Hola from Luz de Luna!

We made it & we're settled in!  Dinner will be at 7, so I'm going to try to post something quickly...

The landing in San Jose was a smooth one.  There was a little concern about thundershowers in the area, but other than a few clouds, everything went alright.  Upon landing, we went straight to immigration and customs.  This was a new process for us- 2 years ago, the airport was under construction, so we walked past all the gates, then went downstairs for processing.  Now the international flights are completely separate, which really limited our distractions along the way.  All the luggage made it in one piece and we were quickly greeted by our Rustic Pathways guides.

We have 2 Ticos (native Costa Ricans) and 1 Canadian with us the entire time :)  Edguardo is from Turrialba, Yendy is from San Jose, and Carolyn is from the Canadian Rockies.  They are all so nice and full of energy- GREAT for our students!  I was also thrilled to find out that our bus driver was Jorge, the driver that we've had the last two trips.  He remembered us and spoke very fondly of his good friend, Carole Fahey :)

After a 4 hour plane ride, it's tough to stomach a 4 hour bus ride, but that's what happened.  We took off from the airport to head to Uvita by way of Jaco, Quepos, and Dominical.  The guides had boxed lunches for us and I think it was the first time a lot of us realized how hungry we were.  An hour into the ride we stopped at a little rest stop in San Ramon.  It was the nicest tourist/souvenir shop that I've seen here (aka the bathrooms are really nice).  We had about 20 minutes to pick out items and get refreshments.  The 6 freshmen boys picked up some AWESOME hats (pictures to come later) that make them look like real adventurers.  I appreciated that several of the students were concerned with what I was going to get for my niece- they ultimately decided that a stuffed sloth was too scary for an almost 1 year old, so we should try again another time.  It's nice to have a group that already knows each other so well, but I'm still looking forward to getting to know everyone better.

Three more hours on the bus winding through farms and along the coastline.  At any moment there would be a break in the trees and a gorgeous view of the rocky beach and the waves.  We drove through a lot of rain- at times not so much, other times a total downpour.  I was told that the Ticos call this a "car wash."  The lightning picked up in intensity as we arrived at our hotel, Luz de Luna.

Upon arrival, we were welcomed by Mauricio, a guide of ours from the last two trips.  It was so nice to see another familiar face.  Room assignments were settled, with girls taking the top floor of the hotel and the boys the bottom floor.  There are 4 students to each room- each room has its own bathroom, a small AC unit, and a small tv- perfect for catching the end of the US-Ghana soccer game!  Some students are cooling down, others are running around just enjoying stretching their legs.  The accommodations are very nice.

I think that's it for now.  We'll find out the plans for tomorrow at dinner.  All of our meals in Uvita will be at La Fogata, which apparently has some of the best pizza in Costa Rica?? Not sure that's what we came all this way for, but probably something we have to try.

Everyone is happy, healthy, and no bug bites or sunburns just yet- let's hope it stays that way!

Until tomorrow- Pura Vida!