White Water Rafting!

This morning, we drove down to Pacuare River, one of the most beautiful and scenic rivers in all of Costa Rica. It was about a long 90 minute drive to the river, but breakfast was included in the price! The drive there and back was also very scenic with beautiful mountian ranges to our left and right. We were all anxious to get there and go rafting. None of us have been white water rafting before, and I was nervous!



We finally got there but it took a little while for us to get our equipment together; plus, we had a novice rafting lesson. We finally got into the raft and I couldn't stand but smile. We were supposed to have three to four people in the boat, but our guide let us bend the rules. We started off, the five of us and our tour guide, in a raft floating gently down the river. It was easy at first but it got a lot harder! We all got wet a few times, but it was very fun.


We stopped about half way through, to eat a picnic lunch. They brought us sandwhiches, subs and chips, which I thought was the perfect picnic. We finished eating and took off to finish the other half of the 18 mile river!

~Nicole

History

Today, we visited the National Museum of Costa Rica. The exhibits were cool—they showed the history and science of the country—but I thought the location was the most interesting part.

The museum is located on the Bellavista Headquarters, the former headquarters of the national army. Bellavista means "beautiful view", but this beautiful location has an ugly history.

The building was started in 1917, by Federico Tinoco Granados, a tyrannical president who abused the military for oppressive purposes. Construction of the building was stopped when his regime was overthrown.

The headquarters was later finished and then used during the Costa Rican Civil War in 1948. The Civil War was a short and bloody struggle over the results of a presidential election (one side believed the election was fraudulent). Afterwards, the victorious junta government abolished the army, and the headquarters became a museum.

Although Costa Rica is a peaceful and beautiful country today, it is important to remember its bloody background.



~Nadia

Watch Our Adventures

Today, we did some souvenir shopping/ late Christmas shopping in downtown San Jose. Its a beautiful city that really puts be in the mood to spend money :-).

We went to the Mall San Pedro and Terra Mall (two large, modern malls), but my favorite spot was a local market called the Plaza de la Democracia. It was a charming shopping spot full of souvenirs, handicrafts, musical instruments, and jewelery. However, I happen to be a terrible bargainer, so my money disappeared quickly!

I also uploaded a video of our canopy tour. Check it out!

~Nadia

Eruption!

Today we got to witness an erupting volcano while relaxing in hot springs and getting massages.

We went to see Arenal Volcano.

Arenal is a volcano that has been in constant activity since the eruption in 1968. It's not active enough to be dangerous, if you keep your distance; it's just active enough to look really amazing. Still, it's pretty creepy to be so close to an erupting volcano!

Our nerves were calmed by Los Peridos springs. The name means "the lost springs", but today, they are a popular tourist destination. The volcanic activity below the surface creates natural hot tubs of warm, bubling mineral water. We also got excellent massages while we watched Arenal Explode. It was thrilling and relaxing at the same time.
-LeeAnn

Flying

Today we headed to Mahogany Park for a canopy tour. As soon as we arrived at the park, I knew it was going to be amazing. Between the massive mahoganies and other trees, the forest was filled with life, from the creatures beneath our feet to the tropical birds soaring above us. Nicole, who had done her reasearch, told me that the birds were tinamou and jabriru, but I was just excited to soar above the jungle with them.



After climbing up a platform, we were hooked to a cable. We went across the forest, and the whole world seemed to fly by. I was so terrified, I couldn't speak, but everyone else was screaming their heads off. As soon as I started to relax, we landed, and climbed up to another platforms. We did this nine times.

When we were on one of the platforms, we spotted a white faced capuchin monkey. We only saw it for a second, but it was adorable! It looked like this:

After a day of flying through the jungle, it was time to go home. We were all exausted and arguing about who would shower first, but this experience was totally worth it.

~Nadia

Futbol!

Since soccer (futbol) is the national sport of Costa Rica, we went to see Saprissa, San Jose's main soccer team. The players were pretty amazing, but the fans were insane! The stadium seemed to come alive with yelling, screaming, and sometimes fighting fans. Kerry and JoJo painted their faces purple (the team color),but the rest of us didn't want purple stains on our faces for the rest of the week.

Here is a picture of the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá (the Saprissa stadium):

It is named after the team's founder, Estadio Ricardo. The stadium seats 23,112 people and is the largest stadium in the country.

Suprima the Brujas, a team from Desamparados, Costa Rica. I honestly didn't care who won (and most of the time, I couldn't really tell who was winning), but some fans took the game really seriously.

Even though I didn't really care about the game, I was just as excited as everyone else when Suprima won. The energy running through that stadium is definitely contagious.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We're enjoying Christmas here in Costa Rica. Here, the season is all about religion and family.

To celebrate, we attended the Tobe Caballo! It's the countries largest horse parade and a good traditional way the Ticos celebrate Christmas. Horse riders bring their best horses from all over the country to downtown San Jose to participate in this parade. There were SO many horses, and it was really cool to see them cover the streets.
A carnival celebration follows this and Festival de la Luz lights up the night. It was truly beautiful.

