Work hard, play hard...

Our theme for the weekend!

It was a holiday weekend here in Colombia and having had a long and arduous work week, we (volunteers) were looking forward to enjoying some time off and making the most of it

Prior to the weekend some of us had been talking about places we want to see and things we want to do before we leave.  Our wish list included a visit to the seven waterfalls of Chinchara, a nearby town located an hour away from Ibague, and a night at the stadium for a live soccer game.  Manos Amigas does not have any organized weekend events which gives volunteers freedom to plan their free time as they will.  This weekend we managed to cross both items off our wish list.

Friday, night in the town:
A few of us headed to town to enjoy a couple of drinks and some dancing. 

Saturday at the game:
We got to see Tolima vs. Pereira. It wasn't an exciting game.  Score was 1-0 (favoring Tolima -locals' favorite team) but being at the stadium listening to Colombians get rowdy and demand players to step it up was certainly entertaining.

Sunday, Happy Birthday Mikaela:

Mikaela is a former volunteer now living in Colombia.  She is well loved by everyone at the organization and for her birthday, Berenice hosted a dinner.  It was a fun evening filled with great food, games and good company.

Monday, mini road trip to Chinchara:

Getting to the seven waterfalls can be a bit tricky especially over a long weekend since no public transportation is available.  In order to coordinate a trip, one needs to hire a private bus.  In a spur of a moment Saturday night, I riled up enough people (including local car owners), formed a plan and found ourselves driving to the seven waterfalls early next morning.  It was one crazy fun day in the outdoors.

Buying our future lunch while Ren decides to entertain us!

 

Hiking to the waterfalls

It was a fun and memorable weekend and exactly what we all needed to relax and recharge for the weekend ahead.