Arenal Volcano, La Fortuna, and Monteverde Cloud Forest

This past weekend was our first excursion in Costa Rica. We travelled to two new places, La Fortuna and Monteverde. Both locations are popular tourist spots for people who are looking to emerse themselves in the natural wonders of this country. On Friday we departed from San Jose towards the small city of La Fortuna. This town sits right at the foothils of the Arenal Volcano. Arenal is the stereotypical volcano that comes to mind when one thinks of an active volcano. Originally it was thought to be just a mountain until it erupted again in the 1960´s, and now it is in the top 10 most active in the world. Arenal looks like it is out of a movie like Land Before Time, with its perfect cone shape and constant lava flow. After arriving at the hotel we promptly went to the Baldi Hot Springs, which was just like an adult water park. It uses the warmth from the earth and the volcano to heat the water of over 15 pools. The springs varied in temperature, getting hotter as you walked up the mountain, and reached up to 152 degrees F. The facility also had swim-up bars and three water slides which would most likely not be legal in the United States. After a few hours of swimming and relaxing in the water we all ate a much needed buffet dinner at the springs. Saturday was a busy day as well. We woke up early and toured a local hydro electric power plant. After about 3 painful hours there we returned and started towards La Fortuna waterfall. We were given the choice to either go there by bus or by horse, I chose the horse option. My horse was named Talía and we all rode for about 40 minutes through mostly fields and roads to the entrance of the park. To get to the waterfall we had to make a pretty intense hike, but when we got there it was definately worth it. We swam in the falls and in the river for about an hour and a half before riding our horses back to the stables. The plan after that was originally to go to Arenal National Park, but we decided not to go due to the rainy weather. Instead most of us took a drive to a local serpentarium, which contained a bunch of animals including butterflies, spiders, and lots of snakes, including one 14 ft. 300 lb boa constricter which many of us held. Though it was quite cruel, the most entertaining part was watching the zoo keeper feed the snakes live mice and chickens. During our two nights next to the Volcano, we unfortunatly were not able to see the lava flows at night because of cloud cover. I didn´t really mind, seeing it at day time was cool enough. The following morning we departed to Monteverde Cloud Forest. This is one of the most dense and ecologically diverse rainforests in Costa Rica. To get there we took a relay of Jeep-Boat-Jeep, which was supposed to be more scenic. Instead it was just an uncomfortable ride in hot, congested jeeps, instead of a cool, roomy charter bus. On sunday we took two nature hikes through the forest, one during the day and one at night. The day time tour was fun as we walked in the rainforest on suspended bridges, through hollow trees and swung on a rope swing. After this I ate probobly the best meal I have had so far at an upscale pizzaria, a nice break from rice, beans and chicken. Afterwards we embarked on the night tour which was very informational but I didn´t enjoy being eaten by bugs for two hours (I forgot to bring long pants). Both hikes yielded very little as far as animal life which led me to believe that absolutely no animals live in the rainforest other than lots of bugs. Fortunately, the following morning we took another hike where we saw lots of wildlife including beautiful birds and monkeys. It was great to finally see and learn about the rainforest that all of us have been waiting for. On Monday night, we returned to San Jose. I will update my pictures later, Pura Vida!

The Coffee Visits

In the past two days our group has visited two coffee plantations. Yesterday (Wednesday) we travelled to the province of Cartago to tour a small, organic coffee farm owned by two Americans. It was called Cafe Cristina and they grow and mill thier own special blend of gourmet beans. The tour itself wasn´t exactly thrilling, but it did offer some interesting insight in the coffee making process. After the tour we went to the most important cathedral in C.R. and had a good lunch afterwards. Here are some pictures.

Today (Thursday) we travelled to a coffee plantation called Cafe Britt, in the province of Alajuela. This was much different than the farm we saw the day before. Britt is the largest coffee company in Costa Rica and it showed in thier process of operations. The tour was given by three people who gave funny and informational monolouges and skits. After that we ate at a nice restaurant connected to the plantation and it was very good.

Pictures of the first few days...

Universidad Veritas

My house in Costa Rica

My room

What I have for lunch most days at the University

Bar El Pescadito, the local watering hole

More to come....

The First Impression

So I have been here in San Jose, Costa Rica for three days now and I can already tell it’s going to be one of the best months of my life. As a person who thoroughly enjoys world travel, this trip is truly a treat for me. I can’t wait for all of the things I will inevitably experience in the next three weeks.

We arrived on Saturday at approximately one o’clock local time (two hour difference from EST), and the weather was rainy and overcast, just as I had expected. The majority of the group was on the same flight as me, and there was a charter bus waiting to pick all of us up at the airport. When we arrived at Veritas University, my housemother was already waiting for me. Her name is Elizibeta and I soon found out that she doesn’t speak a word of english. For me this was a blessing because it provides an opportunity for me to improve on my spanish speaking abilities.  I was surprised to see how neat and clean her house was, garnished with nice wood furniture, hardwood floors, and tacky ceramic dolls. Divorced, she lives alone, but has plenty of family living next door and down the street. My roommate, Dan, arrived about two hours after I did, and he also speaks a little bit of spanish. We get along flawlessly as we use teamwork to translate conversations and get through the countless awkward situations with our Señora. My spanish has already improved significantly. Dan and I were quick to find the local, family owned bar down the street, ¨El Pescadito¨ where we soon ran into other thirsty Miami students. By the end of the second night, all 30 of us Miamians seem to be good friends. 

The next morning I awoke to a blaring sun and the sound of many strange birds. Surprising enough, waking up early isn’t too difficult for me with the birds and car horns (the Costa Ricans are crazy drivers) outside my window. Sunday, we took a bus tour around the city of San Jose, which was fun and informational. We saw all the traditional tourist sites as well as other points of interest, unfortunately I forgot my camera. The city itself is quite beautiful (at least in the mornings when it is sunny) and is filled with diverse people and activities. San Jose is, for the most part, very modern and economically prosperous, though there are some slum-like areas. Another thing I noticed was the fact that it is quite dirtier than the United States, mainly because of the litter that can be found on some streets. The area where we are living is called Zapote, a mainly residential neighborhood with lots of nice people. The ¨Ticos¨ (what the Costa Ricans call themselves) are all VERY nice and VERY laid back. They do not rush to do anything, except when driving. A guest speaker told our class today that the Ticos have two personalities, one when they are behind the wheel and another when they are not. Everyone I have met, both in and out of the university have been friendly and helpful. I look forward to meeting many more Ticos on my trip. 

So that was my first impression of Costa Rica. I have taken some good pictures which I hope to upload, once I figure out how. 

Hasta Luego and Pura Vida.