The Rest of the Story...

While Tanner is off on his next adventure, I decided to share what little I know about his three weeks in Costa Rica.  And the few pictures he was able to recover...

As noted in the previous post, he spent the first week attending classes at this Costa Rican Language Academy (CRLA).  There were only three other volunteers in his particular class - all from Europe.  The Europeans were in their mid-late twenties but they all got along well and enjoyed working together to improve their language abilities.

Tanner enjoyed breakfast and dinner with his host family but was on his own for lunch each day.
He didn't have to venture far because the school had a cafeteria that was sufficient.

Rice and beans were his daily staple along with some type of meat.
The fruit and fries were an added bonus for sure.

View from Tanner's bedroom window

The Hernandez (host) family maintain a revolving door with CRLA volunteers coming and going at all times.  Providing room and board is their livelihood.  Tanner was grateful to have his own bedroom/bathroom while in San Jose.

Although the school was located in a 'safe' part of the city, this picture shows how everything is gated/barred.  I learned that Costa Rica has a local police force but is a country without any military.

After finishing the program at CRLA and spending the weekend with Aaron, Tanner set out via bus to El Silencio where he spent the next two weeks working at the rural community development project.  There were many 'tender mercies' all along the way.  It was so fortunate that Aaron and Tanner were able to spend some time together exploring because their travels allowed Tanner to recognize when the bus he was on turned toward a different destination.  He was able to quickly inform the bus driver and the corrections were made without serious consequence.

View from the volunteer lodge - looking out at the plantation

He arrived in the small, rural community on Monday evening (March 14) where he met his second host family.  Tanner requested a family with children and was happy to receive such accommodations.  There were three children ages 16, 12 and 4.

I think Tanner actually missed the noise from home:).

We had to be creative to capture any and all available pictures of Tanner's time in Costa Rica.  This is the road leading to the house where Tanner stayed.  He quickly noticed there were more dogs than people in this community and the older generation spent a lot of time just sitting in front of their homes.

It was fortunate the host family father knew some English as he was a tour guide in a neighboring community.  Tanner brought along children's books and enjoyed helping Anna-Lucia (age 4) expand her English vocabulary in the evenings.  The boys didn't speak any but Tanner did help the 16-year old with his English homework also.

These cabins could be rented by tourists but were not in use while Tanner was there.

Work on the various projects often began at 5am and ended by noon each day because of the stifling heat and humidity.  Tanner could get wifi at a lodge/restaurant for tourists in the area and volunteers were allowed to swim in this pool.  It was about the only way to cool off besides the two cold showers he took each day.  Being near the equator, El Silencio is consistently 10 degrees hotter than San Jose where it actually cools down a bit in the evenings.

Harvesting some type of fruit/berry for oil, locals are required to fill 7 large bags before calling it a day's work.  Digging around on the juggle floor with bare hands, Tanner discovered all kinds of critters.  Work gloves were too cumbersome to help locate and harvest the delicate fruit/berry.  He was really grateful to have taken along some "miracle salve" and essential oils to help with the rash he sported after this project.

Day after day after day - this job would be difficult to get excited about, but Tanner filled his 7 bags!

No corn to fatten up these cows.  Tanner learned about and helped milk the cows.  The milk is delivered via horseback to the only small market in the area.  It's hard to get fresh produce most days so Tanner really appreciated snagging two green apples one afternoon.  Rice and beans with every meal and the occasional salad of tomatoes and cucumbers which he loved.  He was a trooper to try all the new tastes and textures.

One evening Tanner came home in the pouring rain and nobody was around.  He guessed they may had gone fishing since dinner that night consisted of rice and a full fish.  The father was more than happy to eat the head when Tanner shared with him - eyeballs and all.  Tanner was grateful fish didn't show up in future meals since he took note of the dead fish left in the bathroom sink for a few days.  And yes, the bathroom had an odor all its own with the wipe/garbage can situation.  Old, sensitive pipes couldn't handle any toilet paper so it went in the trash after being used.

One morning while clearing decaying wood/boards from an area, the sole of Tanner's work boot saved him from one of the rusty nails protruding from old boards.  He quickly warned the other volunteer he was working with (a gal from Belgium) but she was not so fortunate.  Moments later a nail went right through her shoe and into her foot.  It was a difficult day for her as the bombings in her homeland had just taken place.  During their time in El Silencio, Tanner was able to introduce her to the gospel as she had never heard of Mormons.  The very next day she took notice of the news that there were Mormon missionaries injured during the attacks and could not believe it as she doubted this LDS church had a presence in her country....:).

Helping in the schools was a favorite for Tanner.
He spent time at two small schools for elementary aged children.

