Bowl number 173

Marlen, Keylor and Ronaldo leave tomorrow. I’m gonna be sad when they leave It is a little stressful but a lot of fun having the house so full and alive all the time.It was a week of constant joking and tickling and A LOT of “Laula look. Look. Laula… Look. Look.” I remember really enjoying their visit last year. Marlen and her family are definitely one part of Costa Rica that I am going to miss a lot. Marlen has always been incredibly warm towards me and so have her kids, especially Keylor and Ronaldo because I have spent the most time with them by far. This morning we worked ‘til about 10:30 then it started raining so we had to go inside. I usually paint when it is raining because if the weather is descent I would always rather be outside than inside paining. I worked on the painting of a rooster that I am doing for Julio for a long time yesterday so I was burnt out on working on the rooster today. Instead I gave Keylor and Ronaldo tattoos on their arms. Keylor wanted a lion and Ronaldo wanted a snake. After that I showered, we all ate a late lunch and I waited for Eduardito to come play soccer. We had to play up at the top of the farm because we muddied up the front yard so badly the last time that we played. There is a little water spigot there that Eduardito wanted to make sure that we didn’t break so we made the goals crooked so that they would be far enough away from the spigot. Sure enough however, after almost an hour of playing, the ball landed right on top of the spigot and broke the tube above the handle. Eduardito and I stood there for a second as the water gushed out of the broken tube. We took turns sticking our fingers in the tube to stop the water while the other person looked for a stick or something that would do the job. Eventually we rigged up a temporary solution with a stick, the top part of the tube that broke off, and some rope. Eduardito was pretty upset because he was afraid Otoniel would be really angry. I kept assuring him that he might be annoyed but that it was an accident and not THAT big of a deal. We told Alicia and waited at the house for Otoniel to return from milking. Upon Alicia’s suggestion, we decided to let him drink his coffee and relax before telling him, but Alicia and I couldn’t help making little comments and laughing to break the tension. Eventually Otoniel said “Ok you guys did something.” Then a few minutes later, without us saying anything, he said he knew what we did. And he did. He just laughed at the whole situation, told us it was not very stable anyway and we went and fixed it. So sweet.

Bowl number 167

Sunday Marlen and her whole family came over to visit. Keylor and Ronaldo, her two youngest kids are on vacation so Marlen and them are staying here for a week to visit (just like last year!). When they arrived, Luis, Ruben, Ronaldo, Keylor and I all played Frisbee in the front yard in the rain for a long time. It was a lot of fun. None of them had ever played Frisbee before so it was a total mess. It had been raining all day so the ground was really soft and we ended up falling and sliding all over the place while everyone else stayed inside and watched through the window. The rest of the evening we spent visiting and eating until Celimo and the rest of the family left to go home. It is so much fun having the little house filled with people, all talking and laughing. That night we had: Alicia, Otoniel, Lilian and I, plus Geovanny, Julio and Marlen, plus Celimo and Marlen’s five children all sitting around one little living room.
Monday morning, I slept in until after 8:00!!. Actually I woke up at 6:00 or so to help chop up onions and cilantro for breakfast but then I went back to bed until everyone else got up. When Otonile the whole house was still either sleeping or in pajamas. Ronaldo and I slept on a foam pad in the living room, Geovanny and Lilian in the outside bedroom and Marlen and Keylor in “my” room. After a lazy breakfast I threw on some clothes and went with Otoniel to repair the chiquero (pig stable). We filled and cemented wholes in the floors and we replaced and patched parts of the fence. Before going to herd the cows back to the pasture next to the station, we sat down and ate the cookies and juice boxes that Alicia packed for us. Hahaha. I ended up being thankful for those cookies because as it turned out, our bull, Rayo, was not with the rest of the cows and we had to hike up to the very top of the mountain to get him. It was a beautiful hike and I got to see all of the upper part of the farm that no one uses anymore except for cow pastures. It was gorgeous. The views were the best you get because we were above everything, plus all of the pastures and trees looked really pretty in the misty, light rain. Once we went to the very last, highest pasture, we found him there with another herd of cows. Once we found him, we had to attempt to chorale him away from the other cows and through the gate three or four times. We had to run back and forth, leaping through knee-high grass with sticks yelling and waving our arms. We eventually coaxed him through the gate and headed home. As usual, the afternoon rains gave me a chance to nap for a while and have my afternoon cake and coffee in order to recharge enough to play a muddy game of soccer in the front yard with Eduardito and Ronaldo.

