Day 12:Sarchi

Our day started off with a refreshing opportunity to sleep in. After a week of non-stop excitement, sleep was treasured. However, excitement seems to follow us. At breakfast, a family of monkeys showed up and decided to swipe our pancakes. It gave us a laugh, but for some strange reason it didn't feel all that unnatural; Maybe because over the past week, we have slept with hand sized spiders and geckos that can squeak.

  
After attempting to eat our breakfast, we went back to our rooms to get our bags packed and our towel cards turned in, and say one last goodbye to the beautiful Punta Leona. We all met at the bus to load our things on top, and get the game plan for the day. We ate an early lunch and it was on the road again; back to the central valley.

It was a nice two and half hour bus ride through the winding country roads of Costa Rica. The clouds covered the tops of the mountains giving it a picture-perfect postcard look. It was also a good opportunity to get a sense for the rural parts of the country and the slow-paced lifestyle they live. We saw a man who was selling fruit outside his house and Carlos promptly slammed the bus to a halt, reversed, and Adrian got out to pick up this fruit, called “Nancy.” Strange name, but they were very yummy.

We continued on until we arrived in Sarchi. Here, we got to see the massive, colorful, mosaic Ox cart that is the symbol of Costa Rica. We snapped a group photo, and it started to rain, so we scurried back to the bus and headed to the store.

We arrived at the store to see windows filled with brightly colored hammocks and big leather rocking chairs that looked specially made. The store was huge, crowded with everything a tourist would want to buy: T-shirts, bags, purses, hats, coffee cups, and jewelry. The store expanded into a courtyard in the back, and there we found artists busy at work, hand painting plates and ox wheels (for which they are famous). A tour guide at the store met us in the gazebo, located in the center of the courtyard. The gazebo not only provided much needed shelter from the rain, but also housed ox wheels that were crafted either out of wood or mosaic tiles. The tour guide explained the history of the ox wheel and why the store is famous. She then led us into the workshop, powered by a water wheel. She demonstrated how they use the motion of the wheel to power the saw. Then, she led us to the artists who were making the special plates and chairs. It was so neat to watch how meticulously they worked on each brush stroke. It was captivating.

Once we toured the artist’s studio, we headed to the shop, where we spent an hour trying to decide what we wanted to buy. It was a huge building, and choosing between every brand of coffee, purse, and t-shirt was difficult. Still, we completed our purchases and headed toward the bus.

We had a long bus ride back to the hotel. We left just in time for rush hour, but seeing the nightlife of Costa Rica and listening to the rain made the bus trip well worth it. We arrived at the hotel, settled in, and prepared for dinner. Mo really treated us well to a much needed fancy dinner at the hotel. We were stuffed after, which sent us straight to bed.