We woke up early (again) to go bird-watching. I wasn't the happiest person there, but I did notice that some people seemed quite displeased and disoriented. I can't imagine why that could be. Hmm. =) It was pretty cool to see all the birds, even just around our hotel. I don't know how Karla and Ozzie do it - I could never spot birds like they do. After the bird watching, we were pleasantly surprised with a breakfast of pancakes and fruit. It was sooooo good. I love pancakes. But as good as breakfast was, it couldn't make me forget how close the trip was to ending. That night would be my last in Costa Rica. It was so sad. But we had to get all our stuff packed up and ready to go back to the Quinta in Atenas. That meant another day of driving. Which meant book reviews. Eww. A little while after we set off, Marion did his review. But after we finished, I had my human rights violated, so lucky me! I'm just kidding. The Costa Rican police stopped us because they thought we looked like Panamanian drug traffickers or something. Right. They made us get out of the bus and brought dogs out and everything. I don't think I was supposed to, but I got a couple pictures anyway. At least it'll make for a funny story. My voice was still sounding absolutely horrible and I really didn't want to have to follow Marion because he did an awesome job. So, I got lucky again and Aponi went. She seemed nervous about it, but I think she did okay. Finally, I couldn't put it off any longer (but I did do a did do remarkable job of putting it off, didn't I?). I started my book review, and just as I was getting into it, we stopped. That was annoying. We had arrived at Aviarios del Caribe, the sloth recovery center. But the good news was, we were getting lunch. And the even better new was that it was not rice and beans. It was pasta with tomato sauce and real salad. And ice cream! It was soo good. After lunch, we got to hold Buttercup, a 3-toed female sloth. She was laid-back, as were all the sloths we saw. They seem like sort of boring creatures, actually. And finicky. They all have like 5 million special needs. I think I'd go crazy trying to take care of them. There were also toucans at the center, which was sweet. They had other animals besides the sloths. After we finished our tour of the center, Miah gave some sloth notes and everybody was very sleepy. We dozed for a while, and then I had to finish my book review. I had to sit at the front and use the microphone and my voice sounded terrible. But Miah said I was doing a good job. I think I kept everyone awake, which was my main goal. But I made them laugh a couple times, so I think I did pretty well. I usually judge success with laughter. We stopped in San Jose at Karla and Ozzie's apartment to pick up their 2-year old daughter, Abril. She's sooo cute! And the apartment is very nice. So Karen and I played with Abril on the bus and it was a lot of fun. We finally got to the Quinta pretty late. We dropped our stuff in our rooms, then went to eat dinner. We chased Abril around until it was ready. It was hamburgers! That means (gasp!) - no beans and rice for a whole day! I didn't think it was possible. Dinner was good and afterwards Ozzie brought out the kareoke machine. My throat was seriously dying, but I was still convinced to sing a few songs by everyone. We made Laura, Miah, and Karla sing one song, and they made up a dance and everything. It was hilarious. Afterwards, Andrew and I were talking and I told him that I had heard what they said the night of the butt-smacking. But apparently, I hadn't heard it all because Andrew told me what Chris said about me, and while I had heard them talking about it, I hadn't heard what Chris called me. And no, I will not write it in here. I told a few people. It was gross and vulgar and demeaning. So, I'm angry and trying not to show it so that I can get though the last days without incident. I probably should've kicked Chris's ass when Andrew told me, but I figured that the trip was almost over anyway, and what good would getting angry do anyway? So I kept it to myself . . . and I wasn't even going to write in here except that I thought this journal should be a full recollection of my trip, and if I left things out just because I was afraid of getting someone in trouble or everyone finding out, the journal wouldn't even be worth keeping. So that's my reasoning. And why shouldn't everyone know? I didn't do anything wrong. So there, I gave you the complete truth - and I hope I get extra points for that!! I'm kidding. Anyway, after my little discussion, I went back to the room at the Quinta and we all settled in to write our letters to next year's group and then went to sleep. My letter talked about what to bring and a lot about how the trip affected me. I wish I had a copy of it to put in here, but I just didn't have the energy to write it over again. I went to sleep heavy hearted at having to leave Costa Rica, a place I had quickly grown to love.

Back to the rest of the Journal!