Day 6: Fun Day!

Hola from the mountains of Turrialba! This is Donia and Valerie, and we led our amazing group of 21 glimpsers through a fun day at the waterfall, followed by a talk from our guest speaker, Fofo.

Good morning my beautiful people! This morning I, Valerie, woke up with the sun at 5 in the morning while our late birdie, Donia, woke up right at wake up call (7:00 AM- gasps)! We started off the morning strong, admiring all the cows from our window! Everyone was up and ready in their bathing suits.

We ran over to our dining table ready to eat our culinary master Diego’s phenomenal breakfast. Today was pinto y huevos with fresh cut watermelon and bananas with a choice of orange juice or iced tea. Oh my gosh is the fruit delicious. MUY MUY MUY DELICIOSO!

VROOM VROOM! Bus is here to pick us up! Waterfall day is finally here. Our daily Spanish \word today was catarata, translating to waterfall. Everyone was absolutely pumped!!!

We hopped in our private ride, decked with leather seats and A.C. Our amazing driver Alejandro navigated 30 minutes of steep, bumpy turns and twists. Finally, when we arrived, our glimpsers choose the hiking stick that called out to them, and all was set!

We trekked a, supposedly, 20 minute hike that had our glimpsers panting and muddy. All of a sudden we heard the sound of rushing water and all hope was returned… we were near!

SPEECHLESS! Holy moly. I do not think I have ever seen anything like this. How can such a thing even exist?!?! As we lifted our eyes off the floor and towards the sky, we were mesmerized by the sight of 3 waterfalls (one big one, accompanied by 2 smaller ones). Everyone threw their shoes off and jumped into the ice cold water. It was so cold we were barely able to feel our muscles- totally worth it though 🙂 Soon after we said our sad goodbyes to the waterfall and hiked our way back up the mountain. It was way easier this time (said absolutely no one)! Our leader Nino ran up the mountain, what a pro. Everyone was screaming “red light, red light, red light, red light!” every five minutes to slow down. It evoked lots of memorable laughter and even a few trips and slips.

We made it to the restaurant where we each had our own pre-chosen meals ranging from pinto and chicken to arroz con leche to french fries. Muy muy muy delicioso part 2! Hopping right back on our bus, almost all of our glimpsers napped their hearts away. Mouths were open… heads were tilted back… lots of photos were taken (shhh).

When we arrived back to our humble abode, the naps continued, with glimpsers scattered in every place imaginable. Naps were cut a bit short because our guest speaker arrived. We quickly gathered upstairs and attentively listened to his one-hour presentation on environmental justice and ethical tourism….very informative! For the next hour, the glimpsers split into 3 groups, each representing the government, a hotel developer, or the local community. They debated (it got heated!) and learned how all three groups could cooperate, while ensuring that the environment was still nurtured.

After we wrapped up our activity and said our farewells to our multi-talented speaker Fofo, we took a little break and then headed to dinner! We were welcomed by our amazing chef Diego who is now apart of our global glimpse community, with a special guest… his son! The glimpsers said their thanks and lined up to eat white rice, salad, and lentil soup with chicken. The two dinner tables had a cheering contest to see who could be louder and Diego was the judge… it got LOUD (thank God we don’t have neighbors)!

After our dinner, we had our nightly meeting and passed the torch to the next leaders, Valeria, Angie, and Bryndon! We shared our lots and lots of roses, thorns, and big loves for each other. The vulnerability is always thoroughly appreciated <3 Of course, we never get through a meeting without laughter upon laughter either.

KARAOKE TIME! Our global glimpse karaoke night that was long awaited was finally here! We sang every song from the early 2000s. We had a blast AHHHH. From Spanish songs, to heartbreak, to hard metal… our voices are sure to be gone tomorrow. The cows were a wonderful audience. That’s something I never thought I would have said.

Okay our beautiful people… thanks for reading! It was a blast writing to y’all. Lots of love.

-Peace, Donia and Valerie 🙂

Notes for friends and family:

Valerie: heyhey my lovlies! it’s Valerie. I am having the best time here in Turrialba with my new friends. I feel like I have known them all for a lifetime. I have never felt more like myself until I came here 🙂 I love you fam and friends so so so much. Thank you mama for writing that note to me. You made everyone laugh and only a littttttlleeeee bit of waterworks happened. I am imagining myself squeeze G currently haha. Josh and papi I know you guys are having the best time and it makes my heart feel so full. Safe travels back home to the fam and friends- you know who you are 🙂 Endless hugs. See ya later gators!

Donia: Mama and Babaaaaa, I miss you guys so much and have so much to tell you. I feel like I’m in the 80s with no phones. This is definitely a refreshing experience. The waterfall was sooo nice and fresh and the whole time I wished you were with me. I can not wait to see you again and tell you all about the excerise I’m doing (you know how much I am a homebody lol). Say hi to the whole family and we will talk real soon, inshAllah. أحبك كثيرا

NAP CAM ( I just need a few more until I’ve collected them all tee heee – Fatima)