I’m Just Saying

If we had trouble following your instructions, it’s because they were written like this…

The project was not a difficult, much of which demonstrates ability to follow instructions. Because this project was worth 15% of your grade and the intent was for everyone in the group to participate and “sign-off” before it was submitted & although the instructions & guideline sheet (attached) states “points will be given as all or none for each area above”, no partial credit will be given, I did give partial credit (unless one of the criteria was omitted completely, in which case no credit was given).

Please, take pride in your writing. All of it.

Sixteen Miles to Paradise

Enjoying the waterfall at San Luis.

Our feet and bodies are wet, weary and tired, but our minds and souls have been revived. Today we decided to take the road less traveled and head to the town of San Luis to find the “hidden” waterfall that some locals have mentioned. It was not an easy task getting there, but if I had to do it over again, I would walk ten times as far to have the experience we had. We did in fact walk sixteen miles, but that was round trip, so it really wasn’t so bad. Getting there is the fun part because you walk down a very steep hill. Once you exit the main road, you follow a trail which will then take you to a farm owned by a local. The name is La Finca de Miguel Liutor. Once at his house, you knock on the door and tell him you would like to use his property and follow his trail to the waterfall. It costs $6 per person – a small price to pay.

The hike from the house to the waterfall was very technical. There were lots of slick rocks, tight spaces and steep climbs. We consider ourselves blessed to be in good enough health to have trekked our way to the top. I was a little frustrated on the way up as was Ryan. I kept thinking to myself “this better be one big waterfall”. We reached the top and were blown away when we rounded the corner and had our first view. It was absolutely breathtaking. It truly felt like we were walking on clouds in Heaven. The best part was that we had the waterfall to ourselves the whole time we were there. We stayed for about an hour, enjoyed our lunch and never saw anyone else the whole time (except for meeting Miguel Liutor himself on our way up). The experience was somewhat surreal.

The really fun part came when it was time to head back. We had to hike back up the road to Monteverde. It goes straight up for about three miles. When we finally reached the top, we again treated ourselves to milkshakes at the cheese factory.

The owner of the Internet cafe is waiting for us to finish so he can go home, so I must now say goodbye. Maybe we’ll write more about our adventure today tomorrow as there is still much to share.

Post trip update: The family who owns the farm has the last name Leiton.

Debt FREEdom

I’m going to be very frank in this monologue so consider this your warning – and my disclaimer. If you don’t like what you read on this site (ever) feel free to leave and never come back (ever). I just write what is on my mind.

It seems as though anytime I speak of our upcoming trip, people automatically assume we won last week’s $240 millon powerball multi-state lottery, inherited some money, or robbed the local One and Two Thirds Bank. I have found myself trying to actually answer questions like, “Are you independently wealthy?” or biting my tongue after statement like, “I wish I was rich.”

I’m not sure what irks me more about these statements . . .

• i’m not ‘independently wealthy’
• i don’t have it made (financially anyway)
• people, albeit subconsciously, assume that i’m not capable of pulling a feat like this off on my own
• that have, albeit subconsciously, already decided that they are unable to pull off a feat like this on their own

Ultimately, I know that it’s not the first two reasons that upset me. I have come to terms with not being wealthy and have decided that it’s not what I need to be able to carry out my life’s work. In other words, I’m not going to spend every waking hour chasing wealth.
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