Las Heliconias! : Volunteering Part 1 7/4 - 7/6

From San Ramón, I traveled to Alajuela, near the international airport, where I met up with all of the i-to-i volunteers who were starting their volunteer placements at the same time as me. We had a typical Costa Rican dinner together (Casado and Tamarindo!) and an orientation the next morning. They said to remember that even though to us, it might look like things are in chaos - the Costa Ricans will know what is going on. Relax, and go with the flow...

I met the one other volunteer that was placed at Las Heliconias with me, a 17-year old from Scotland named Mark, and we got a quick orientation to the site and the area, by the man that coordinates all of the conservation placements in (and near) Costa Rica. Las Heliconias is an eco-lodge, on the edge of Tenorio Volcano National Park, nestled at the edge of the rainforest on the outskirts of the town of Bijagua. It looked absolutely gorgeous, a little remote, and not so built up. Perfect!

Our adventure to get there that day involved waiting with Fernando at the bus station (...and waiting...?) to get on the bus labeled 'Upala' - the biggest town past Bijagua - where the bus route terminated. Then, we had to be sure to tell the driver that we wanted to stop at Bijagua. We did that, and went to settle in...and then were asked to stand up. Looking around, and interpreting what little Spanish we could make out, we realized that they were making sure that the women and children were seated first. This made sense. Soon, a seat was found for me, and I was gestured toward it. I must admit that I was grateful.

Riding in a bus in Costa Rica is a very different experience than what you find here in the States. We learned quickly that it is not unusual to stand - for a trip that lasts a few hours! - and that you have to pay attention to know where you are en route, and when you've arrived at your destination. Poor Mark had motion sickness, because it is also usually a bit more up and down and curvy on the roads than what one might be used to. At a certain point, we stopped for a bathroom/snack break, which was welcome. Then when it came time to pay, we realized that the money we had been given wasn't enough. Thankfully, we had enough of our own in Colones at that point to cover it.

Afraid that we might miss the stop, I was paying careful attention, and made sure we got out when we arrived in Bijagua. It was, of course, raining. Hard. We had been told that there would be a taxi waiting for us, that knew where to go. There was none. There was a number we were given to call. The man that answered didn't really speak English, and my Spanish was still pretty poor. I found someone at the bus stop who spoke a little English, and we managed to get from that interaction that the man could pick us up for 3,500 Colones. But we thought we might be at the wrong stop, and that he was refusing to come and get us from the other? Finally, we saw a taxi at the restaurant across the way, and he took us up for about that much. (And again, thankfully, we had the cash to cover it!).

So, we finally arrived... after a steep climb in the taxi. It was beautiful (and still raining), and we went to the office to introduce ourselves. We said we were the volunteers that were supposed to arrive that day from i-to-i - and kind of got blank looks. We said, we were told to speak to Donald? Donald was one of the people there, but he seemed to be surprised that we were there. Not quite sure we were supposed to be there. Eventually all seemed to be sorted out... but, it was a little less than the warm and welcoming arrival we had expected.

Heeding the advice we were given, we took it in stride, and settled in to our quarters - taking in the glorious view. Lake Nicaragua in the distance, and Miravalles Volcano standing majestically across the valley. Right there, at the lodge, one felt the forest all around, teeming with life - many flowers and sweet smells and sounds - and, of course, the verdant, mossy trees seeming to spill out from the path entrances, and rise up over the rooftops.

As it happens, there was a kids camp happening that week, that Donald was helping to coordinate. My guess is that perhaps this was taking so much of his attention, that it had slipped by him that we were arriving that day. We were told that we would talk with Donald that night, or the next morning, about what we could do for our volunteer work. The possibility of helping with the Green Camp was offered, and we said we'd be happy to do that.











The first day went by, and there was no talking to Donald. The camp, we would come to know, took up quite a lot of each day. So, we swept the floors,and met the forest by walking the rain-soaked bridges path with Will (nicknamed 'Pepino') to clear slippery leaves, and otherwise took it easy. I noticed that the ground cover, that kind of looked like clover - was all 4-leafed. And that seemed right. That night, I was invited to dance a little salsa, as there was a little party happening. (As far as I knew, this happened every night? ;-)

Also, as it turned out, there was a young woman who had volunteered with i-to-i the previous summer, and worked with the kids camp they did then - who had returned, to help out again with the camp this year. She brought a friend along to join her, and we had arrived just after them. They were the reason for the party I attended briefly, and I had met them then (without realizing who they were). Laura and Sarah, from Wisconsin.

They were assigned to teams with the kids' camp, and we got more of an introduction to this impressive endeavor on our next full day of volunteering...