Jim and Melanie's Excellent Adventure: Reality Check

Caño Island

All the photos in this post were taken a few weeks ago when we visited the southern part of Costa Rica. We had the opportunity to go with a group to the little fishing village of Sierpe. I chose these pictures that display the beauty of God's creation in contrast with the ugliness we sometimes see & experience. The uninhabited island we visited is part of a national preserve, and the beauty was unbelieveable! I've also included a couple of pictures that I hope will bring a smile to your face.

The Local Sierpe Ferry

Reality check: We have recently been reminded of the fact that we need to be careful. We need not be fearful for we are in the hands of God, but neither can we be careless. As with any big city around the world, there are always people looking to gain at expense of others. Whether in the halls of the politicians or on the streets, it is the same everywhere.

A couple in my grammar class fell prey to a scam on the city bus, and the gentleman was pickpocketed. A lady dropped some magazines as they were exiting the bus, and as the couple helped her retrieve the magazines the thieves struck silently and effortlessly. Within the hour it took for them to get home and call the credit card companies, over $8000+ had been charged to their cards.

I had a experience that hopefully will fulfill my quota for the rest of the time we are here. J Thankfully I was not the target, and I was not involved in any way except as a witness to an assault. While walking home from school one afternoon, I stopped at the intersection in front of our apartment to wait for traffic to pass. I waited and waved to friends across the street while one car pulled up to the stop sign and another car pulled quickly in front of the first car. As I started across the street, a man jumped out of the second car with a gun and ran to the passenger's side of the first car. At that moment I was only inches away from the guy with the gun. Talk about a heart attack!!! I took off running, and I'm sure it is the fastest I have ever run in my entire life. The friends across the street took off running at the same time, and we all ran inside our gate. The guys from the second car robbed the first car, and they were already gone by the time we got inside the gate. Our Tico (what Costa Ricans call themselves) neighbor called the police, and we later learned that the guys in the second car had been following the first car since it had left the bank. We are thankful no one was hurt in the incident! This scare reminded us that we always need to be aware and watchful. We had become a bit too comfortable with our surroundings, and we weren't as watchful as we should have been. We now take much more care when out and about. We are also grateful that this isn't a regular occurence in our neighborhood!