Day 5 (September 14): Spa

      
     On the last day in La Fortuna, the girls and boys spent most of their time apart. The ladies first awoke at 7:00 AM to go to the spa, but the boys decided to sleep in for another hour. After waking up at 8:20 AM, the boys went to find the girls, but got distracted by the buffet, the Tres Cascadas. Twenty minutes later, Hannah, Kerri, and Amber found us destroying the Tres Cascadas. They joined us, and we had a full-service gourmet buffet. We all finished eating at 10:00 AM. Kerri wanted to leave earlier, but we insisted on staying until the buffet closed. Vlad and I ate so much food that a crowd formed around us, cheering us on. The manager joined the crowd, but deep in his heart he knew we were going to eat everything on the buffet; he was going to lose a lot of money. Once they had their share, the girls went back to the spa for their facials, massages, manicures, and pedicures. Vlad and I went to hang out in the game lounge. After regaining our strenth, we decided to have a cocktail and head back to the lunch buffet. The girls met back up with us in the buffet at 12:00 PM.
     An hour later, we were all done eating and had begun to pack up our things in order to move on to the next hotel the following morning. Everyone was dealing with the packing well; however, Vlad claimed all of the moving was bringing intense displeasure to his life.

-Bennie

Day 4 (September 13): Exploring the Waterfall



La Fortuna Waterfall



     After the fun anemities that we were provided at the spa and also yesterday's wonderful white water rafting trip, we were ready for some more action. Bennie and I slept very well, but it was somewhat distracting hearing the ladies and their drama in the next room.  We awoke the next day and ate at a local cafe; the Costa Rican cuisine was rather spicy and enjoyable. We had tortillas along with frescos, the local healthy fruit smoothies made with milk. The breakfast was bueno!
     We decided that we would take a trip to the famed La Fortuna waterfall.  The waterfall is located about 6 km from the center of the city, so we took a taxi on an unpaved road.  The hike down to the waterfall is a short but tiring one. It takes about twenty minutes to go up (it took Bennie thirty minutes!). It took us about 10 minutes to go back down to restart.  The La Fortuna Waterfall offered a gorgeous view. There is a seventy meter ribbon of water falling into a great swimming hole, surrounded by lush tropical forest, which is protected by the local conservation project.  The water is a greenish-blue, so we were blown away by everything. Even though we were tired, it was well worth every single drop of sweat. All of us enjoyed the fun. After a brief swim in the pool, we took a taxi back to our hotel. Once we washed up, we decided to visit the local restaurant El Novillo del Arenal where we again enjoyed some Costa Rican food. Gallo Pinto is the basis of all foods but unlike breakfast, it is not really served with eggs. The ladies decides to have some paties mini pies of spicy meat and Bennie and I devoured Cerviche, which is fish cooked with lime and served with fried plantains. We ate our food, chilled at the hotel for a while, and went to sleep. We were ready for tommorow's adventures.
 - Vlad



Ceviche, some of the  local cuisine of Costa Rica



Day 3 (September 12): White Water Rafting

 

     We left the hotel around 9:00 AM the next day with one thing on our minds: white water rafting. After yesterday's exciting ziplining adventure, we were hungry for more. Amber, Kerri, and I were a little concerned, as the weather was foggy and full of intense rain (we were later told that it rained 5 inches that day). An hour later, we found ourselves standing on the edge of the Rio Toro River ready to go with our paddles and life jackets. We then met our friendly tour guide named Jorge, who brought out a six person, blue raft. Before we left, Jorge taught us basic first aid and safety rules. Jorge, who saw that we were concerned, comforted by us saying that the rain would just add to our fun. Everyone was delighted. Vlad, of course, wanted to sit next to Jorge at the front of the raft, while the rest of us piled into the back. The whole experience was a rush, and by far one of the craziest things I have ever done in my life! It wasn't until Amber almost fell out of the raft that we realized how cold the water really was. After almost five hours of bouncing and getting splashed, we returned to the rental cabin and said goodbye to Jorge.

