Today we woke up and packed all of our things in the car and headed to Tamarindo. The drive was about an hour and a half so it was not too bad. Originally we were supposed to go to La Fortuna but we really wanted to go surfing in Tamarindo so we canceled one night at La Fortuna and stayed in Tamarindo. Once we arrived we weren’t able to check into our hotel yet so we ended up just walking around the town to find food. After we ate we were all super hot and decided to go cool off in the hotel pool which also had an amazing view of the ocean. Then we all went to the beach and I attempted to surf for the first time. The ways were huge and the entire time would crash right before I would get up on the board. At one point the current ended up taking me out pretty far but I eventually made it back to shore and was exhausted. We then all headed back to the hotel and took naps before going out for dinner. We ate dinner at this nice restaurant that was right on the beach and got to see a pretty sunset.

Today was the first day where we did not have to get up super early like the other days. We got breakfast at the resort which was actually really good. Then after breakfast, we took a walk on the beach I will admit the smell was not great but it was sunny which was nice. Then we drove into town and got some lunch at this restaurant right near the beach which happened to be right where we were meeting for the catamaran tour. I’ve never been on a catamaran so I was pleasantly surprised at how big it was. Once the catamaran got to its first destination some people were getting off to snorkel but the water was super dirty so we just swam to the beach nearby. On the beach, we found this little trail that we walked up to and got to see an amazing view over the ocean. Luckily it didn’t rain all day which is rare since it is the rainy season in Costa Rica. Finally, we got back to the resort and showered, and got ready for dinner.

Today we had to wake up super early again and had a 6-hour drive ahead of us. The first obstacle of the day was trying to fit everyone’s luggage into the van which probably took about 10 minutes. After squeezing everything in the van we piled into and started driving. During most of the drive, I worked on writing my reports about our company visits, which was nice because it was a good way to make the time in the car go by faster. After about 2 hours into the drive, we stopped at a little cafe and got some breakfast. We finally arrived at a resort in Liberia which I liked a lot because it had a pool and was right near the beach. We then walked to the beach and got food where I got the ceviche which was really good. After that, we were all pretty exhausted from the drive so we took a nap for a couple hours to rejuvenate. We then got ready for dinner and ate at this resort that was so beautiful with great service. Later that night we all decided to go swimming in the pool which was a great way to end the day.

 Today we woke up at 6am I was still exhausted from the day before but luckily we stopped and got coffee. After breakfast, we drove to our first company visit and when we arrived just across the road we saw caution tape around this store because a car had run into the side of the store. We then went on our first company visit with Procomer. I noticed their building along with others in the area were very modernized. During the presentation, it was insanely hot which made it hard to focus on what they were saying. We then had another company visit with an aerospace cluster in the same building as the last one. After that, we went and grabbed lunch and relaxed before the next meeting. The next company visit was my favorite as it was a more interactive environment to learn from. Not only was there a PowerPoint presentation but we also got a tour of their manufacturing plant and saw them in action. After this meeting, we drove back to the hotel and worked on school work and presentation videos until dinner time.

Today was the first day of the Costa Rica trip which started bright and early at 4am. I then met up with some of the group before the flight which made me less nervous about the rest of the trip because everyone seemed nice. Then we boarded the plane and I watched movies the whole flight so it went by pretty fast. Once we arrived at the airport in Costa Rica I was excited until I saw the line for customs which took over 2 hours to get through. After making it through customs we met up with the rest of the group and got our rental van for the week and headed to the hotel. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the exact directions to the hotel, we just knew it was near a church so it ended up taking us a while to find the hotel. We then went to a little pizza place right near the hotel and the food was amazing. Everyone was already immediately bonded over the events that partook at the beginning of the day and we continued to get to know each other and celebrate our first day in Costa Rica. After that, we went back to the hotel and got ready for a nice welcome dinner. They served us basically a four-course meal of some of their traditional foods in Costa Rica which all tasted delicious and the servers were very nice. With that being said though the first day was just a traveling day it was still very eventful.

Sunday, Emma, Lauren and I headed to Monteverde. In the morning, we had an orientation, briefly explaining what we would be doing, even though they didn’t explain it at all. Then, they took us to the bus stop and sent us to Monteverde. Of course, we were supposed to get here the next day, so we had no one waiting for us at the bus stop. After about an hour of trying to figure it out, Guillermo (one of the workers) came to pick us up.

On Saturday, we went on hike with Dr. G’s son’s company. He said it was going to be “easy”. It was not. First off, I was very surprised we made it up the mountain in a minivan (and Dr. G’s driving…). The hike was very tough, especially without the proper attire. Finally, we made it to the bottom, and it was all worth it. The waterfalls were gorgeous, and it made the whole hike worth it.

Early Friday morning, we went on a tour of the volcano Arenal. Also a great experience. The volcano was absolutely beautiful, and we got lucky with the weather and were able to see it clearly. Later that afternoon, we headed back to San Jose.

On Thursday, we visited a company called VISA. VISA is a company that produces and distributes pineapples. It was super interesting and the lady that gave us the tour was part owner of the company. I really enjoyed learning about their operations and the samples of fruit were delicious.

Wednesday at La Fortuna was alright. We did a hike through some sky bridges and honestly, not the best thing we could’ve done. There were maybe 5 sky bridges and honestly it wasn’t very cool. At the end of the day, we went to another hot spring, which was awesome! The place was huge, and the water slides were insane. This was definitely a great way to end the day

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