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Our final day in Uvita was a sad one. We had a lot to take care of this morning. We found Donne at the Soccer complex, and he and the kids played a while. We gave him our excess paper and markers, and they were a big hit. Some of the other local kids showed up, and they all drew pictures and colored together.

We also dropped off some clothes for the church mission that we didn’t want to bring back with us, to make room for things we bought here. I also left my guitar for the church, in hopes they can find an interested local person to learn to play it.

Samuel got a Costa Rican haircut.

Sarah posed on a balcony.

Then we said goodbye to the hair stylist and the computer guy. A vendor sold fresh coconuts to Donne’s uncle, the Pipa Fria man in Uvita.

When it was time for us to say goodbye to Donne. we got him an ice cream cone. Amy gave him a hug and a big bag of goodies to make the farewell easier. He got a Spiderman bookbag, Spiderman boxing gloves, lots of American clothes (highly prized here) and some Iron Man boots, among other things. He will be the best outfitted young man in Uvita for some time. It’s very odd to say goodbye to someone you have gotten to know, when it is unlikely you will ever see them again.



We drove up the mountain and ate our last meal at Miramar, then packed our suitcases. We took some pictures of ourselves around the pool. You may see them on Christmas cards this year.

We have really enjoyed being here. Again, it is odd leaving a place you have lived in for a month, knowing you will probably never see it again.

We headed down the mountain around 4 and stopped by the Uvita Information Center one last time. Sonia is away in San Isidro but her very capable assistant Marcella helped us with driving directions for tomorrow and the purchase of our final international calling card. These ladies have been extremely helpful to us, and we can recommend them highly to anyone who comes this way.

We drove to Dominical and watched the surfers in the late afternoon light. Amy spotted som flowers she had never seen before. She thinks they are related to poinsettias.

We had planned to go to a sushi restaurant at 5, but they were not going to open until 6. We walked to a church festival and listened to the music for a while, but when we returned, the sushi place was still not open.

We wandered .around and found a great place with a sweet view of the beach at twilight.

We had a very enjoyable meal of sautéed mahi-mahi with garlic butter, red snapper, chicken fingers, all the fixings, and a few drinks (pina colada, anyone?) for a small fraction of what it would cost at home. Sarah still likes her rice and beans.

Samuel still likes orange soda.

It was nice to be out after dark, even though the kids crashed before we drove up the mountain for the last time.

I am enjoying a rain-free evening, with our pool and palm tree lit up one more time..

This very special place will be very hard to leave in the morning. This very odd bug, that looks like an alien, came to say goodbye.

Tomorrow we travel to the Arenal Volcano area. We hope to arrive mid-afternoon, so I will update you on our trip, accommodations, and the state of the volcano and lava tomorrow evening.



Hasta!