Costa Rica: Spanish Program

Entry 2: 6/18/11

This past weekend we went to Puerto Viejo which is located on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. It was a very fun and educational experience at the same time because the culture is so different on the Caribbean side in comparison to the Pacific side. I was so amazed at how beautiful the beach was, it almost did not seem real. The water was crystal clear, and for the first time in my life I was able to see my feet at the bottom!
The weekend was laid back filled with relaxation from all of our hard work during the week at the institute. We also visited many of the local stores and vendors and made some unique purchases. We also discovered a small local place called “Bread and Chocolate” which is definitely Puerto Viejo’s best kept secret. When visiting Puerto Viejo one must stop by and grab some dessert or their delicious pancakes! Also another great part of the trip was having the opportunity to try actual Caribbean food. We decided to eat at a local café and the good was so delicious! I was enjoying the area and culture so much that I did not want to leave!
                                                   

Entry 1
Today we began our adventure at Pozo Azul!  Pozo Azul is located near Sarapiqui and has surrounding forest and rivers. The first activity that I did this morning was zip-lining through the canopy of the forest! Zip-lining allows a person to have a bird’s eye view of the forest. The last zip-line was my favorite because it was the longest and I was able to zip-line over the river! The next activity I participated in was rappelling. I was especially excited and nervous for this activity. I have seen many pictures of people rappelling and I was ready to try it for myself. As soon as we got to the top and ready to rappel down I was suddenly terrified, luckily I was great friends who were encouraging and supportive. We were able to rappel down three times! Our final activity of the day was rafting. I have also never been rafting before but I have heard great things about it! Our guide for rafting gave us the commands of what we needed to do in order to avoid rocks and remain in the boat. He was such an awesome guide that none of us fell out of the boat. We rafted through class II, III and IV rapids of Costa Rica, and randomly discovered that the Rafting World Cup was being hosted where we were at! This weekend has been the highlight of my trip to Costa Rica; I was having so much fun I did not want to leave! Not only did this weekend promote teamwork for a variety of activities, but some of the girls were also able to conquer their fear of heights and water. It has been really fun to interact with the guides and learn about culture as well as the biodiversity Costa Rica has to offer. Pura Vida!