German is an interesting fellow to say the least. His charismatic personality and friendliness won us over immediately. We spent the rest of the day at the waterfall with him chatting about places we had seen and stayed at, wanted to see, and all our best stories getting there and from. We spent the rest of our time in Costa Rica together. Together we visited the rainforest and garden of butterflies in Monte Verde, hiked the hanging bridges in the rain, learned how to cook Colombian food and sat on a strangers couch and watched a movie. Our hotel didn't have a television, so we decided to go and rent a movie. We asked the store owner if we could rent a VCR. He volunteered his couch. We experienced an 11 tiered hot spring, encountered the Poison Dart Frog, and met lot's of other travelers.
 One of the things I remember most about traveling is how friendly people were to us. While sitting in a restaurant, it wasn't uncommon for another traveler or local to strike up a conversation with you. On one such occasion we met a group of travelers who were heading to a "Rainbow Gathering". Their description and excitement of this event made us want to come and see what it was all about. Our spring break was coming to an end so we departed ways with our new friend and headed back to school. The following weekend we decided to venture out again and see what it was all about. We left after the last class and headed back to the unknown. We followed the instructions of our friends and came laden with 1 tent, eating utensils and plates, Spam, a watermelon and a backpack with clothing for a few days. I remember riding in the back of a pick up truck for about 3 hours on bumpy, windy roads filled with pot holes to a farm in the middle of nowhere. The driver stopped and let us out while giving us a simple hand gesture to guide us in the direction we should walk. After 20 min we reached a river and were greeted by a host of hippies. Our first greeting from a friendly stranger was "welcome brother". We crossed over the river and found a place under a shady tree to set up our tent. By asking around we discovered we were there with about 700 people of all different nationalities and races. We learned where the kitchen, bathrooms, and fire circle were located. Two meals were served a day, one at brunch and the other at dinner. In between meals workshops were given to anyone who wanted to learn a specific skill. The workshops included cooking, playing the drums, fire juggling, Thai massage, how to make chai tea, how to play the guitar, and baking. These were just a few of the many offered. I was especially interested in the baking and Thai massage workshops. For the baking class we learned that you can make a simple oven from two steel barrels turned sideways. Both were packed with dirt and clay around them and were able to be opened and closed by their metal lids. Commercial size cookie sheets were used as racks to bake the items on. We made oatmeal cookies and used eggs, sugar, and cinnamon from the farm we were on. The cinnamon was scrapped from the bark of a tree and tasted so fresh. We baked the cookies under the fire lit stove and they were delicious.
Our Thai workshop was taught to us by a New Yorker who had a passion for massage. He was not a professional but loved to study it for a hobby. He was a great teacher and was the initial spark for my interest in massage. We later gathered at the fire pit for dinner with our little plates and utensils. A man with a black hat playing a guitar walked around the fire pit and collected any money contributed for food. He sang "may the circle be unbroken". We were dished out lentils and fresh pita bread with felafel. It was delicious. Those hardcore travelers who didn't have dishes held out their hands and used them as a bowl like a caveman would. After dinner was over many went back to their tents while others tested their fire juggling skills. We met our friend Rey and he showed us how to make chai tea. We sat around his fire and shared stories about our lives. I will never forget something that he said to me. He (being a hippie) said I had a lot of light and I needed to learn how to channel it. My response to him was "I know where my light comes from, it comes from God, and he's channeling it". This opened the door for me to tell him about my choices in life. It also built my confidence in who I was.
We woke up the next morning and decided we wanted to see how breakfast was served to over 700 people. I walked up the hill to the kitchen tent and asked what I could do. I was given a knife and told to cut and pit the melons. I cant remember how many melons I pitted but it was more than a thousand. I would cut the melon, pit the seeds and lay them in large plastic buckets with rope handles. I watched as others ground oats and cinnamon with an old fashioned grinder. The oats were then cooked on a fire and sugar and cinnamon were added in. It was the freshest porridge I had ever tasted. The buckets of food were then carried down to the circle and the same procedure as the night before was performed. Those who had money to contribute would drop it into the hat. After the meal was served, the flame jugglers and performers would come out to practice their talents.
We learned mothers home schooled their children there, five ladies were pregnant and no one was in charge. No institutionalization. Our time was up and we began our journey back to San Jose. We walked for 4 hours before getting picked up by a couple of ticos. We made a pit stop at a hot spring, shared our watermelon, and drank a coke while singing karaoke. We encountered a flat tire, and spent hours waiting outside our chauffeurs home while eating bananas from his tree before we finally escaped and hitched another ride from an Italian baker who gladly took us the rest of the way into the city. We made it back to school just in time and talked of nothing but our trip while walking all the way home from school.