Bowl number 150

AAAAhhh 150!! Lucas left this morning at 3:20am. Julio and his wife Tye went to San Jose this morning to see get a visa and they offered to take Lucas with them but they had to get there at 6:00am. Poor Lucas got about an hour of sleep but at least he didn’t have to worry about the bus arriving late or there being long lines and missing his flight. I saw my parents off this morning after breakfast. They are off to Arenal and then the Osa Peninsula before returning here for a few days. They explained their trip to me and it sounds amazing. I am going to miss everyone but I have found over the years that I am a creature of habit and it feels good getting back on my loose schedule of wake-up, feed the pigs, breakfast, work, lunch, nap, random afternoon activity, spend time with family, shower, dinner, more hang out time, sleep, repeat.
As I was leaving the lodge this morning I ran into Marco, one of the people that lives up the street in this area called Finca la Bella. He has been working at the eco-lodge for the last few months. He is one of the people that Alex works with and one of the people that we always play soccer with. He asked me about my project that I am doing and invited me to see what he is doing at his house and farm. He has been trying to make his farm as sustainable and organic as possible. He has started an organization with his family (which I cannot remember the name of off the top of my head) but is basically to promote organic and sustainable practices and living. We decided on meeting at 4:30 so that was my random afternoon activity for the day. I spent about an hour there talking with him, seeing his farm and taking pictures. It is a beautiful place and he has a lot of really great things started and a lot that he would like to put into practice. It would be great to put together a little profile of his organization, him and his farm that we could put online or something. All he really needs to realize his plans is help from volunteers and I am sure there are plenty of people that would like to live in Costa Rica for a few months working on a beautiful sustainable organic farm. It is just a matter of telling people about it. Money is always a need but a lot of what he wants to do wouldn’t require that much money it is more a matter of not being able to do it himself because he has to spend his time working for wages.
After I got back from Marco’s I was going to go down to the lodge to use the internet for a little while but I got into a heated conversation all about the farm and stuff. It was pretty funny. Both of us were all worked up and poor Lilliam was in the middle trying to watch TV. We ended up talking about Otoniel’s whole history working here. By the time we finished it was probably 7:00. So I decided to forget about going to the station tonight and took a shower instead and am now about to eat bowl number 151.

Tilapia, Imperial and the World Cup

Tuesday we went to do the zip-line. I am glad we decided to do it. I had done it last year with the study abroad program. I think I enjoyed it even more this time though. It was a lot less waiting because the group was smaller than the one we were in last year, plus I got to share the experience with my parents and Lucas, who both enjoyed it a lot. After the zip-line we called went to Lelo’s for lunch. It was great because we got there just in time to watch the Spain vs Paraguay game there. My parents got to see Lelo’s pace which is really pretty, they got to meet Lelo, his wife and their daughter’s new puppy, and they got to eat the tilapia I had told them so much about. After taking our time picking our tilapia off the bone and watching the game, we all went to our respective homes and rested. We were going to play soccer in the afternoon but I wasn’t feeling very well. My Family had everyone over for dinner since it would be the last night that Lucas and parents would be there. It was a little awkward spending that much time over the house because my family I think felt weird about talking much amongst themselves because my parents wouldn’t understand and We(Lucas, my parents and I felt weird about talking amongst ourselves because my Costa Rican family wouldn’t understand. My parents did get to meet Julio (Otoniel and Alicia’s oldes son, my “brother”) though before dinner, which was nice and they got to meet Rita (Geovanny’s girlfriend) after dinner. After dinner we put on “Quien Quiere Ser un Millionario” and ate dessert that Lilian made. That broke the ice a little because it is something that we do a lot. Everyone was able to relax and interact and get all excited about seeing the first person win the grand prize.

