Rappeling and Tortuguero weekend trip
Friday morning I went rappeling... down a waterfall! Once again, I had to face my fear of heights (the waterfall was 60 meters t
all), and I had a lot of fun. (After bungee jumping, it really wasn't that scary) I didn't really know what to expect, but it sounded fun so I signed up and volunteered to go first from my group. As you can see from the picture, it was extremely beautiful. Operating the rope to descend was a little unnatural, but I made it down with no problem. After descending, we had to take a short hike up the mountain to get back to our car. I ran into some interesting butterflies and crazy looking caterpillars on a tree.This weekend I went to Tortuguero, a beautiful National Park located on the Carribb
ean side of the country. Getting to Tortuguero took a while because we had to take 2 buses and a boat through the canal, but the ride was relaxing and we caught some animals on the way. We also stopped at a banana plantation to learn a little about one of Costa Rica's biggest exports. Once we finally got there, I swam in the warm Carribbean ocean and walked along the the beach. We then went in to the little touristy town they have there and ate some fresh coconut. That afternoon w
e had a huge dinner, drank some coctails on the canal, and relaxed for a bit. Later that night, we went out on a turtle tour. We ended up seeing two GIANT turtles, and one of them was laying her eggs in a hole in the sand. It was unbelievable to be able to see that and get so close, we were extremely lucky. (Obviously I couldn't take any pictures because it would have been extremely disturbing for the turtles if everyone did that... but trust me, I saw them!) Much later, when nearly everyone else had gone to bed, my friend Jennifer and I went frog-hunting. She's been to Costa Rica many times so she's basically an expert. We found a bunch of frogs and geckos.
Cute little frog we found
Early Sunday morning we went on a canal tour of the rainforest. We took a small boat so we could get real close up to the animals. We saw a lot because we had an excellent tour guide with really good eyes: caimans (little crocodiles), touc ans, parrots, and other exotic birds, howler monkeys, a sloth with a baby sloth on its back, huge iguanas, and beautiful flora. I know you want some pictures, so here you go!
Anhinga, drying its wings
Cute little caiman
Green iguana
Hard to believe we did all that in less than 24 hours, and still had time to sleep! I wish we could have stayed longer, because it was definitely my favorite part of the trip so far, and there's a lot of competition!
When I got home Sunday night, Pamela and I made some chocolate-chip cookies and talked a bit. We also went out last night to a local restaurant/bar and talked for a while (her in English, me in Spanish for practice.) I'm really going to miss her! We have a lot in common and I feel very comfortable talking with her. I told her she has to come visit next summer! :)
Today Jennifer and I stopped by Walmart to explore, then went out for Chinese food- Costa Rican style. Tomorrow we're headed to San Jose' to check out some historical museums. School is still great, we have another new teacher who's incredible and time flies because our discussions are so interesting.
This past week has probably been the best week of my life. I've had so many moments where I've felt so much gratitude I've had to question whether or not what I was experiencing was reality. Traveling is incredible!
ean side of the country. Getting to Tortuguero took a while because we had to take 2 buses and a boat through the canal, but the ride was relaxing and we caught some animals on the way. We also stopped at a banana plantation to learn a little about one of Costa Rica's biggest exports. Once we finally got there, I swam in the warm Carribbean ocean and walked along the the beach. We then went in to the little touristy town they have there and ate some fresh coconut. That afternoon w
e had a huge dinner, drank some coctails on the canal, and relaxed for a bit. Later that night, we went out on a turtle tour. We ended up seeing two GIANT turtles, and one of them was laying her eggs in a hole in the sand. It was unbelievable to be able to see that and get so close, we were extremely lucky. (Obviously I couldn't take any pictures because it would have been extremely disturbing for the turtles if everyone did that... but trust me, I saw them!) Much later, when nearly everyone else had gone to bed, my friend Jennifer and I went frog-hunting. She's been to Costa Rica many times so she's basically an expert. We found a bunch of frogs and geckos.
Cute little frog we foundRed-eyed green tree frog! We took it back to our room to play with for a bit... it was ADORABLE. We also caught some mating later that night, pretty cool:
The gel sack below them is where the eggs are- in 10 days they'll be little tadpoles!
The gel sack below them is where the eggs are- in 10 days they'll be little tadpoles!
Anhinga, drying its wings
Cute little caiman
Green iguana
When I got home Sunday night, Pamela and I made some chocolate-chip cookies and talked a bit. We also went out last night to a local restaurant/bar and talked for a while (her in English, me in Spanish for practice.) I'm really going to miss her! We have a lot in common and I feel very comfortable talking with her. I told her she has to come visit next summer! :)
Today Jennifer and I stopped by Walmart to explore, then went out for Chinese food- Costa Rican style. Tomorrow we're headed to San Jose' to check out some historical museums. School is still great, we have another new teacher who's incredible and time flies because our discussions are so interesting.
This past week has probably been the best week of my life. I've had so many moments where I've felt so much gratitude I've had to question whether or not what I was experiencing was reality. Traveling is incredible!
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