Pura Vida

This weekend was an awesome weekend. It started out on Friday with a solid Halloween party thrown by our beloved Gerardo, the man who has made USAC the outstanding program that it is. It was also his birthday so we celebrated that too!

The next day I headed to La Finca with Alexis and Ana, where we met up with some of their family. We went to one of their friend's houses nearby and picked up some fish out of their ponds and brought them back to cook. Some were still alive when we brought them into the kitchen; thats how fresh they were. It was also my first time eating a whole fish like that. At first, I was a bit skeptical but then I thought "when in Costa Rica" and it was sooooo good! 

We ended the night with guitar, hammocking, and some tragitos.

The previous night one of the guys had gotten his ATV stuck in the mud, so the next day his brothers came with another ATV and 6 of us headed out to get it. We drove up this hillside with a beautiful view, and then hiked the rest of the way since a car couldn't make it. Two of the brothers led ahead with the other ATV.

nice lookin view

crazy colored horse

I thought the guy fell last night and needed help getting it from a hill or something, but it turns out that it was just straight muddy. 

The guys that went ahead ended up being our first save. Alright, so we are getting muddy today...

Legs covered, I thought this was the worst of it..

Second save of the day, we ended up pulling this thing up the road with the rope because it was so slick. Got some more mud.

 I think we are done, but now that we are all good and know we can get it out of anything and are already muddy, why not explore? We spent the next couple hours, 3 on each, exploring"roads" that are even really hard to walk down. That seem impossible for an ATV, but then again there's six guys...so we spent the next couple hours riding for a little, then getting off and pushing, then riding some more, then pushing some more, and so on. Mud splattering every direction, everyone covered head to toe and everywhere else, we made it to a creek and washed off, then got just as muddy again. 

Shaking off my head, thinking that I am clean..this stuff sticks!

When I got home I showered vigorously and was still dirty. Couldn't have been happier. Played some foosball with them afterwards and got my ass kicked, but learned a new technique that helps a lot too!