Batidos (Milkshakes)

The next day my dad met Liliam and I at the eco-lodge at 5:30 to go and feed the pigs. There was only one small bag of food because all of the groups were gone the day before so we let dad carry it. I think he enjoyed it. He helped clean the pens and give them the food and everything. After breakfast I met my parents at the lodge and took them up the trail to my house to show them around the farm and stuff. After that, we picked up Lucas at Eduardito’s and we all went on a quick car tour of Bajo San Luis. I showed them the church, the soccer plaza and took them by Lelo’s. Elvira was there so I asked if we could come by some time to eat.
We all went home for lunch and then met up again at the eco-lodge to decide what to do next. We decided to take a hike around one of the trails that makes a loop around the campus. About five minutes into the hike we heard some noise like little branches falling. Eduardito told us to stop, that it was monkeys. We looked up and sure enough, in the trees right above us there were several monkeys. As we followed them around the tree-tops we realized there was a whole band of them. We watched them for a while. They would stop and look at us also. It was fun. There was even one that had a little baby on its back. The second half of the hike we got poured on but it we had all brought ponchos since it pretty much always rains in the afternoons. Dad, Lucas, Eduardito and I all went up to the Cheese Factory to get milkshakes. After waking up early, the hike in the rain, and a milkshake, I was so tired. I rested the rest of the afternoon. At 7:00 I walked down to the lodge to meet my parents. Geovanny was doing a dance lesson and my parents decided to go to see what it was like. My dad won’t dance however and my mom would have liked to but she twisted her knee some how horse back riding. It ended up being really goofy because the group was really just about four girls that had done the lessons before so it was really just Geovanny dancing with all of them. It was still fun though. Lucas, Eduardito and I just played around and practiced the moves we had learned and my parents got a kick out of watching for a little while. I’m hoping maybe one of the days that they are here in July Geovanny will have an actual lesson and my parents can learn a few moves.

Tortillas in the dark

My parents arrived here shortly after my last post. Lucas and I went to wait for them at the eco-lodge around three o’clock Saturday afternoon and they did not arrive until after 7:30. By about 6:00 I was getting pretty worried since it was dark and I had not even heard from them. They finally made it though. The last three or four days I spent trying to give the best three day taste of San Luis as I could. The first night my mom was not feeling well and my dad was exhausted from the drive so we moved them into their cabinas and my dad made a brief appearance at my house and had a bite to eat. Their first morning here, we all (Lucas, my parents, Otoniel, Alicia, Liliam and I) went to Finca Las Brisas, a horseback/farm tour that Marlen (Otoniel and Alicia’s oldest daughter, my older “sister”) and their children run. It was hilarious having Lucas, my parents and my Costa Rica family all in one taxi bus. The Horseback ride was a lot of fun and really pretty. Afterwards, Marlen made us lunch and Celimo (Marlen’s husband) gave us a tour of the farm and showed us where he made sugarcane juice and guaro (common Costa Rican liquor made from sugarcane, corn and pineapple). He let us all juice some sugarcane that he chopped with the trapiche and explained the process of making the guaro then gave everyone as much of either as we wanted. After we left the farm, we walked up the street to Alicia’s parents house, where we visited for a while with her family that was there and had afternoon coffee, cake and cheese. After that, we walked to Marlen’s house where we stayed until almost 9:00, visiting more with Marlen’s family with the family (they have five kids from 5 to 16 years old). We played with the kids, talked learned how to make tortillas and had dinner in the dark. The lights went out not too long after we got there but they have a wood-burning stove so we lit candles and made the best of it. By the time we got back everyone was pooped. It was a long day but I was really glad Lucas and my parents got to see so much of my family and really experience what is like to spend a lot of time with them.

Patacones!

I made breakfast this morning then made patacones (double-fried plantain chips) this afternoon all by myself. I am determined to be able to come back and cook Costa Rican food for my roommates. Lucas and I also learned how to make cheese empanadas with Lilian the other day and about a week ago Marina, one of the ladies who works in the kitchen, taught me how to make tortillas. Speaking of things Lucas and I have done, I have been doing a horrible job of keeping up with my blog the past week or so. So here is a big jumble of what I can remember off the top of my head: One day Eduardito took Lucas and I on this crazy hike though the mountains to a waterfall. You could hardly call it a trail. Eduardito was in front, clearing the way with a machete as we hiked up the river. It was really beautiful. We were walking along huge, fallen trees, climbing on all fours up rocks I the river and scrambling up and sliding down steep inclines. The waterfall itself was not very big but very peaceful and elegant looking.
Lucas and I also went to one of Geovanny’s dance lessons at the eco-lodge. We even convinced Lilian and Eduardito to come (not something they would normally agree to) I had a lot of fun and Lucas was a great sport. The truth is, it is pretty frustrating because there is a lot to learn all at one time. The first time I did it I wanted to quit because my head hurt from trying to remember it all. I was surprised at how much I did actually remember on my own though from the six or so dance lessons I have “helped” Geovanny teach. I danced half with Eduardito and half with Lucas. Eduardito had a blast which was so funny because about a month ago I couldn’t physically force him into one of the lessons. Since then, the four of us have practiced our moves several times in the living room. That was even more fun.
Lilian, Eduardito and I have also played a mini game of soccer in the front yard and have spent a lot of time just joking around the house with everyone. Aaand I almost forgot. Lucas and I spent one morning in Santa Elena “town”. There isn’t a ton of stuff to do there but we walked around for a while just so he could get to know it. On our way back home we stopped at the cheese factory and got some delicious ice cream.
That is about all the major stuff I can think of. It has been great having Lucas here. There are a million things that he won’t get to do and plans that won’t work out the way I wanted, but it is so neat that he is here and that he knows at least some of the people and places that I love so much and that I tend to talk about a lot. I am really happy that my family here treats him so naturally. I was a little afraid they would act less open around him but they act more or less the same. It is a lot of fun to get to share that.

