Departure day came all too quickly for us. It was most tearful to say goodbye to Rebeca as we are not sure when we will see her and her family again. We gave her a little album of photos of her doing things with our kids and us as a goodbye gift--making tamales, tortillas, cookies; gathering gallanitas and coffee; holding birds; playing with our kids, our trip to the beach with her and her family. She was full of tears as well. We said goodbye to the kids' school and left with Asa's classmates waving little Alaska state flags he gave them as we drove off. Several kids came up and said they didn't want us to leave and parents wrote us thoughtful goodbye emails after we left. Then, we piled a mountain of luggage and ourselves into a taxi van and headed away from Turrialba with Rebeca and her family waving goodbye.
Overall, this has been a profound year for our family. Because of the length of time we were there we were able to truly drink deeply all that we found. We have made some good friends, kids have learned Spanish, had encounters with a wide range of wild animals and luscious land and sea, had some solid family time together, and Tim submitted his article he wrote on his sabbatical! In essence, Costa Rica lived through us, even if for a short time. Leaving Costa Rica is like exiting a dream. We told everyone, "hasta luego" ("until then") as our departure phrase because I am sure our heartstrings will pull us back for at least visit in the next several years. ¡Hasta luego a todos de Los Marley-Jester!
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| Asa with rock climbing teacher, Amilkar |
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| Asa and class |
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| Classmates waving AK flags as they say goodbye |
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| Amigos |
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| Rebeca gathered at our house to say goodbye |
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| En route to Alaska with heaps of luggage and kids |
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