July 4th--Day 6 of Travel

Today! What a day!

First, we had an amazing breakfast at the Lomas del Volcan--made to order omelets are yummy! Next, we set off to visit a local farming community in rural Costa Rica where a small community of farmers raise dairy cows for milk and cheese. We got to milk the cows!!! I double-timed the udder and it was hard work! The farmers taught us how to feed the cattle--Alexi and Jessika fed the grass stalks through the machine. The ground grass is missed with a bit of corn and some sweet sticky concoction close to mollasses and honey. While they eat, we milk.

After we milked the cows, we walked over to the cheese production room and watched the farmers make cheese. They showed us the whole production--when making soft cheese, it can take less than a day! The wives and relatives of the farmers made us a snack of cheese and fresh corn tortillas. They were so inviting and proud to show us their work.

I bet you can't believe that we can pack so much into a day! Because after milking and making cheese, we visited a small pineapple plantation. But we didn't take the 20 minute hike to the plantation. Carlos, the owner, gave us a ride on his blue truck! You should have seen it! We were hanging off the sides like monkeys! Pineapples are an interesting plant. Originally from Brazil, the pineapple was made famous by the Queen of Spain around 1492; well, Columbus brought the plant back to Spain after this year. Anyway, the plant produces one pineapple within 14 months. But Carlos raises his pineapples in one year. An average worker on Carlos' farm can plant 10,000 pineapples a day! Back breaking work! Carlos then demonstrated how to plant a pineapple and a few of us got to try. It's easy, but not that easy! You've got to make sure your hole is deep but not too wide and also make sure you plant the pineapple solidly in the dirt, lest the rain wash it away!

And after another ride on the back of Carlos' truck we were on our way to hike through the forest to a beautiful waterfall part of the national park service here. The hike was good. We saw a Poison Dart frog along the way AND a Toucan! We swam for a bit, just long enough to cool off before we got sweaty again on the hike back. Lunch was provided by two ladies and we ate in the local school's cafeteria--way different from American school lunch rooms; this one was windowless and had an open kitchen. Oh, if we could only watch our school cooks in action!

With our bellies full we were back on the bus to cross over Iguana Bridge. At the shop everyone got some ice cream and took a quick break to check out the lizards.

I'm so sorry this trip is coming to an end! We love it here!

Ms. A