Tamales

Lucas got in Friday evening. At first he was going to take a shuttle bus but they were full when we tried to make the reservations then he was going to take the public bus but Lucas’s mom called me Friday morning to tell me that his flight was delayed so he may not be able make the last bus from Alajuela so we called Freddy, a taxi driver that we always use, and I rode with him to the airport to pick up Lucas. We got “home” at around 6:30pm we ate dinner at my house, we stayed there for a little while talking, then walked to Eduardito’s house, where Lucas is staying. The first day he was here, I pretty much followed my usual morning schedule and at about 10:00 Eduardito and Lucas met me at the farm. We ate lunch together at Eduardito’s house while we watched one of the world cup games. After the game, we came down to the eco-lodge so that Lucas could check it out then we walked to Virginia’s house. We ended up spending quite a while there talking with her and one of my ex-professors who is friends with Virginia. We were there long enough for it to start raining hard, for the rain to let up and for it to become clear again. We sipped coffee, talked and looked out the window at the view until the sun started to set.
Yesterday was el Día de San Luis, the patron saint day of the town. Eduardito, Lucas and I all headed down a little before 11:00. It is about a 45 minute walk down but isn’t bad because it is entirely down hill. We ended up staying until almost 9:00 at night….. There was a lot of just enjoying the atmosphere of the community. There were “Carreras de Cinta” where people on horses had to get a pencil through a little ring that was hanging on a rope at a full run. There was a lot of homemade traditional food, a cattle auction, a little kid pageant, bingo… and of course mass at the Church. Attending mass was pretty neat. I was surprised at how much I understood and I didn’t really feel out of place because I knew so many people there and all of them smiled and waved when we saw each other. The whole day was a neat experience but it was a long day.

Project update

I have actually gotten my project completely in the works. I haven't said much about it because I was pretty much just waiting for the lettuce to get big enough to transplant. I'll post a little picture journal of me doing my project. A brief explanation: I am testing four different methods of organic weed control. Weeds are a major issue on all farms but here especially because they grow sooo fast plus Otoniel already hardly has enough time to do everything else he has to do without having the extra constant battle with weeds. I am testing materials that would be cheap and easily obtainable here. They are: Saw dust, landscape cloth, kraft paper(destroyed after the first hard rain, one down...) and banana leaves. There are twenty separate quadrants each with 12 lettuce plants( I am using lettuce because it is relatively fast growing plus they can always use as much lettuce as we can provide so the crops will not be wasted.). There are four methods being tested plus a control and each method, plus control, are repeated four times in different locations so that any variability in soil fertility of weed population or whatever else, is taken into account.

Homemade snacks and a movie!

