So we made it to Costa Rica! We spent more time traveling to and from Costa Rica than we actually spent there, but nonetheless it was a great trip! I feel like we really redefined the meaning of the word ´roadtrip.´ Forty hours on the road in only three and a half days! However, we did ride in style! At about hour 17 on travel day 2, we officially named our vehicle ´The Bun.´ You see, we could never really figure out what to call the thing...Was it a bus? Was it a van? Leave it to Greg to morph the two words together and bestow the name ´Bun´upon our ride! (See her in all her glory to the left.)Anyway, so we departed the school around 12:30pm on Friday afternoon. They cancelled school for the rest of the day and the students got to leave early since 10 of the teachers (all of the missionaries) were skipping town. We drove to Tegucigalpa (that capitol of Honduras, about an hour and half away) where we met the father and son team that would be driving. We all piled in the Bun and we were off! About that same time, several of us requested a bathroom break. Little did we know that almost 2 hours would go by until ´the drivers´were willing to stop. That should have been our first sign that we had a long trip ahead! This ´unwillingness to stop´ for basic human needs (bathroom and food) was a constant theme throughout the entire trip! For example, on the way home, we ate breakfast at about 7:00am. Around noonish, which is quite typical, we (meaning everyone besides the drivers) were ready for lunch. We voiced our request, and around about 2:15pm we finally got our wishes! Half of us were about ready to pass out! If the Bun only had a bathroom and a microwave we would have been set!
So we stopped on Friday night in a town in Nicaragua called Esteli. There we ate dinner at a gas station restaurant called ¨Tip Top.¨ 
It was okay for most of us, but sadly one of the missionaries got sick! I guess 1 out of 10 isn´t too bad... Anyway, so that is when we adapted our group name ¨Team Tip Top¨ or ¨T3¨ (T cubed) for short. (See photo left) We stayed in a pretty nice hotel that night. Greg and I felt like royalty since our entire room was painted in a very loud lavender color. Even the silk curtains matched perfectly! (See photo right) We got a good night´s rest, then set off the next morning around 8:30am. We reached Managua, Nicaragua (the capital) around 12:00pm. We stopped at the mall to look around and grab a bite to eat. That is when we were blessed with 
a taste of America....SUBWAY! (See Greg posing with his foot long to the left!) It was truly fabulous! About 12 hours later we finally arrived in Alajela, Costa Rica! We rolled into our dorm room around midnight at the Adventist College ´Unideca´ and passed out soon after! We were determined to ¨Carpe Diem¨on Sunday so we could make our trip worthwhile! (Oh, one more note worth mentioning...we got Papa John and Burger King for dinner that evening. It was delicious! We ate at this place called the Auto Mall in Costa Rica. It was basically a free standing mall food court...with no mall attached!)And seize the day we did! We were up at 6:00am a
nd around 7:00am we zoomed off in the Bun, bound for the mountains. Our final destination was Volcan Paos (an active Volcano in Alajela). It took about 45 minutes to get to the parking lot and from there it was about a 15 minute hike to the ´look out.´ The drive through the mountains was absolutely gorgeous! Rolling hills full of coffee plants, beautiful flowers (my favorite were 
the wild hydrangeas), and lush green foliage. Of course, by this point we were craving some freshly ground brewed coffee. Fortunately, they were selling some at the entrance to the national park, so Greg and I indulged and enjoyed as we hiked up to the volcano. (It was very tasty!) The park was a very beautiful natural wonder. Almost surreal in look because it was so scenic. After visiting the volcano, we were off to the natural laguna (about a 15 minute hike away) that was formed from an extinct volcano. We reached it just in time, because about 10 minutes after arrival, the normal morning fog (think very thick 
like San Francisco) began to roll in and disguise the scenery. By this time, it was around 11:00am and we had scene all there was to see there. We decided to head back down the mountain and head about 30 kilometers south to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. However, along the way, we stopped at a coffee plantation´s coffee shop to grab a mid morning pick me up. The coffee was so fresh and delicious, and the view was gorgeous! It overlooked their miles and miles of coffee fields. I had the pleasure of indulging in a strawberry latte (strawberries and coffee are two of the main exports of Costa Rica). It was fabulous!
