Making Advances

Well, a few things have been going on since my last posting a few weeks ago. I started fundraising for the project and so far, I've had several very wonderful donors. I wasn't expecting anything to come from the fundraising because I know so many people are struggling just to make it paycheck to paycheck but people were very selfless and I was touched by their willing to give. I will continue to fundraise in the upcoming weeks, but I am already impressed with the turn out and I hope it continues.

Along with that, I finally bought a backpacking pack. It's WAY bigger than I think I need, but at least I won't be short on space. And I'll have room for souvenirs and gifts if I find them! I bought the pack on Amazon for just under $85 and free shipping. It's a Teton Sports Hiker 3700. I probably could have done with a pack one size smaller since this one is so big, but at least I won't need to upgrade on packs later if I decide to do a longer backpacking trip in the future. Here's a link to the bag: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006JYHHL6/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details.

Lets see... My new camera also arrived in the mail recently. It's a Panasonic Lumix TS3. It's waterproof, drop proof, sand proof, etc. I got it for cheap too because I ordered a display model off Amazon for about $200 less than retail. I was pretty happy with the steal and it turned out to be in mint condition anyway. I bought a second battery for it and a large memory card so I should be set to take plenty of pictures in Costa Rica.

Other than that, things have been progressing fairly smoothly. I am still trying to decide how I want to spend my last week in Costa Rica. My options are: 1.) Stay in San Jose and pay about $600 for the week to take 6 hours of spanish lessons a day and live in a homestay, 2.) Go to Volcano Arenal for two days and then head to Montezuma for five days, or 3.) Just go straight to Montezuma and stay there for the entire 7 days. The second and third option are fairly similar in price, it's just deciding on if I want to travel or relax. I go back and forth on a daily basis. So we'll see what I decide as it gets closer.