I have discovered in my time here that the key to not getting bored is to wear yourself out. Sunday morning at 5:15, after getting home at about 12:30 or 1:00, I wake up to my lights being flashed on and off (my light switch is outside of my room). I had promised Eduardito that we would go with Otoniel to do all of his morning chores the next time that he came over. At first I just laid there then eventually I yelled at him to cut it out with the lights already. I rolled out of bed, asked what time it was and told him I needed a second to change clothes and wake up a little. So we we nt to milk the cows and feed the pigs with Otoniel. It was just as enjoyable as always but I was absolutely beat. We got back around…7:30? The first world cup game was on. I ate breakfast, watched part of the game but by about 9:00 I had to surrender to my bed. The rain that had been threatening all morning began to fall as I laid down. I could here the rain and the chatting of everyone in the living room all morning as I drifted in and out of sleepy consciousness. As I lifted myself out of bed, I heard the rain tapering off. I stepped out of my room and blinked at the clock to get my bearings of where exactly in the day I was. At first I was a little confused because there was only one arrow then I realized it was 12:00 on the nose. Alicia immediately put my lunch on the table for me. By the time I had finished lunch, the next World Cup game was starting. I made it through this entire one, thanks to our afternoon cake and coffee. One of the people who works at the lodge, an uncle and a cousin of Otoniel’s and Geovanny were also over eating and watching the game, which made it even more enjoyable. I Usually get anxious when I stay at the house all day without something active to do, but it was a perfect way to spend a lazy, sleepy Sunday morning/afternoon. At one point during the game, Charlie, who works in the office at the eco-lodge, called the house to tell me that the same group of people that had all just gone out together were going to prepare some snacks and have a movie night. After the game ended, I showered, picked some limes from the yard and headed down to the station. We all spent the next couple of hours goofing around the kitchen, making salsa, bean dip, guacamole, and twice-fried plantain chips all from scratch. I didn’t want to go all the way back up to the house just for the hour or so between when we finished and when we were gonna start the movie so I hung around the kitchen and helped cook and clean a little. The movie night went great. We took over one of the new research casitas that no one is currently living in, had a whole spread of our foods, borrowed a projector and hung up a sheet to watch the movie on and filled the three beds with extra pillows and blankets from the laundry room. It was such a relaxing fun way to end an already nearly perfectly relaxing Sunday.

Coconut number one

Saturday I worked ‘til lunch as usual then went to the eco-lodge to use the internet and play soccer. There was no soccer game but a few of my friends went down to Lelo’s to watch the England vs US World Cup game. Two people were Alex and Claudia had already walked down there so I caught a ride with Brian and Charlie(girl). It was just the few of us and Lelo and his wife. I hadn’t eaten lunch yet because I didn’t know I was going to be going so I had fresh caught and fried tilapia mmmmm. After the game we all walked around the property to watch Lelo feeding the tilapia. It is not very big but is very pretty and has just about every different kind of tropical fruit tree you can think of. Before we left, Lelo cut down five coconuts and them around with straws in them. Later that night, that same group of people went into town because it was Charlie’s last Saturday here after ten months of being here. It was a lot of fun. It is a great group of people that all get along really well. We went to dinner first then to a little bar/lounge place then to more of a dance bar. It wasn’t a super late or crazy night because we were all a little tired, but everyone had a great time and we all definitely got to know each other better.

Bowl number 86

Lilian and I have decided to start waking up early in the morning to walk. We just started yesterday but it is great. I looooove waking up early and as if it wasn’t pretty enough here already, it is so gorgeous and tranquil at 5:00 in the morning. The sun is rising over the mountains, everything feels fresh and cool, all of the birds are singing, there aren’t many other people around. It is also nice because I get to spend time just chatting with Lilian. Yesterday was nice because when we got back to the house, I still had plenty of time before breakfast to work some. That was cool because if I hadn’t gotten a head start I wouldn’t have finished before the afternoon pick-up game. Today…we walked down to the eco-lodge as usual and went to say hello to Otoniel at the stable. When we got there, Lilian half-jokingly told Otoniel that we were going to feed the pigs for him today. She looked at me laughing and I said let’s go. So we did. We went to the back of the kitchen to get the food scraps. We had to split it into two bags it was so heavy and each bag probably still weighed between 30 and 40 pounds. Then we walked….I don’t know, a quarter mile to where the dirt path to the pig stables are. The path itself was also probably about a quarter mile and it was a quarter mile of purely mud and stones straight uphill. When we got there we fed the pigs then while they were eating we used buckets of water and a broom to clean out the pens. It was quite a process. I was definitely a little nervous when Lilian was said ok you do this one and I’ll do the other. I was said what? Go inside with them. She said yeah grab a bucket and a broom and wash out all of the poop and stuff. So that is what we did. After we finished cleaning, we gave them their allotted amount of regular pig feed and headed back down the mountain then walked through campus and back up the trail to go back home. When we got home it was about 7:45.

