I slept in a bit this morning, got up around 7 to go see Volcán Poas! I followed the directions Yuri gave me perfectly, but when I got to the intersection where the bus to Volcán Poas was supposed to be, there was no line of gringos that I could see anywhere. Yuri explained that it's mostly just tourists/gringos who go to the see the volcanoes. I asked a few random people where the bus that goes to Volcán Poas forms a line, but no one seemed to have any clue. Finally I saw a bus across the street that said it was going to Alajuela. I knew that Volcán Poas was in Alajuela, so I went over to ask the driver if he went to the volcano. He responded he didn't, but the bus station that he drives to in Alajuela has a bus that leaves from there to go to Volcán Poas I jumped on, and off we went. We arrived at the bus station, and I asked around for the bus that went to Volcán Poas, and finally found the bus that was in the lane labeled as such. The driver was really nice but explained I just missed the bus and the next one doesn't coming until tomorrow. I was crushed for a brief second before calling Yuri for some truistic advice. There were buses in the station that seemed to go all over Costa Rica, so surely I could hop on one of these and salvage the day in another great spot. He advised me to take a bus that goes to Grecia and Sarchi as there is some great artesenia there and I have been looking for a good spot to buy some gifts for everyone back home. I enjoyed the ride to Sarchi, it was beautiful and through the mountains. As soon as we entered Sarchi, at all the stops we made, the people were even more friendly than they are in Guadalupe! Everyone knew everyone else and everyone was wondering what I was doing here and where I was headed and where I was from. It was great!
I easily found the stores of artesenia since every store that wasn't selling artesenia was selling "muebles" or furniture. I explored the beautiful town a bit and learned there was a bus that was going back to San Jose at 1:15. I waited at the bus stop where I met the cutest little boy of 3 years old whose name was Sebastian. We played together on "la concha" (the soccer field) behind us as we both waited for the bus. In true "Tico Time" fashion, the bus arrived at 1:30, but then didn't leave until 1:45 because the driver hadn't had afternoon cafe yet. The ride back was just as beautiful as the right down.
After arriving home and working on the residency search the rest of the afternoon/night, I anxiously awaited the arrival of one of my two future "family members." Her name is Genevieve, and she is one of the two students who will be staying in Mama Tica's house with me. She is one of the four medical students who is coming for a month from McGill Med School in Montreal, Canada. She arrived around midnight with Yuri, and she is AWESOME! I love her already. She's 23 as well and in her last year of med school. She lived in Cuba in the past and speaks Spanish fluently so she will be working at a hospital in Grecia while here for the month. Unfortunately, because Grecia is about 1.5 hours away from Guadalupe, she will only be living in our house for a few nights before she transitions over to her house in Grecia. However, I will be going to Manual Antonio next weekend with her and the other Canadian students and to Isla Tortugero with them the week after!
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