Costa Rican Adventures

Monday June 20th

After chilling our room to a wintry 16 degrees we scampered off to breakfast early only to discover that yet again we were the last ones to arrive. Sitting by ourselves like loners we enjoyed yet another delicious breakfast at the Volcano Lodge. The coffee was FANTASTIC and their fruit is like nothing you can imagine! To our utter shock, there was blue sky and for the first time we could almost clearly see the peak of the volcano that we previously thought was a conspiracy for tourism.
We then transferred to the large bus and headed off to the Sky Tram and Sky Trek zip lining outdoor adventure zone. After harnessing up and being attached to heavy metal zip lining equipment we headed off to the gondolas and began our 12 minute ascent to the top of the tour. On our way up we learned that the lake we were so avidly taking pictures of was actually man made. It supplies over 70% of Costa Rica’s energy needs while wind turbines provide close to the other 30%. Once at the top we enjoyed delicious strawberry smoothies before learning how to properly descend the mountain. In order to complete the excursion we had to learn how to get into the correct position which required leaning back into the fetal position so that you had enough speed to make it across the valleys. Although many of us were petrified to take the leap of faith off the ledge we put those fears on the back-burner as we were more concerned about escaping the swarm of beetles that seemed to stalk our delegation down the lines. The zip line trail consisted of 8 lines, two of which were practice lines. Many of the lines took over 30 seconds to cross and one was nearly a mile long and took us at speeds that topped 30 mph. One trail was over 550 feet in the air! The views were breathtaking and nothing you can ever imagine unless you have personally zip lined down yourself!

After we completed the ride down we ate lunch and were fortunate enough to see multiple howler monkeys hanging out and playing in the trees. Our guide Fernando, who is totally awesome, made calls to the monkeys which were thoroughly entertaining. We then got onto the bus and headed out for our hike near the Arenal Volcano. We sat at a lookout point and listened to hear the rocks that fell from the volcano. While some of us were eager to collect volcanic rocks, many of us were tired and enjoyed the relaxing view. Unfortunately and unexpectedly a fierce rain storm blew in and drenched all hope we had to go on our hike.

Unable to begin our hike in the typhoon style rain we headed off to LaFortuna for a shopping extravaganza. After an hour and a half of shopping we returned to the hotel and met with our small groups to continue our discussions about our sustainability projects. Each group met for an hour and discussed and fine-tuned their projects with the readily available assistance of our gracious leaders! During our free time before dinner many of us went down to the river to play in the water and climb on the rocks. Elliot and Daniel, the monkeys that they are, crossed the river and explored a cave that in reality was a four foot hole in the side of the bank wall. Many stayed near the shore while others watched a waterfall.
We went out to dinner for the first time tonight outside our hotel and everyone dressed for the occasion. Instead of our regular baggy t-shirts and shorts, we wore our “fancy clothes” and dined on delicious steak decorated with a carved cucumber and melon ball. Many delegates ordered (non-alcoholic) pina coladas which were presented in whole pineapples! While we dined, a man played a metal xylophone. During dessert one of the waitresses even grabbed David to dance to the music --which was totally adorable and cute.

After a long day of sun and rain we were relieved to see a crystal clear sky with millions of beautiful stars lighting the sky! Although we couldn’t see the lava flow from the volcano its eerie black silhouette still made a powerful statement. Though we hit some sour notes, and I’m not talking about the star fruit, the day was an overwhelming success! Our experiences here have truly been life changing and they will stay with us forever.

GYFHC Delegates, Katie Pearson and Alice Whitten