We are continuing to settle into our routines here in Monteverde. The girls are absolutely loving school and are set to march and perform in the Costa Rican Independence Day parade this coming Tuesday, September 15th. They have also joined a drama club on Fridays at the other school in town and will be tacking the Wizard of Oz at some point in 2027. In addition, we were able to finally explore the ‘infamous’ library at the Friends School and could not believe the treasure trove of books that are there awaiting our attention. This was an incredible development and we are so thankful for the library’s existence.

We have also been able to stay connected with loved ones at home, which does make me think about all the manners and ways we tried to connect with my Uncle Gene when he was living in Africa or South America, via Skype, calling cards, and other methods that often left my grandmother particularly exasperated. The girls have been able to FaceTime friends, we’ve been in constant contact with family, and my book club (The C.O.D. Society) even accommodated my absence with a zoom meet-up to discuss our latest book. Chalk this up to a great thing about technology moment. Now on to the creatures…

The one question that all four of us continue to be asked is about what animals have we seen thus far. Ergo, it is clearly time for an animal update. We have seen videos of a nearby puma in the forests, but despite Elise’s zeal to encounter one, we have not seen it ourselves up close (yet). We have also remained on the lookout for scorpions, tarantulas, snakes and sloths, but at this point we’ve not seen anything to report on those fronts.

And finally… pictures of fungi!