After a day stuck in the hotel, I was ready to get out and work. The men were to work Thursday, leaving the hotel at 6:30am I believe to be on site by 7am. I was ready to go with them. Pastor Tim found out from the men that attend the church, that our men weren't needed this day. They were just going to paint the trusses and hang them. This required little help from us. So we were spontaneous and went on an all day site seeing trip.
We loaded up and headed toward the coast. It was a bit of a drive but our first stop was The Crocodile Man Tour. We took tour boat that took us through crocodile infested waters. Sounds dramatic enough. The pic at the top is one I took of the brave...or stupid...man who hand feeds the salties. He's in knee deep, thick mud and so, getting away is a bit slow. The boat tour lasted quite awhile. We saw all kinds of wildlife.
After the boat tour we headed just a little ways down the road to the Pacific coast. I was so excited. I love the beach. If I could...I'd live there. I love the smell...the sea food...the waves...everything about the ocean. I brought my bathing suit but...didn't change. I thought I would just get knee deep in the ocean and that would be ok. Wasn't sure how long we'd have there. But I ended up getting completely in...fully clothed. Luckily I brought and extra change of clothes with me. The waves were awesome. A lot larger than the Atlantic waves. The rip current was very strong, so I made sure I or Jeff had a hold of Courtney at all times. She's a strong swimmer...but didn't want to take any chances. I got burned. I didn't really see the sun last summer, for the simple fact I did not feel comfortable in a bathing suite...so I avoided the pool at all cost. Due to that, my skin was leaning toward more white than tan. HA! It was lobster red by that night. I was sad to leave but after a long day sight seeing we headed back to the hotel.
That night, they would pick up the ladies to go to one of the COGOP churches in downtown San Jose. We parked the van in a parking area and I could hear the singing of the ladies from a block away. We came in and they were singing up a storm. It was awesome. :) They brought us in and sat us down on the front row and gave us all a bottle of water. I would say there were about 50 to 60 people in that small building by the end of the service. They had an interpreter for us...Sis. Marlene. They introduced our mission leader, Sis. Cathleen and she introduced all of us. She is 84 years old and it had always been her dream to go on a mission trip. This trip to Costa Rica was fulfillment of that dream. She was so excited and emotional to address the ladies of that church. We had a great time there and were blessed to worship with the ladies of Bishop Ramos' church.
