The Easter break (Semana Santa/Holy Week) could not have come any quicker for me...honestly, I need to get away and enjoy a change of scenery. The commitments at school have kept me too busy and I am finding it hard to steal an hour for myself..really! We will head down the mountain, tomorrow, on the 6:30 a.m. bus to San Jose, first stopping at my doctor's office for a quick appointment, then onto Thrifty rent-a-car and then up towards Poas.
The Poás Volcano, in Spanish Volcán Poás, is an active stratovolcano in central Costa Rica. Poás has erupted 39 times since 1828; hopefully it will refrain from doing so Monday through Wednesday :) We've booked a Cabina 13 km south of the volcano, so we should be close enough to get there by 8:00 a.m. the next morning to see it before the clouds roll in. We hope to have a chance to drive around and come out on the Carribean side. Looking forward to it!
The weather today is hot and sunny so the clothes on the line are drying in no-time. We've been busy with life here and enjoyed a low-key pot-luck last night at Elizabeth's as a few of us gathered to say goodbye to a family that was returning to their Colorado ranch after being here 4 months.
Mike and I enjoyed our conference last week with the boy's teachers. They are doing so well and we were happy that they are behaving well and it appears the systems we've put in place at home can be seen at school :) YAY! They will likely be almost fluent by end of next year so they'll be good practice for mom and dad. They enjoyed playing with Salimito (Kattya's son) on Friday; Salimito wants to learn English, so a nice fit. They scampered around in their spiderman, batman and knight's masks and ran through the forest, played with blocks and enjoyed just being four together.
I am enjoying running more and getting some 'lessons' from Gaudy's husband, Raul, who is an avid runner. He is giving me some great tips and techniques on breathing and how to handle these hills. We run weekly together and do about 8 kilometers. I even manage to make it up these hills now, which I never thought I could do. It is all in the breathing. Good training for the upcoming Caminata (Walk-athon) on April 10th. Thanks to all who have sponsored me, it goes to a great cause (Monteverde Friends School).
Little Daisy is settling in and has become quite at-home here with us. She is really patient with the boys and makes herself comfortable on the coach and on our beds. I am hoping my allergies are to the dry, dusty weather and the neighbor's long haired kittens opposed to her. As darkness descends each night, we need to hurry to close all the drapes in the house, as she'll get up on the bed and bark at her reflection...and oh, the oven door is another bark-fest. It is quite hilarious.
I saw my first "live" scorpion yesterday morning as I picked up the bath mat. I was not sure it was a scorpion as I had just awaken, but once I got focused, I screamed for the boys, but it was too late. These things can really move, as it scurried into the guest bedroom. Just as long as it doesn't make its home in my bed, I'm okay. One of the gals here in the community was bitten by one in her bed last week and her lips and tongue swell up. UGH!
And finally, we are again celebrating with ice-cream today as John spent last night in his bed (and not sandwiched in between mom and dad in their bed). No wonder I feel so refreshed today. GREAT JOB John!
That is it for now, as we need to start packing and checking off the To Do List for our trip.
Peace,
Sally
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