This place just keeps getting better and better. Classes this week were intense. In Tropical Marine Biology we presented and discussed the different ecosystems around Costa Rica (I talked about the Thermal Dome its really cool look it up). Jorge's classes were pretty similar in the sense that we discussed how inequality and systemic barriers are truly what make it almost impossible to effectively live a "green" lifestyle. (look at the US for being built car-centric) It's also interesting to note that Corporations can be defined as citizens in the US, meaning suing them is incredibly difficult. But anyways. Classes are challenging. But only in the sense that I need to both have opinions and facts readily in my brain while we debate things.
The weekend is what y'all want to hear about anyways. And BOY HOWDY. What a weekend. It's been the most packed so far, and I'm exhausted. We headed out to La Fortuna at the base of Arenal Volcano. I was with the early group so I got up at 4 am for the 5:30 am bus. The public transport in CR is beautifully chaotic. And I got to see the sunrise as we careened around small mountain roads. I also got a bangin pineapple empanada from a stand by the bus stop so that was a pretty good breakfast. But we got there really early, and we of course went hiking.
It was incredible. We saw monkeys in the jungle and crazy types of birds. Arenal National Park is relatively small, but it was breathtaking. Seeing the volcano in the distance and the strange, vibrant trees made the whole experience feel like the opening of some adventure story. Which, I suppose this whole study abroad thing is. But yeah. And we hiked around an old lava flow. The rocks were so cool. Most were burnt black and very porous. It's wild to think that it used to be molten lava. That evening, we hit up a local swimming hole that had a rope swing. We didn't do much there that night, but we went back.
The hostel I stayed at was super interesting too. On the first night we met this girl named Mia (idk how its actually spelled), and she was from Denmark. Apparently its normal for kids to take gap year(s) in Europe and see the world. She was traveling through Central America. The hostel had really chill vibes all around. We could hang out in hammocks in the central area, and there was a kitchen we hung out in the second night. The place also had some delicious complementary breakfast (pinto Gallo and eggs).
But anyways. The second day (Saturday) was jam packed. Mia tagged along with us (the most important people in 'us' are Meleah, Caleb, Jenna, Grace, and Jeff.) back to the swimming hole. We swung on the rope swing so much. And Caleb and I jumped from the rock/ cliffs around the pool. We had to grab a pretty quick lunch afterwards. But lunch was great. We had Mexican food, and the spice flavors are so different, I didn't realized I missed it.
The afternoon/ evening of Saturday was spent on a jungle tour. We got picked up from our hostel by this dude Carlos, and Carlos was a great dude. He took us to a different, smaller, volcano area and showed us around the jungles there. We saw sloths and these raccoon-type animals all over the trails. He had us climb this ridiculously rickety tower to go above the canopy. That thing was SWAYING and shaking the whole time. But the views were incredible! That really must be how birds see the world. We then went around the trails to a waterfall to swim under. There was this crazy plant on the side of the trail that the indigenous people used as face/ war paint. So we face painted each other. Carlos was also so knowledgeable about the plants and animals, it was informative as heck.
We finally got to this enormous waterfall. And there was a TARANTULA HAWK next to the trail. That bug apparently has the second most painful bite. I said "nope" and kept far away from it. But the waterfall man! I swam around and under the whole thing. The water was freezing, but I was so hopped up on adrenaline it didn't even matter. Going under the falls was a religious experience. The thundering sound of the water and the cascade hitting your face was insane. Its unfortunate I didn't bring Chacos, so I had to hike back in wet boots.
We ended the tour at a hot spring. The temperature difference between the waterfall and the hot spring was intense. My body was on a rollercoaster. But it was SO relaxing. I haven't had a warm shower or warm water really since I've gotten here. So the hot water was amazing. We also got a tiny tiny cup of a complementary cocktail (which is hilarious because I think they just gave us sprite).
Once we got dropped at the hostel, my little group struck out to get dinner. We were starving. We ended up at the hostel receptionist's recommendation. It was a pretty fancy looking restaurant near downtown. After we got to go see live music at the Lava Lounge. The singer was really fun, and he had some Swedish girls in the front of the restaurant dancing and swooning over him haha. After all that we just got to hang out at the Hostel. Side note here, the beds at the hostel were COMFY. But yeah.
We didn't rush or anything today (Sunday). So me and Erin Walker moseyed around La Fortuna into different shops. We had some great smoothies at this little restaurant we found in a back alley. Down that same alley we went into this crazy artisan shop. The lady was really nice though. She talked a lot. About everything. But she spoke slowly and I actually understood! I got a pretty funky looking knife for my collection. Its got a snake on it.
So yeah. Short week. Long weekend. I'm live laugh loving life.
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