Then we were off to the shopping mall in San Jose. We headed straight for the food court when we arrived (we heard rumors that there was a Taco Bell!) It was true!!! However, Greg and I both opted to eat at a some local Costa Rican restaurants. I got a nice big salad with avocado and smoked salmon, and Greg got fresh lamb tacos. It was quite a treat! We shopped around the very Europeanesque mall for about an hour and a half then retreated back to the Bun. Costa Rican people tend to have lighter skin and hair. The country clearly has more money as well (the
mall had shops like Oscar de la Renta, Lacoste, Sony, etc.). They don´t have any military forces in Costa Rica....instead, they use the money that they would have spent on armed forces to preserve their natural resources and create an inviting tourism atmosphere. Obviously it worked because Costa Rica seems to be flourishing! It is far more developed then most of the other Central American countries! Each of them share the same natural beauty, but Costa Rica really focuses on keeping their country clean! Following the mall experience (where the only
thing we purchased was some gum and batteries) we went to the Museo de Oro (Museum of Gold). It was neat because we got to learn a lot of Costa Rican history. (See Greg, left, posing with one of the exhibits.) It also had a lot of information of their development of the countries money (and its evolution through the year). The currently use Colonias....and the exchange rate is 518 colonias to $1 USD! Crazy! Things looked so expensive...I paid 900 for a one pancake! However, it was really less than $2. The cost of living was definitely a lot higher in Costa Rica though. For dinner we went to a typical 
Costa Rican restaurant. It was so cool...they served all their food on banana leaves! (See photo right). The food was really good! We got back to the dorm room (it sounds so weird saying that) at about 9:30pm. We felt pretty accomplished with the ground we covered in one day! We hit the sack around 10, because we had to get up at 4:30am on Monday morning for our 5:00am departure back home to Comayagua. We all took bets on what time we would actually leave and what time we would return to Comayagua (we had to push through that day because we had to be back at school and teach on Monday). We officially rolled out of the gates at 5:12am (pretty impressive). Clearly the drivers would get a bonus if they got us home early or something because he was driving ultra aggressively. At one point, he passed a car on the right! I was seriously scared (Greg was too!) We nearly rear ended several cars and almost picked off a motorcycler! I mean yes, the rules of the road are very different here, but this craziness was just not going to fly! After much complaining to our bilingual school representative, the two men finally rotated responsibilities and things calmed down a little bit (Thank God because I was truly worried about our safety!) It was crazy! Around noon time, we requested a stop for lunch....so as usual, at a little after 2:00 we stopped! 
We were all famished! The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. (See some of the scenery in the photo to the right. Can you see the faint volcano in the background?) We stopped at a little buffet once we got into Honduras around 9:00pm for dinner (the drivers must have been hungry because we didn´t even ask!) And around1:00am on Monday night (20 hours after departure from Alajela) Greg and I set foot in our apartment! What a relief, we were home! Then, we though about getting up at 5:45am to start our week at the school...AHHHHHH!!!!! :) In the end, 40 hours in the Bun was definitely worth it! It was a great bonding experience, we got to eat some good ´ol American fast food (I can´t believe I just said that!) and we were able to visit 2 beautiful Central American countries! It was truly a¨Pura Vida¨ experience! (Pura Vida, or Pure Life, is the national saying of Costa Rica.) Thanks to God for safe travels and new memories!
