drove out the front gate and into town. We stopped at a market for beer, then went to an outdoor restaurant. It was a place with character, if you knew the famous singers whose caricatures were on the wall. Everything took a long time; menus, drinks, and food. I ordered truckas, which were local fish. I was served two whole fish; head, tail and bones. I chewed long and carefully, picking bones out of my teeth. But it tasted good. The others chatted, sometimes in English and sometimes in Spanish. My stomach wasn't feeling great and I blamed the coconut from the fruit market.

We got back just before 10. The gates opened for us and we drove through, then to the coffee pickers village where our cabin was. I got back online to jot notes. Gabriel brought in the beer. They went to bed, and Chris and I stayed up to read.