La Dia de Amor y Amistad

I guess I should start by wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! :) Costa Ricans have their own take on the day. La Dia de Amor y Amistad, translated means, The Day of Love and Friendship. Personally, I think it's a nicer, more inclusive holiday. The boys in our group were nice enough to get the girls Valentine's Day candy which instantly put them pretty high up in my book. :)

Today the women of AMURECI invited another group of female business owners from neighboring San Carlos over to discuss challenges they face and share ideas to address these challenges. Currently, AMURECI makes enough money to break even, but they're having difficulty making a profit, which seems to be representative of a larger problem in the region. Tourism has become Costa Rica's most profitable industry. Unfortunately, many tourists visit the beaches on the Caribbean and Pacific shores, but never venture inland. Typically, only eco-tourists, or those who raft, hike, or come to see Volcano Arenal, ever make it to the central region. It's a shame because in a few short days here, I've already seen there's so much more to the country than it's beautiful beaches.

Other issues the women spoke about were those that transcend culture. The difficulties of managing a household, making time for children, and finding ways to grow a business were a few of the concerns that I caught in between painting bookmarks and drying paper. It's disheartening in a way, you want so much to see small businesses succeed, especially those with worthwhile missions, like AMURECI's -- and that's in a developed country, let alone a developing one! At the same time, I found it hopeful that in a region where poverty is so crippling, these women are not only trying to help provide for their families, but they're facing the same challenges as women in the developed world. Hopefully that means they're on the right track.

After the morning at AMURECI, all of the volunteers went out to Volcano Arenal. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't too cooperative. It absolutely poured the entire time we were there, which made it difficult to see much of the volcano. We did climb up to see the lava rocks from the last eruption in 1992, which was really neat. From higher up on the volcano, we got a brief glimpse of Lake Arenal. The town around Volcano Arenal, La Fortuna, is a huge tourist destination, which was evident from the higher prices and the Burger King and King's Chicken restaurants. Many of the residents of Fortuna also spoke English with us (with barely a trace of an accent) and had a pretty good handle on American slang. It made me appreciate out-of-the-way San Carlos, and I think next time I struggle to come up with the proper Spanish phrase while around town, I won't mind nearly as much. :)

Last night we went to the hot springs, which are a short ride out of San Carlos. The pools are towards the bottom of the dormant volcano which sits right outside of the city, and which I can see from my bedroom window. It was my first time ever being in hot springs, and I absolutely loved it! Though the weather wasn't perfect, the rain held out long enough for us to spend a couple of hours at the springs.

This week has absolutely flown by, and tomorrow we are getting out of San Carlos and heading to Manuel-Antonio, a slightly less touristy beach destination on the Pacific coast.

Pura Vida!