Day 8
We started the day off with a breakfast of bread, fresh fruit, and huevos rancheros. After finishing breakfast we finished up painting the starting layer of white paint on the library. It was pretty satisfying to finally finish the painting after the many hours that we spent on it. After we finished painting, we walked back to the dining area where we had rice and beans for lunch. After we finished eating, a bus picked us up and brought us to a place where we learned all about gold and how it affected the Osa Peninsula. While at the place we also were able to see the techniques that Costa Ricans use to access the gold while still conserving the beautiful jungle environment that surrounds them. Most of the gold on the top layer of the jungle is in the form of tiny specks because the larger chunks of gold sink deep into the soil. This means that the only way to access the gold is to pan for slivers of gold. After hours of sifting through the mud to find gold, we were only able to find one half-gram of gold. After finishing the gold tour, we took a bus ride back to Rancho Verde. A couple of the other boys and I went down to the Basketball court to play with the locals. We played for about two hours and then we headed back to our cabin.