Costa Rica March 2012: The Bittersweet Goodbye

The last day began the same as the others, but we were treated to seeing a troop of monkeys and beyond Santa Cecilia we saw two men with a team of oxen hitched to a wagon. Mauricio stopped the bus and allowed people to take photos.

The men noticed us taking pictures and turned the oxen to present a better view, waved and smiled. This response was typical of the Costa Ricans all week:

friendly and willing to help.

On the job site the workers were assigned our daily tasks. Digging drain fields, mixing and carting cement, washing floors, hauling dirt, rocks, and sand. By this time we felt like old hands, but the work was as hard as it was on the first day. As usual our team was up to the challenge, and we persevered.

The  families thoughtfully prepared an American barbeque for our final lunch, with burgers and hot dogs with all the trimmings. 

The kids from Santa Elena also filed in to join us for lunch, and the smiles on their faces again made us feel appreciated.

Afterwards, the kids were eager to get in front of the camera, as we slower-moving adults enjoyed their enthusiasm.

Then came a pinata, a soccer game, balloon animals, and duck-duck-gray duck. When the piñata spewed candy, it was a free-for-all and the sweets disappeared in short order. The following soccer game was played with skill and with spirit.

 We then packed up and bid our good-byes to the masons, the families, and the worksite. We were engulfed by equal parts happiness and sadness as we headed out one last time from Santa Elena.

Written by Louis Winslow and Terry Hatchitt (team members)