     About half way through our rafting trip, we decided to take a break for a few moments to rest. We stopped and walked around the edge of the Rio Toro river, exploring just some of Costa Rica's beautiful nature. Bennie found a tiny orange frog; Jorge told us that it was a Poison Arrow Frog. Near the Poison Arrow frog was a Yigüirro, which happens to be the Costa Rican national animal. Luckily, I remembered to bring my camera and was able to take a photo of him before he flew off into the lush green forest.

     After leaving Rio Toro exhausted and shivering, all five of us went back to the Springs Resort and Spa. Kerri had been begging to try out the Treetops Grill located in the resort, so we met at the grill for dinner after we showered. The Treetops Grill overlooked a 1,000 ft waterfall, the view was stunning. You could see miles of trees located along the volcano, almost as if you were on top of a mountain. The only thing better then the view was the food. I had a seafood dish, and the shrimp was all of our favorites.


-Hannah

Day 2 (September 11): Ziplining

  We woke up this morning, ready for some action.  We all agreed that ziplining was the first thing on our list, so we went and found ziplining attractions.  We came across one called the Arenal Canopy Tour, so we decided to head that way.  As we arrived, we noticed how beautiful Costa Rica was and how this would be a great adventure.  None of us knew how to zipline, so we went on the tour.  The canopy tour had eleven cables and platforms, allowing us to explore the forest from unrivaled vantage points.  We got to enjoy views of the forest, river and volcano while racing through gorgeous, primary rainforests.  The rainforest was all wet and mush.  We saw some amazing animals in their natural habitat like the Ameiva.  It had a white stripe running down its back.  Another lizard we spotted was the bright green basilisk.  This lizard was three feet long.  Their huge crests run the length of their heads, giving them the appearance of a dinosaur. They are nicknamed "Jesus Christ lizards" because they can run across water when disturbed.  We also spotted some beautiful plant life such as the Monteverde.  This plant has adapted to absorb moisture directly from the mist in the rainforests.  Kerri enjoyed going over the river the most, as Hannah and I enjoyed the rainforest.  Bennie and Vlad enjoyed the volcano.  We all agreed that the scariest part of all of this was thinking that you were flying over Costa Rica with only ropes and other equipment.
                                          
    

After a long day of fun, we changed hotels and unpacked at Springs Resort and Spa. We took showers and then ate at Lava Lounge.  It had a beautiful view of the volcano and had some of the best food we've had so far.  Bennie and Vlad shared the Nachos Cerro Chato and Kerri, Hannah and I shared the Ensalada picada salad.  We headed back to the hotel and had a good night's sleep.

 

We took a video of a Jesus Christ Lizard.  Click on the link below to check it out!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9005492250163913372

-Amber

Day 1 (September 10): Arrival

     Today we arrived on the beautiful island of Costa Rica for a twelve day vacation! Our flight left from RDU at 6:35 this morning, and we landed in Miami 2 hours later. Once in Miami, we waited for what seemed like days for our next flight at 3:10 p.m. While waiting, we had lunch at Subway and picked up frappuccinos and coffee from Starbucks. We finally boarded the plane a few hours after lunch and arrived in Costa Rica at 3:55.

     After landing in Costa Rica, we traveled to our hotel, Mystica Lodge Retreats. The hotel is truly magnificent, and we are very excited to stay there, even if it's only for a few nights. The staff was welcoming and polite when we checked in at the front desk. We got our room keys and headed to our rooms to unpack and get settled. The rooms seem very nice and spacious, as they should be based on the price! After quickly unpacking, we took a nice walk around the hotel grounds.

 

          Costa Rica is only an hour behind Raleigh’s time zone, so thankfully, adjusting to the time change wasn’t bad. However, we all agreed that we were exhausted from getting up early and the long day spent on planes and in airports. We decided to simply relax and hang out until it was time to go to dinner.  

        

       When dinner time came around, we all agreed that we should go to a restaurant called Mystica, which is part of the Mystica Lodge Retreats. We requested a table outside, and ate our dinner overlooking the beautiful Costa Rican landscape. Bennie, Vlad, and Amber all ordered Mystica's famous thin-crust pizza, and it lived up to their high expectations. Hannah ate Anto's fish, and I ordered Fiorita's ravioli. All of the food was very good and we would like to return; however, a second trip might ultimately push us over our budget!

     We're all excited for another day tomorrow in Costa Rica!

-Kerri