Volcán Poas

On a clear day, we can see three volcanoes from our bedroom window (yes, it is an amazing view to wake up to!). If it is a very, very clear day and if we are standing at just the right angle at a certain spot on the little side porch in front of our bedroom window, we can see two more volcanoes, one of which is Volcán Poas, one of Costa Rica's main tourist attractions. The week after we got home from the States, we took a day trip to experience this volcano for ourselves. Poas is an active volcano; it had its last major eruption in 1953 (causing the crater you can see in the photo below). The national park it's in has been closed several times in recent years for minor eruptions, and the rumblings of this volcano caused a earthquake that was felt here in Atenas in January of this year. So, it was pretty exciting to get to go visit it!

We walked up a path that took us to a point where we could actually look down into the crater of the volcano. It was impressive.... and it was SO cold! We're accustomed to the heat of Atenas, so the cold (it was probably in the 40's) caught us by surprise. The icy wind and the need for a jacket felt heavenly!

We made the trip with other EMI staff, from our office and from the Colorado Springs office. We also had some good friends from the old EMI Guatemala office staying with us that week, and they went with us as well. We had a fun time together, taking photos and going on a little hike. From the crater, you can walk through a dwarf cloud forest (the trees are really short, apparently from acidic air and freezing temperatures; it kind of looks like something from Lord of the Rings). This trail ends at a lake that has filled in one of Poas' extinct craters. We then took another trail through a taller forest. Our adventure was complete with needing to climb over a huge, slippery fallen tree in the path (a fun feat with two little ones under two) and with finishing off the walk in the cold rain (which, again, felt wonderful!).

We were glad to have some good time with our dear friends before they move far away; it will be years before we see them again. We'll miss you guys!

After our time at the volcano, we enjoyed a great lunch with a beautiful view (shown in the photo above). It was a wonderful, rejuvenating day. It made Dan and me realize that we need to get out and see more of this beautiful country we live in!

Saturday morning fun

Last Saturday, Dan and I figured out how to both get some work done outside at the same time. While I hung loads of laundry on the clothesline to dry (I just this week finally got caught up on laundry after our trip back to the States), Dan did some yard work... and Timmy had a great time in his little pool. I of course had to take a break from hanging clothes to snap a few photos. We might have to make pool time a regular Saturday morning activity!

Home again

Eight days ago, we returned to Costa Rica after spending almost 3 weeks with family and friends in the States. We were blessed with a great vacation, and we were able to do so many different things: hiking in the Tetons with my family, reconnecting with friends in Kansas, and enjoying the beach in Florida with Dan's family. It truly was a renewing time for us, and I feel like we returned to Costa Rica feeling refreshed and strengthened to continue with life and work here. In spite of this, though, we have felt some feelings of homesickness during this past week. As refreshing and fun as it is, going back to the States reminds us how much we miss our family and the fellowship of good friends we've known for years. So, we had a strange mix of feelings as we returned to Costa Rica: happy to be back to what is now our home and eager to pick up where we left off in relationships we're building and projects Dan is working on, but also a little sad to be so far away from the people we are closest to. We think Timmy must have been missing people, too, because this is how we found him as we were working on unpacking:


He looks like he's saying, "Call Grandma. I'm going back!" Fortunately, he's jumped right back into having fun with our neighbors and friends here. Dan and I also are enjoying seeing our friends here again, and are trying to adjust back to communicating in Spanish.

We really did feel like we were coming home when we arrived at the international airport last week. One of our friends here in Atenas manages passport control there, and was working when we arrived. It was great to be greeted right away by hugs and questions about our trip. Marvin escorted us through security, telling the other workers we were his friends, and helped us get onto the elevator, etc. What a great welcome back!

We got to our house at about 2am, so we barely noticed that it had been painted while we were gone! (You can see it in the photo above... definitely an improvement over the unpainted look it's had for as long as we've lived here!) We did notice, however, that there was very little water pressure, and Dan quickly found that there was a fountain coming out of a broken pipe on the side of the house. We're very thankful that this leak was outside this time (and not inside like when our house was flooded before; coming home to a flooded house would have very much dampened the refreshed feeling we returned with!). Dan was able to repair the leak, so all is well... for now (we know that there is another leak in the wall between our bedroom and bathroom, and are praying it can get repaired soon!).

During the week since we've been back, we've said good-bye to our interns, hosted some good friends from the old EMI Guatemala team, traveled to Volcán Poas with them, and worked on getting settled back into our home and daily routines. Dan has jumped right back into project work, and is preparing for his next project in Haiti, which is scheduled for the end of September. We also have about a month to prepare for our next group of interns, who arrive at the end of August. There is a lot to look forward to, and we're glad to be home again...