Picures Report
Arenal does it's best Gandalf impression in the morning.
Only Randy was awake at this time to see it, but the rest of us appreciated the pictures.
So you can see this even before you start hiking.
But then you get to walk down these.
Randy counted on the way up, there are 445 stairs of various heights, sizes and textures.
Then you get the pay-off of seeing it up close.
Several of us had some good individual times of worship and prayer.
Others posed for pictures trying to get on a magazine cover for the first time.
It may be hard to tell, but those two tiny people are Chip and Kelly that scambled all the way around and behind the waterfall.
Our last group picture.
Costa Rica Day Twelve – July 10, 2007
Today was a lot of fun. We woke up at 8:00 to a knock on the door from Randy and headed down in the rain to a breakfast of toast with weird jelly (guava and pineapple). Then we packed into the van and drove down the bumpiest road until we got to the waterfall park. We first had to write our names and country on a sheet of paper and then we got to start hiking. The hike down to the bottom of the waterfall wasn’t that bad although it was really steep and Grace and I feared falling. Once we eventually got to the bottom we were all in shock of how beautiful it was. The waterfall looked like something out of a magazine; perfect. There were huge rocks before the pool where the waterfall was falling and a lot of us climbed around on the wet, slippery rocks to get closer. Some people from other groups even tried swimming to the waterfall but it was so powerful it just pushed them back. The pictures don’t do it justice so I hope everyone can see something like that sometime in their lifetime. We also got to wade around in a little pool just to the left of the waterfall were we found a school of fish just facing the waterfall not moving at all. The hike back up was a little rough and the change in elevation made it feel like breathing was really hard, but we all made it.
Then we went back to our rooms, showered, packed, loaded the van (tied our bags to the top of the roof) and got rolling in a little over an hour. That’s impressive for seven girls. The drive back into the city was really an experience. The entire way was curve after curve and I was constantly falling into Grace and Lauren. Sleeping wasn’t an option but eventually everyone started finding it really funny until we found out we still had 30 more minutes on that road (after already driving for over an hour). But we made it! There was a big thunderstorm on our way to the mall to eat which meant our bags were on the top of the van getting wet (it happened the night before too). We eventually got to the mall after what seemed like days and just after ordering our food the power went out. Grace, Lauren, Stephanie and, I were really upset because we wanted dessert but lucky for us the power soon came back on and we got TCBY. Then we went “grocery shopping” and got a bunch of yummy food for our families. We drove twenty more minutes and before we knew it we were at the hotel. The girls decided to pick names out of a hat for the rooms to switch it up and the boys got two separate rooms (someone snores a lot and Joel and Chip didn’t think they could handle it…. Randy….). We all then met Eric by the poolside and he passed out postcards and we wrote for about two hours. Then we went to Rostipollos again. It was pretty good but some of us made the mistake of getting the authentic fajitas which were not the same as those of Chili’s. Kelly, Stephanie, and I decided that we wanted dessert so badly that we were trying to cover up all of our food so Eric would let us get chocolate cake and cheesecake and such. It worked! Then we had our debrief by the poolside and had a really good discussion and met with our prayer partners. Now the girls are all in one room about to hear Megan’s testimony.
The trip has been amazing. I’ve had hard times but I’ve loved all of it. It amazes me that the seven of us girls grow closer day by day. And we are all still amazed at the almost automatic friendship between Chip and Joely. We are all in awe of how well our group has bonded and we agree that we couldn’t think of a better time here in Costa Rica. I’m so excited to get home but I know that I will miss a lot of the stuff in Costa Rica, even the awkwardness of being in the homes. I want to thank you all for keeping up with us and praying constantly. It is so encouraging to know that when we update the website, people are genuinely interested in what we are doing. Your support has meant the world to me, and to all of us. I know we couldn’t have done any of it without any of you (as cheesy as that sounds). Well, here’s to our last night in Costa Rica. Next time you see us, we’ll be in desperate need of showers, probably a little soggy, and grumpy as they come. See you all soon!!
Love,
Tessie