Lengua

Last night we ate the tongue from the cow that Otoniel helped butcher last week. I know that sentence sounds really gross but tongue is just another muscle and all meat comes from a butchered cow this one just happens to have been a friend’s cow. Eduardito and Lilian and I have had a couple of days of video fever. We have so many random, stupid but funny home videos from the past few days: us working, Lilian cooking, walking to the pulpería, sitting around the house, playing with the cat… It should be a pretty interesting mish mash of every day activities to have later to look back on. Today I got started setting up my project finally. I have been waiting for the lettuce seedlings to be big enough to transplant. I think I’m gonna plant them Thursday so I have today and tomorrow to get everything ready. I have hoed up all of the land, added fertilizer and marked out all of the quadrants with home-made stakes and string. Tomorrow I will prepare all of the quadrants with their various materials and hopefully have it all ready and planted on Thursday:)

Morning shot of guaro number…3?

It is 9:31am I just took a rather large shot of guaro with Otoniel. I woke up this morning at 9:00, which is by far the latest I have slept in here all summer. Last night Lilian and I went to a big dance that they had in bajo San Luis next to the plaza where we play soccer on Wednesdays. It was a lot of fun. There were a ton of people there. There was a large group from the eco-lodge, a lot of people from bajo and quite a few people from alto. I rode down with Lilian’s godparents, Rafael and Lilian, who come over the house frequently, and Lilian and Virginia. Lilian wasn’t going to go but she gave in. I was being pursued the whole time by a thirteen year old that I met last Sunday, at the pool party thing. I got Lilian and one of my other friends to save me a couple of times with a dance. Then Eduardito came. He never dances and I have tried to get him to dance with me before but I wouldn’t. He came this time knowing he was going to have to dance so it wasn’t too hard to get him to go dance with me. Almost every song after he wanted to dance. He doesn’t really know how to dance but we both had a good time so I ended up being saved by my thirteen-year old pursuer my fourteen-year neighbor haha.

Bowl number 68

Ok so that last picture of the cleared field has all those little trunks sticking up... today Eduardito, Otoniel and I spent the morning ripping them all up. It rained a little too which made it even more fun because we got all muddy.

Bowl number 66

Nothing dramatically different has been going on the last couple of days. I had to take a healing day on Monday because I got a blister so bad that I couldn't really walk. Yesterday and today however, I finished up clearing all of the brush off of the field that we have been clearing. It was hard work. Both days Otoniel and I got back to the house sweaty and dirty and tired, ate a big lunch and then had to take a nap. Julio was going to send some people to help clear it, but had to wait 'til next week because there is so much to do at the eco-lodge. We were laughing about waiting to see his reaction when we tell him that the two of us cleared the whole thing on our own in just a few days. Not much else to tell for now. Here are a few pictures of life over the past few days.

BBQ at the pool

Just woke up. It is 8:10, the latest I have slept so far. Yesterday was sooooo much fun. I went outside at 7:20am, sat on a rock by the street and waited for the big yellow bus that was supposed to drive by. When it came I waved it down. There was no one on it. Apparently I was at the beginning of the route cause there were literally three other people on it. As we rode along through Alto and then Bajo San Luis, the bus began to fill up until it was full of people laughing and talking and joking. After the was sufficiently loaded down with people and food, we were on our way. It was about and hour and half long trip. I sat with Alex, but was surprised at the number of people I knew besides him on the bus. It was a little unreal being on that bus full of San Luis locals on their way to a celebratory pot-luck and we didn’t feel the least bit out of place. Alex and I probably talked to more people than anyone else on the bus. We knew Lelo and his various family members we knew several of the kids from playing soccer in Bajo, we knew people from the eco-lodge…and the thing is about San Luis, if you know one person, you will meet twenty more, either of their family or their friends or just because people will come start talking with you. Rancho La Fe, which is a little recreational spot kind of in the middle of nowhere is where we spent the whole day. It was quite a change from San Luis. It was hot, sunny and there were palm trees and mango trees. It was lie a vacation from San Luis, which is such a funny concept. There was a pool and a restaurant/bar area and a soccer field. We spent the day playing in the pool, playing soccer and eating BBQ. It was a ridiculously fun way to spend our day off. We arrived at about 9:30 and left at 6:30 (when it got dark). After 9 hours in the sun, eating, drinking and playing soccer, I was just as tired and beat up as if I had a hard day of work, but it was worth it. I got back to the house at around 8:15, Alicia fixed me a late dinner and after tending to my latest blister, I went to sleep.