Volunteer Abroad Blog

                The Klong Kheaw Waterfall was nothing like I had expected. Although I’m not too sure what I really had expected, it was so much more. Walking along the trail at first everything appeared the same as any park or hiking trail in America, but when you took a closer look you could see it was much different. The vegetation was so lush as well as beautiful and interesting to see. I think my favorite thing in the woods were the intertwining tree roots all over the ground. Some of them stretched as far as the eye could see. It was so beautiful walking through the paths and looking at all the bamboo trees and exotic plants.

I really loved the part in the vegetation when the path was full of tree limbs and plants over your head like a covered bridge. It looked like something you would see in a romantic movie. The actual waterfalls were amazing. The water felt so refreshing and cooling. At first we walked down into the water and tried to navigate our way through the rocks and water.It was not such a good idea!!

Read the rest of this entry »

Every year Palmares, the nearest town to San Ramón, hosts a huge festival called Fiestas de Palmares.

An  association run by a board of members –Asociación Cívica  Palmareña  works together with the community for its improvement. The association puts together the Fiestas de Palmares festival which is the biggest festival  to be held in Costa Rica so far. The event runs for  13 days and includes activities such as a lantern walk on the opening day , a horse parade (tope), concerts with international performers, , and a huge fair ground with food stands, souvenirs and ginormous bars and discotheques erected for the festival  where you can dance  for up to 12 hours.

Read the rest of this entry »

On the eve of the Immaculate Conception in San Ramón there is a very unique tradition. It has been happening for over a hundred years.

The tradition started with a family in the rural district of Piedades Sur when a lady named Paula  Mesén decided to give to her neighbor María Vargas “melcochas “. Paula gathered the children from the neighborhood to go to doña Maria’s house and shower her with candy. An interesting fact of this first event was that it was held indoors because it was raining outside.

Read the rest of this entry »