This picture shows children playing during recess.
Yep, dirt and rocks and sticks are the playground equipment they enjoy most.

The volunteers are allowed one day a week to go exploring on their own.  Tanner was up early to catch the 5:00am one and only bus out of town.  He arrived plenty early at Manuel Antonio, a national preserve/park near the beach and not too far from El Silencio.  After eating some breakfast, he joined a tour group of sorts and began his adventure in the park.

These white-faced monkeys are rather aggressive so Tanner was quick to snap a pic.  Apparently, the volunteer coordinator in El Silencio was attacked by one once upon a time and now has quite the scar on his forearm.  The wildlife and vegetation were beautiful and Tanner enjoyed meeting people while hiking through the park.  Before heading to the beach, he hiked back with an older lady/daughter from Colorado - hooray to find a few people from the USA!

Tanner rented a beach umbrella and had full intentions of reading a good book in the shade before catching his only bus back into El Silencio.  Since there were no lockers for storing personal items and it was a crowded Saturday at the beach, this meant it wasn't a good idea for him to get in the water and leave stuff unattended.  Imagine his surprise when he heard someone calling his name, "Tanner!".  Surprised, he looked around and not more than 10 feet away were the Europeans he met during his first week in San Jose.  They were spending the weekend in the area and just happened to be at this particular beach at this particular time just 10 feet away?!?  Tanner was wearing a big sombrero and sunglasses so the Europeans were not completely sure it was him until they watched him pick up his silver water bottle.  Apparently, he became known as the 'water boy' during their week in school together because while the others drank coffee/tea, etc., Tanner only drank water.  And they all took notice.  Yes, another tender mercy as Tanner had spent so much time alone...and he was able to swim in the ocean after all!

Host family - names?

Tanner's final evening with his host family was a highlight as he had plans to leave much of his belongings with them.  Additional children's books were gifted to Anna-Lucia and the boys were thrilled to receive clothing and toiletries and a duffle bag from Tanner.  He happily left his mosquito net (they sleep with these covering them at night) behind.   The power goes out often and the father leaves for work in the dark at 4:30am so Tanner found himself giving away his new headlamp and digital watch as well.  The mother was so happy she was crying and Tanner said it felt so good to give that he just kept on giving!

The last morning before traveling back to San Jose, Tanner was able to go on a white-water rafting excursion.  It proved to be pretty intense and some were thrown from the raft and cut on the rocks but Tanner stayed afloat.  Another tender mercy.

He was careful about applying sunscreen and bug spray every single day.  Except this patch of his leg on the last day!  He was also very careful and cautious about keeping his phone/money secure as he had been told while at CRLA that his phone was worth 4-months of pay to a local Costa Rican.  

Aaron arranged for Tanner to catch an earlier flight home since it was Holy Week in CR and everything shut down and went into party mode.  After finishing the river run and saying quick good-byes to his host family, Tanner took a taxi from El Silencio (no bus running) to Quepos and a bus from Quepos back to San Jose.  From that bus station, he took a taxi to CRLA to pick up his passport where it was safely locked away.  It was a Friday evening (school closed) but the security guard on duty was suppose to have been notified about Tanner's arrival.  The taxi driver dropped Tanner off at the school and within 30 seconds of driving away, Tanner discovered his cel phone had been stolen (essentially pick-pocketed while exiting the cab!).  His mode of communication - GONE. The numbers and address to his host family in San Jose - GONE.  Three weeks of pictures taken - GONE. 

As if this realization wasn't bad enough, the security guard on duty was confused or knew nothing of Tanner's arrival and couldn't understand him so he would not get his passport for him before going off duty.  Imagine Tanner's predicament - literally all alone in a foreign country with no phone and no passport - standing on the side of the road at dusk!  Well, of course Heavenly Father knew the situation he was in and sent an angel to help him out.  Within minutes, a woman showed up at the school (Tanner did not know who she was or why she was there after hours especially during Holy Week) with two young adult children.  Whoever she was, she had keys and got his passport.  She had authority/access to the phone system so Tanner could call us.  She contacted his host family and arranged transportation for him back to their house where he spent his final night in CR before catching a flight home Saturday.  

Yes, the phone was gone for good.  But everything else came together beautifully.
Another tender mercy.

What a relief to welcome him back to the USA just after midnight!  It was a long day of travel for him but at least we only had to drive to CV where we spent Easter Sunday with extended family.  Tanner experienced a whole lot of living during his three weeks in Costa Rica and we're all grateful for the many tender mercies along the way.  So, from my vantage point, that's 'the rest of the story'....