YUM

Today we decided to get a taste of Costa Rican culture by trying some traditional local food (bad pun intended). We ate at a small, casual restaurant called Delicias de Mi Tierra. The name means "Delights of my Land," and we all agreed; the food was delightful.

I hate spicy food, so I was relieved to hear that Costa Rica has relatively mild cuisine, compared to other Latin American countries. The many of the dishes included tropical fruits and vegetables, rice and beans.

I had a traditional meal called a casado. It included rice, black beans, meat, salad, a tortillas, and fried plantains. We were given agua dulce to drink. It is a sweet beverage made out of boiled sugarcane and water.

I would recommend Delicias de Mi Tierra to any visitors in the mood for some local cuisine. The prices were very good, and although it wasn't flashy, it was definitely delicious.

I can't believe Christmas is almost here! I'm seeing nativity scenes everywhere, and I can just feel the excitement!

-Nicole

AAAAHHHHHHHH

Last night we slept great! Kerry-Ann and I couldn't believe how incredibly comfortable the pillows and sheets were!! OMG!! Nicole and Nadia liked their bed too, but LeeAnn had to sleep on the couch. I felt bad, but not bad enough to give up my comfy bed!

Since we (well . . . most of us) were well rested, we were ready for some skydiving! Skydiving is a pretty new thing in Costa Rica, but it's catching on quick, and we were ready to join in!

We had a lesson on skydiving first. It was pretty boring, but I guess it can help avoid death.

We took off from Quepos Airport, and my stomach started churning. No one said a word, as we flew over Manuel Antonio National Park. We would be jumping tandem with experienced instructors who actually know what to do. That way, we wont die from not paying attention during the lesson.

My instructor basically had to push me out of the plane, because I just couldn't jump. Falling was TERRIFYING and I just knew I was going to die. Fortunatly, I didn't, and parachuting down felt great. We landed over a beach, and we could see people staring and pointing at us; that made me smile :-).


My parter and I were the first to land. We watched the other girls land, and they had they all were wearing the same shocked smile. As scary as this adventure was, I almost want to do it again.


~Jojo :D

Plane Ride

After picking up all the girls, we headed to the airport around 1 pm so we could make our flight at 3:40pm. Our plane was Delta 1299 and boy was it crowded!

Jojo had to sit all the way in the back near the bathrooms of Coach; I felt really bad for her but I got stuck with a a 400 pound man that had WAY to many carrie-ons. At one point, I thought he would elbow me in the face when he tried to tie his shoes!

LeeAnn was stuck sitting next to a little kid who was about 5 years old, and kept crying every time he ran out of juice. She thought he was cute, but I wanted to hit him so bad!

At 5 o'clock our plane made a stop in Atlanta, Georgia; therefore, we went out to dinner. Then we went back to the airport and got a bunch of terminal food. They had giant lollipops that are the size of my head!

Nicole was so lucky; she got the best seat when we got on our next plane at 7. She got to sit next to this dreamy Austrailian guy, Lukas, who was visting South America for a photography contest. He kept taking Nicole's picture (I think he likes her)!

Nadia had a pretty normal flight, except for one incident. We hit turbulence when she was in the bathroom, and now she has a giant purple bruise on her head!

We're not supposed to land untill 10, but I can't wait!

~Kerry-Ann

Getting Ready

OMG! I can't believe we're leaving for Costa Rica TOMORROW! I've been so exited; I started packing three weeks ago! We will be staying there for Christmas and New Year. It will be AMAZING!

We each have $5000 to spend on the trip. Even though we have a lot of money, we're going with cheaper flights and hotels so that we will have tons of money left for activities and shopping.

You can find our travel itinerary and a spreadsheet of our expenses at this link:
sites.google.com/site/funwithcostaricaticos/getting-ready

A Fragrent Breakthough in Technology

Today we were walking in downtown San Jose, and we found many boutiques that were handing out free samples of different types of perfumes. Kerry-Ann really liked one scent, but instead of just buying it she asked "I wonder how they make perfume." While the other girls went outside and tried to spot the next shop of interest, I went to ask the clerk where the perfume stock was from. He told me that there was a new plant in Alajela that was run by Sensient Technologies.

Sensient is a major cooperation that provides fragrances, flavors, and colors to other major industries. We decided to visit the fragrence section of the plant. It was so much fun! In the end, we all got free samples of a new perfume before it came out to the public.

The science behind smells is really interesting. We visited the section of the plant where scientists worked with aroma chemicals. They study different chemicals and their effects on human senses (they have testers to help with that). Then, they alter and combine different chemicals to produce the desired effect. Apparently, the perfume we bought was made with a chemical called propenyl anisole; that's why it smelled so sweet!

~Jojo