We had to be up very early this morning in order to get to the hiking trail. We took an hour or so drive before we met up with Dr. Gonzalez’s son who took us on the hike among some of his coworkers. His son started Cartuanis, a hiking excursion company that takes people on hikes where other tourists would not be able to go freely. This hike was insane, the way down felt like there was not a trial and we were climbing down a mountain. It was one of the craziest things I have ever done in my life. When we got to the bottom there was a waterfall you could swim to, the water was absolutely freezing but totally worth it. Santi, Guillermo, Fatima, and I swam in the river fairly close to the waterfall and stayed there for some time. I do not know if I will be able to experience anything like that again. When we were done swimming in the waterfall we hiked down the trail a little further to river pools where Santi and Guillermo jumped in multiple times. I was not going to jump in because the water was too cold and I was already dry by that time. The hike up was incredibly hard and I had to take many breaks, I did not want to be left behind from the group so I kept a rather strong pace and made it out much faster than I thought. This hike was one of the most extraordinary activities I have ever done and probably will ever do in the next five years. I would highly recommend to others to hire Cartuanis and take that hike. This was the final thing that we did together before we parted ways at the airport. Definitely a bitter-sweet moment. 

When we got to San Jose we went straight to Dr. Quesda’s house to present our company’s sustainability efforts. It was interesting to learn about the different companies and what they do to be sustainable such as recycling plastic bottles and turning them into desk chairs and desks for schools. After the presentations, we went to the strip mall to have dinner where Fatima and I shared some Chinese food. We all went back to the Airbnb and went to bed early knowing that we had a big hike the next day.

Today we went on another hike this time to a volcano. A tour guide picked us up at the hotel and we went to go and get other tourists who joined us on the hike. To get to this one couple we had to go up this incredibly steep, practically a one-way road to get to their reception area, I could not believe the bus made it. When we go to the area to hike our tour guide stopped every five seconds to show us bugs and vegetation. It was cool to learn about the nature and wildlife around us but stopping so often became slightly annoying. After the first ¼ mile, we were able to go off on our own where Santi, Guillermo, Fatima, Lauren, and I were able to go at our own pace which was much faster than the rest of the group. I enjoyed being able to see the Arenal volcano, it was huge and daunting even though it is not active. After the hike, we drive back down to San Jose to spend the rest of our trip. 

We went to Visa, a family-run pineapple company where we learned about their processes and other fruits and root vegetables they sell. I was able to try a rambutan today and it was so good, I think it is one of the craziest fruits I have eaten as the outside is bright red, hairy, and waxy to the touch. It tastes very similar to a grape but it has a big pit in the middle that you have to eat around. During the tour, it was very clear that it is a well ran, clean facility as we were instructed to not wear jewelry, wear hair nets, and wash our shoes before we entered the warehouse. This company has incredibly high standards to meet in order to maintain and receive certificates including one from the FDA. This was one of my favorite business tours and I will look forward to looking for their products in the US. Later that day we worked on our presentations about different Costa Rican companies and their sustainability efforts.

Today we went on the hanging bridges, the views were absolutely breathtaking and you could see all through the valley. There were 8 hanging bridges we went on and some of them were very long, it was a little nerve-racking feeling the bridges swing. When we were all walking on the bridges together the bridges would swing pretty aggressively because we were all walking haphazardly which did not help to keep the bridge steady. Unfortunately, we did not see any wildlife when we were there, it started to rain on us, and did not want to be on metal bridges in case of lightning. Later that night we went to Baldi thermal hot springs and spa, this was an insane experience where there were thermal pools everywhere all ranging in temperature. There was a slide there that is notorious for giving people concussions, thankfully none of us went on it but I could only imagine what that would be like. After the thermal pools, we had dinner there and came back to the hotel, and went to bed super early.

This morning we went on a zipline and horseback riding tour. In total, we went on 12 canopy ziplines which had some of the most beautiful views, one overlooked the Fortuna waterfall. During one of the longest lines, I got stuck close to the top and had to drag myself back to the landing. After that, the girls had to be escorted by guides to the next line so we did not get stuck. After the 12 zip lines, we went back on horses, my horse was slow and wanted to take his time where others were able to trot. It was cool to see the country from a different view and to be able to ride horses, something I have not done in a long time. After the Ziplines we went back to the hotel to gather our dirty laundry and take it to a small local laundromat. We went to lunch at this trendy cocktail bar that took forever but the food was absolutely delicious. I have yet to have a bad meal here in Costa Rica. Santiago, Guillermo, Laure, Fatima and I went back to the Fortuna Waterfall this time we took our water shoes and waded into the water. The boys went all the way into the water and started to splash us, the water was freezing. Later tonight we are going to the thermal hot springs and then had a cookout at the hotel.

Today we were up bright and early to go on a white water rafting tour. This made me very nervous as I do not enjoy river activities and the rapids are very intimidating. Thankfully no one fell out and we had the best guide. Along the river, we listened to the howler monkeys and saw a sloth and some tucans. At three we are going to go on a waterfall hike which will be beautiful. The waterfall hike was very short, only 600 meters long but it was all steps going down, 500 steps to be exact. My calves were burning halfway back up the hike but the waterfall was absolutely beautiful.

We drove to Fortuna today, barely making the drive up here. Along the way, we stopped at a beautiful look-out point where we could see most of Lake Arenal. When we arrived at the hotel we relaxed for a few minutes and then went out to dinner, I got the fajitas and they only gave me one tortilla for the whole plate. Still, it was absolutely delicious. After dinner we collectively decided we needed a night in to reset and relax, we all went to bed around 9 pm.

When we arrived in Tamarindo the hotel was not ready for us to check in since we arrived at 11 am. We went and grabbed lunch in a mercadito which was a collection of many different restaurants in one area. It was super cute and the food was really good. I had an arepa for the first time, something similar to a pita filled with chicken avocado, and plantain. Fatima and I went and walked around the town and looked in all of the cute shops, she ended up buying a really cute top. I was skeptical that the waves were not going to be very good to surf on as in the morning the water was very calm. When we met back up with the group and went to the beach to go surfing, Fatima and I stayed on the beach as the waves and current were too strong, a complete 180 from this morning. Santiago lasted about 10 minutes battling the waves and Lauren almost ended up in the connecting river due to the current. We went back to the hotel and sat in the pool for a little while then went to our rooms that were finally ready. We all wanted to shower but quickly realized that we did not have towels and the front desk did not know when we were going to get them. We were finally able to get towels and take a shower, I was the only one who could figure out the hot water thankfully. The cold showers were really getting to me. We all went to dinner and then came back to the hotel as we had a very long drive the next day to La Fortuna.

Today we went on the catamaran, when we first anchored down we swam to the shore and found a cave that you could walk through. We didn’t walk through the cave but right next to it was a steep trail that we all went up. When we reached the top it was one of the best beach scenes I have seen so far on the trip. We had an entire panoramic view of the ocean. After we swam back to the boat Fatima and I jumped off of the side and front about 10 times, it was so much fun. Later that night we went back to playa del coco to experience the nightlife, we stayed at one bar the entire time. It was a great experience to be able to spend time together as a group and experience the nightlife in Costa Rica. During our walk, we were able to see a gorgeous sunset, one of the best I have seen in my life.