So, in a nutshell - Costa Rican cities are pretty ugly! We arrived late on Saturday night and were then whisked away to the hostel in Alajuela with the smelliest bathroom I have ever been in - ugh! Sunday was a free day but it was grey, not much happening (Catholic country) and I was exhausted from 1 week of back-to-back activities in LA.

We met and had drinks with another volunteer on Sunday evening, Hope ( a paramedic from Norwich), who will be volunteering on a turtle project in Matapalo on the Pacific coast. Our very brief introduction was held on Monday morning - it lasted all of 30minutes and then we all walked I the bus stop to travel to our respective projects. I will be working at an orphanage in the commuter town of San Ramon whereas Wendy will be volunteering at an animal sanctuary at La Marina in the middle of nowheresville (about 3,5 hours from San Jose). We've all agreed to meet up on weekends in different parts of Costa Rica so we can explore the country more.

I met my host family: Adriano (the father), Gaimy (the mother), Carolina (eldest daughter in final year of school), Andrey (teenage son) and Alison (4-but-soon-to-be-5 years old). They all seem really sweet and the little one has taken a shine to me already! They don't speak any English, so I will be forced to learn Spanish. Luckily, I already have a basic vocabulary and know some of the essential verbs from doing the Michel Thomas Spanish audio guide. But still, it is rather difficult to communicate more than just the basic needs.

I was supposed start working on Tuesday morning but when Gaimy walked me to the project, they said that the head teacher was not there due to ill health, so they were not running the project without her. After a few phone calls, I was told I would be placed on another project in the area and one of the co-ordinators came around to take me there to introduce me to the project. It's an orphanage referred to as "La Garcita". Although it is state-funded, the staff or "Tias" (aunts) as they are called by the kids, are extremely busy with the 15 kids and always require additional help with chores and keeping the kids entertained. I met a couple of volunteers that had already been there a couple of weeks. The supervisor asked if I could start on Thursday. "Not a problem." I said, "It'll give me time to explore the town".

On Thursday I walked around town, exploring the place on foot. It has a large, modern cathedral and a central square in front of it, alot of small shops, a couple of bus terminals and a museum (which takes 10minutes to circulate through. The buildings are no more than 3 stories high and tightly packed together without much in the way of trees or open green spaces - although the town is surrounded on all sides by lush green mountains. There are burglar bars EVERYWHERE - it reminds me of South Africa. San Ramon looks small and quaint but I've been warned not to walk around at night and all the security overkill, although its there for the protection of people, seems to have the adverse effect and makes me feel insecure and like I'm living in a jail cell.

Had lunch at "Soda Tipica La Paquerena" (close to the bus station), where they have fresh food in the style of Costa Rican and Colombian flavours. I had the fish, served with plenty of lime, plantain, rice and fresh salad. To drink - a delicious tropical fresh juice made from Guanabana fruit - difficult to explain the taste, but it was really refreshing. Everything was delicious! The place is strategically placed next door to a fruit & veggie shop and across the road from a butcher. In fact, at one point, after a customer place an order, I saw the chef are across to the butcher to get some fresh meat! The owner even showed me a plate Of typical Colombian food - OMG, the plate was massive and served on a banana leaf - muy autentico!

Went to the local swimming pool but by mid-afternoon it was full of teens skulking around. Across the road is a new language school called Green Mountain so I headed there to find out about attending classes - first class starts tomorrow and I will have an individual tutor for $8/hr! Unfortunately, his timetable is really full at the moment, but I have already scheduled 2 days/week on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a total of 3 hours and have asked him to pencil me in if any other classes become available. It's a start!