Monkey Testicles and Majestic Volcanoes

Man, do I feel lazy about writing this blog. Can’t wait until I can just tell all of you stories in person. Anyway, this past weekend we had our last group trip which was to La Fortuna and Arenal, an active but presently dormant volcano with some hot springs and a pretty touristy town. The theme of this trip was pretty much food. It was ridiculous. We didn’t leave until 8 so all of us had eaten breakfast, and then it turns out that stopping at a restaurant and ordering was included. We then went to an animal refuge center where they take and treat animals and plan to release them but sometimes it is no longer feasible who are maltreated or injured or in danger. It’s a private non-profit with no support from outside organizations. Some of the animals were in pretty small cages and seemed pretty angry about it like pretty much all of the felines. The highlight of it was of course expected to be the jaguar who was holding a constant growl the entire time. But we also saw crocodiles, really really smelly and dirty pigs, the fattest and juggliest different kind of pig I have ever seen (I might have offended it a bit with my comments since it was just SO FAT and SO JIGGLY), a pair of lions who were cuddling eachother (we were in shock when we came to the pen), a crazy ostrich with an injured wing (we were sooo close to her and she kept strutting around like she owned the world and ostriches are definitely the strangest animals in the universe-we were all fascinated but especially Molly), an emu, lots of different types of gorgeous and very loud birds, turtles (including mating ones), and more. We then got to the hotel in Arenal after leaving that place late at about 3:40 when we were supposed to get there at one…typical. We ate a delicious lunch then headed to this place called The Springs http://springscostarica.com/ to go to some hot springs. Now I expected hot springs like the ones we had gone to at the beginning. With some holes in the ground and a man with a garbage bag cape painting you with mud. But this was a TEENSY bit different. A resort and spa with about 30 pools, a swim up bar, a giant slide, some man made waterfalls, a gift shop where the cheapest thing was $50…you get the idea. It was beautiful and super fun to be pampered but at the same time made me a bit sad, reminding me that eco tourism is ironically losing its touch with nature. But there were a ton of well-treated Costa Rican employees which made things a bit better. The weirdest thing was when we were getting our wristbands to go in the cute guy giving them to us was like “I know you. Where have I seen you before?” I thought he was kidding around, but then he was like “at your grandma’s house” and it was so weird because I remembered and he is the boyfriend of my Costa Rican cousin and came to my grandma’s house for a celebration once. Mind you, that’s 4 hours away in car, and he remembered and we had literally seen each other for all of 5 minutes. Such a small world. Then dinner was included at this place, and we were not prepared. None of us had much more to wear than bathing suits and sat down and were catered to at this fancy restaurant. We weren’t hungry, but the food was free! Salad, this AMAZING pasta with veggies and the most delicious sauce ever, and tres leches cake. Needless to say, I sent a lot of my food to Chris, the Food Champ (we have three of those in our group-Chris, Zach and Abe, all skinny, and all bottomless pits. They secretly love my almost veganism because they get the food I won’t eat). The next day we went to a feline and monkey refuge at The Springs where the owner takes in cats when a government organization couldn’t afford to do it anymore. It was pretty cool, and we all loved the mountain lion named Guapo (handsome). The monkeys once again freaked me out with how human-like they were. I’m pretty sure it’s the hands that do it. Then we went on a super fun canopy tour, where the guides pushed us to launch us off, and we zipped through the forest. Oh, and the breakfast at the hotel was sooo good with the nicest and most patient waiter in the world. And then we ate lunch at the canopy tour place then had free time where some people went back to The Springs and a small group of us went to walk around La Fortuna which was a bit touristy but really cool. I got a beautiful handmade dress and a few last gifts that I needed, and we sat in a coffee shop (Mousmanni-their cheap and delicious form of Dunkin’ Donuts) and talked about life. I have no idea how people ate even more. We then came back for dinner, and Annna and I practiced our dance alongside the hot spring at our hotel and laughed our pants off, and I studied a bit. The next day we went to Arenal to get a tour of the bottom of the volcano. Even though it’s dormant hiking to the crater is illegal because three people died there about 10 years ago when there was a mini eruption and they escaped it and one died in the ambulance on the way down, another on the plane on the way home, and another back home. It was because of the tiny vitreous pieces released into the air when the volcano erupts that got into their lungs. The volcano was so beautiful and majestic but the weather was stinky and it was covered with clouds but beauty like that makes you think about the real important things in life and puts you in peace and in love with the world. Our guide told us all about the plants and the animals and the medicinal value of things and the formation of the craters and the eruption of 1968 where over 80 people died but it was on the other side of the volcano and not La Fortuna and that’s why La Fortuna has it’s name (because they were fortunate). And we also learned that monkey testicles are white to not attract the sun to keep their sperm at the right temperature so they can survive and be fertile.