We’re so excited to be back at the villa! The past couple days have been jam packed. We started off our week shopping for produce at the local fería (market), and competed in Putney Top Chef. We cooked local dishes for our Villa Huetares judges–Josué who works at Coco Viquez Restaurant next door, Vinicio, the hotel manager, Miriam, one of the housekeeping staff, Xinia and Dulce, cooks at Coco Viquez Restaurant, and of course, Vinicio’s two kids, Natasha (9) and Ian (12). Many of the dishes included empanadas, smoothies, and arroz con leche– a dessert that was introduced to us in Silencio.

The next day, we embarked on our first big excursion to Playa Grande! We started off the day learning about leatherback turtles, climate change, and ecology at Goldring Gund Leatherback Trust. We learned at the organization’s station and on the beach where the turtles hatch their eggs. We then headed off to surfing, but not before we sipped on smoothies from the taco shack at the entrance of Playa Grande. The highlight of the day was surfing, and all the students were able to get up on their surfboards! We finished off the day chilling by the pool and playing silly games back at the Villa.

Pura vida!