Costa Rica Day 1 & 2

It´s been a busy 2 days!

Day 1
Friday morning, we were picked up at 6 am to go white water rafting. We took a 2 1/2 hr bus ride out through the country to get to our site. It was a really beautiful drive. Costa Rica reminds me in some ways of Korea... albeit in a tropical paradise. It´s somewhat disorganized. It´s not particularly ¨wealthy.¨ Although, it´s also not that ¨poor,¨either. I wished I had a camera to take pictures of the ride, but I didn´t think it was a good idea, considering we were rafting. The adventure company took us to their remote site, where they had bathrooms, changing rooms, and an open cafeteria. Tourism has really had a huge impact on the way they do things here. It was such a nice site. The bathrooms were quite nice considering we were out in the middle of nowhere. They then served us breakfast. The traditional Costa Rican breakfast is a dish called Gallo Pinto, which is essentially just rice and beans. Before I got here, I wasn´t sure how I would do with Rice and Beans every day in the morning. Well, I´m not worried about that anymore. It was delicious. They served them with scrambled eggs and some round crispy toast. We also had this Costa Rican salsa called Lizano Salsa. It´s a secret family recipe for a salsa verde, that is not too hot, a little bit sweet, and oh so amazing. I put that on my food and was in heaven. I could drink that stuff out of the bottle. The real treat though is the fruit here. The fruit is so freakin´good that I am already sad that I won´t get to eat it in the States. Because the fruit is so good, they make some unbelievable juices. So in addition to our Gallo Pinto, we had pineapple, mango, papaya juice blend. It was so good that I drank like 3 glasses. We also had fresh cut pineapple, watermelon, and of course, Costa Rican coffee. I was so happy at the end of my meal that I could have cried. All of this while sitting in a lush tropical paradise.

We then embarked on our trip. I haven´t been rafting in over 20 years. It was on the New River in West Virginia, and it was also for a graduation! The rafting here was amazing. I got to sit up front, which ensured maximum splash factor. We had rapids up to Class IV´s. And the guide was really cool. Actually, all the guides were really great. The weather was unbelievable. It was mostly sunny with intermittent clouds. So, we got some sun without getting burnt. The scenery was unbelievable. It´s such a beautiful country.

Along the way, we stopped at one of their camping sites and had lunch. We made our own burritos, which was very good. We had tamarind juice to drink. Tamarind is a type of vine. I´m not sure how they get juice from the tamarind, but it has a tea like taste and is REALLY refreshing. I had 3 glasses of that. We then had pineapple and watermelon again. After the cut chunks were gone, I actually grabbed the rind and was grating the remaining fruit with my teeth while I was sucking up the juice. After about 5 minutes of this, I realized I was eating like some rabid dog and turned around so no one else could see. Notice, I did not stop out of shame... simply hid.

At the end of the trip, we were headed back and saw a horrific accident on the mountain road. Driving in Costa Rica is kind of a risky proposition. It´s even worse in the mountains. It´s even worse when it rains. We had dinner that night with one of the staff members here. It was a mexican resaurant. The food was pretty good. Not dramatically good. To drink, I had melon juice and then mango juice. I´m in love with the juice. I went to sleep at 9. I was exhausted. I had had very little sleep the past week. It was a good night to crash.

Day 2
Woke up at 6:30. Felt like I had been beaten in the face. It´s been a while since I´ve been this tired. But, I woke up happy, because it was another day in Costa Rica. We had Gallo Pinto for breakfast. Not as good as the day before. No fresh fruit. BUT, we had some strawberry juice. I really like strawberry juice. I had 2 glasses. Also 2 cups of Costa Rican coffee. Mucho contento. We then got picked up at 8 to go to several locations. I brought the Alpha this time and had a blast taking pictures of San Jose and Alajuala on the way to the Poas Volcano. It was a gorgeous drive... and I loved feeling the air get cooler as we drove. Once we got there, we took a small hike to the volcano. It's an active crater and we were really lucky because the weather was beautiful. We got to see the crater in its entirety and the sweet smell of sulfur. Hahahaha... After that, we took a somewhat intense hike up the mountain a bit further to get to a spot overlooking the lagoon. The lagoon was formed from the remains of an old crater as rain filled it in. It's still too acidic for much wildlife to grow, so it's this beautiful blue lagoon with nothing around it but some grass. It was really breathtaking. We walked back down to the visitor's center, but took a trail through the cloud forest. The flora here is pretty amazing. A lot of ferns and a lot of the epiphytes, which are a plant that doesn't really require soil in order to grow. So, they end up growing from every imaginable spot. Mostly in the nooks of trees and such.

We left the volcano to go to the Doka Estates Coffee plantation. I wasn't that excited to go there... but I have to say... it was amazing. The plantation itself is gorgeous and it's really well put together. We started off with a welcome drink from the plantation. It was a mocha frappucino made with all local ingredients. I could have had a gallon of it. We then stepped into the butterfly reserve. It was pretty cool. After the reserve, came lunch! We started with a small salad and then had a traditional Costa Rican lunch. We had rice, pinto beans, a potato mixture, stewed beef, and stewed chicken with a grilled tortilla. The dish itself was delicious... but then they brought around... some Salsa Lizano!!!! I freakin' love that stuff. I could have a gallon of that, too. But instead, I washed down the meal with some Sour Sap Juice, which is not sour at all. It is deliciously sweet, kind of coconuty, very, very refreshing. For dessert, we had a coconut flan with a sampler of costa rican coffees. I liked the peaberry blend the best!

The tour of the plantation was quite nice. I learned a lot about coffee. It was just a really laid back and beautiful way to spend the afternoon. Once we got back to the guesthouse, we sat around and watched tv... and then went to dinner at a local peruvian place. I had a Guanava juice... I had no idea what it was... it was also milky and sweet with a bit of tart. Also... very good. Seriously... the juices here are really amazing. I then had a whole fried sea bass with salad and fries. It was... so simple... and so delicious.

I haven't had a chance to go exploring a lot on my own yet. We've made a few excursions to Pali. Pali is a grocery store that is somewhat of a chain here... and it is owned by... Walmart... dun dun dun... the evil empire is everywhere. But in the store, I've already gotten excited about the different snacks and different food options. I'm really hoping to get some good street food once I get to Dominical. Dominical is my next destination. It's about a 4 hour trip from San Jose. It's a local beach town that is apparently very non-touristy with amazing surf beaches and great wildlife. I've taken a ton of picture already and I'm excited with what I've got so far. I can't wait to see what's coming. I have a 2 sisters that are going to the same location, so that should take some of the edge off of travelling 4 hours. We're going to try to look for a bakery in the a.m.

It's only been 2 days and I'm already so glad I came. I am pretty sure I am not going to want to leave.

I don't know what my internet situation will be starting tomorrow... but I will try to update again. Until then! Pura Vida!