nd around 7:00am we zoomed off in the Bun, bound for the mountains. Our final destination was Volcan Paos (an active Volcano in Alajela). It took about 45 minutes to get to the parking lot and from there it was about a 15 minute hike to the ´look out.´ The drive through the mountains was absolutely gorgeous! Rolling hills full of coffee plants, beautiful flowers (my favorite were 
the wild hydrangeas), and lush green foliage. Of course, by this point we were craving some freshly ground brewed coffee. Fortunately, they were selling some at the entrance to the national park, so Greg and I indulged and enjoyed as we hiked up to the volcano. (It was very tasty!) The park was a very beautiful natural wonder. Almost surreal in look because it was so scenic. After visiting the volcano, we were off to the natural laguna (about a 15 minute hike away) that was formed from an extinct volcano. We reached it just in time, because about 10 minutes after arrival, the normal morning fog (think very thick 
like San Francisco) began to roll in and disguise the scenery. By this time, it was around 11:00am and we had scene all there was to see there. We decided to head back down the mountain and head about 30 kilometers south to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. However, along the way, we stopped at a coffee plantation´s coffee shop to grab a mid morning pick me up. The coffee was so fresh and delicious, and the view was gorgeous! It overlooked their miles and miles of coffee fields. I had the pleasure of indulging in a strawberry latte (strawberries and coffee are two of the main exports of Costa Rica). It was fabulous!Then we were off to the shopping mall in San Jose. We headed straight for the food court when we arrived (we heard rumors that there was a Taco Bell!) It was true!!! However, Greg and I both opted to eat at a some local Costa Rican restaurants. I got a nice big salad with avocado and smoked salmon, and Greg got fresh lamb tacos. It was quite a treat! We shopped around the very Europeanesque mall for about an hour and a half then retreated back to the Bun. Costa Rican people tend to have lighter skin and hair. The country clearly has more money as well (the
mall had shops like Oscar de la Renta, Lacoste, Sony, etc.). They don´t have any military forces in Costa Rica....instead, they use the money that they would have spent on armed forces to preserve their natural resources and create an inviting tourism atmosphere. Obviously it worked because Costa Rica seems to be flourishing! It is far more developed then most of the other Central American countries! Each of them share the same natural beauty, but Costa Rica really focuses on keeping their country clean! Following the mall experience (where the only
thing we purchased was some gum and batteries) we went to the Museo de Oro (Museum of Gold). It was neat because we got to learn a lot of Costa Rican history. (See Greg, left, posing with one of the exhibits.) It also had a lot of information of their development of the countries money (and its evolution through the year). The currently use Colonias....and the exchange rate is 518 colonias to $1 USD! Crazy! Things looked so expensive...I paid 900 for a one pancake! However, it was really less than $2. The cost of living was definitely a lot higher in Costa Rica though. For dinner we went to a typical 
Costa Rican restaurant. It was so cool...they served all their food on banana leaves! (See photo right). The food was really good! We got back to the dorm room (it sounds so weird saying that) at about 9:30pm. We felt pretty accomplished with the ground we covered in one day! We hit the sack around 10, because we had to get up at 4:30am on Monday morning for our 5:00am departure back home to Comayagua. We all took bets on what time we would actually leave and what time we would return to Comayagua (we had to push through that day because we had to be back at school and teach on Monday). We officially rolled out of the gates at 5:12am (pretty impressive). Clearly the drivers would get a bonus if they got us home early or something because he was driving ultra aggressively. At one point, he passed a car on the right! I was seriously scared (Greg was too!) We nearly rear ended several cars and almost picked off a motorcycler! I mean yes, the rules of the road are very different here, but this craziness was just not going to fly! After much complaining to our bilingual school representative, the two men finally rotated responsibilities and things calmed down a little bit (Thank God because I was truly worried about our safety!) It was crazy! Around noon time, we requested a stop for lunch....so as usual, at a little after 2:00 we stopped! 
We were all famished! The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. (See some of the scenery in the photo to the right. Can you see the faint volcano in the background?) We stopped at a little buffet once we got into Honduras around 9:00pm for dinner (the drivers must have been hungry because we didn´t even ask!) And around1:00am on Monday night (20 hours after departure from Alajela) Greg and I set foot in our apartment! What a relief, we were home! Then, we though about getting up at 5:45am to start our week at the school...AHHHHHH!!!!! :) In the end, 40 hours in the Bun was definitely worth it! It was a great bonding experience, we got to eat some good ´ol American fast food (I can´t believe I just said that!) and we were able to visit 2 beautiful Central American countries! It was truly a¨Pura Vida¨ experience! (Pura Vida, or Pure Life, is the national saying of Costa Rica.) Thanks to God for safe travels and new memories! 
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