15:00 The first task of the day… milk the cow! There was no water in the house but I was happy to go out milking the cow and I felt like I did a really good job actually. A video of the cow can also be seen here.
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| Getting Ready For Breakfast - Back To Traditions (D.Philpot) |
My host dad then taught me a very traditional game from many many decades ago using only some grains of corn and some shoe polish or some form of colouring and I wrote down the rules. He then told me another gruesome story of someone that got killed in the river here, though part of me felt it was him being the dad telling me to be safe.
I was then outside playing with the
families dogs before the ‘kids’ asked me if I wanted to go to the local
waterfall, which was a fair walk away but wow! Lot's of interesting plants/flowers along the way (Can't always show lovely animals).
The waterfall itself is pretty high, with impressive scenery, but very cold as I discovered after I jumped in and had a swim about - A video in attempt to portray a feel for the height of this thing can be seen here. On the way down I got hold of a Freshwater Crab also, of unknown species.
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| Plant/Flower 1 (D.Philpot) |
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| Plant/Flower 2 (D.Philpot) |
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| Plant/Flower 3 (D.Philpot) |
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| Plant/Flower 4 (D.Philpot) |
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| Plant/Flower 5 (D.Philpot) |
The waterfall itself is pretty high, with impressive scenery, but very cold as I discovered after I jumped in and had a swim about - A video in attempt to portray a feel for the height of this thing can be seen here. On the way down I got hold of a Freshwater Crab also, of unknown species.
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| Prepared For A Leap Of Faith (D.Philpot) |
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| Crabby! (D.Philpot) |
20:00 Had a fast lunch then went with my
host dad on the family quad bike (4-wheeler/ATV) through San Luis to Amapala
where there is an incredible view of the Monte Verde valley and the Nicoya
peninsula in the distance - See also Video 92 here. I spotted a
pair of Swallow-Tailed Kites which were great to watch gracefully dancing in
the sky, and we enjoyed the view for a little while as the golden sun rays pierced through the clouds.
We had to leave pretty rapidly though so again I opened all of the
gates positioned along the way like checkpoints or speed bumps before we went
to an American ladies house who was a friend of the family as well as the
park. It was a very nice house, we drank
rum (now I seem like an alcoholic!), I distinctly noted that the Spanish was
way over my head though luckily she spoke English so I got a bit of a break
here and there before I decided to play outside with her dogs which was good
fun. We had some food together before
returning back home in the darkness and rain, flying very fast along the dirt
roads – loved it, and is certainly the way I would like to live. The amount of dogs, wind, rain, and lack of
breathing up here is amazing – very fun and a relaxed lifestyle, though the
breathlessness makes me feel unfit.
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| VIP (Highest Point) View Of The Monte Verde Valley - Nicoya On The Horizon (D.Philpot) |
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| Sun Coming Down Behind The Valley (D.Philpot) |
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| Some Unimpressed Cows Interrupted From A Meal (D.Philpot) |