Volcán Arenal

Good Morning!

The good news is that I have some internet and time to post an entry.  The bad news is that I won't be able to load any photos until I get home.  So, if you want to re-read the stories with pictures, you can on July 4th!

The past two days flew by because we were trekking non-stop through the Costa Rican rain forest.  There are so many different plants and animals here; probably a ten fold more than in Guatemala.  Everything is brightly colored or has a unique shape.  Our hotel for the past two nights was an observatory lodge directly next to the Arenal Volcano.  Every room faces the volcano and the rain forest that surrounds it.  There are no televisions here because the principal idea of the hotel is that they want you to become one with nature.  I certainly became one with nature when I had a howler monkey, a giant frog, cockroaches, spiders, snakes, scorpions and iguanas right outside my room!  So amazing!


As far as activities go, they have been plentiful.  The day before yesterday, we went to the central marked.  Latin American markets are not my favorite because they are usually laden with bugs and the meat cases are extremely unappealing. The students really enjoyed it and they got to talk to a lot of different people there.  After that, we made the three hour travel to Arenal and La Fortuna.  In La Fortuna, we went on this amazing hike in the rain forest.  The waterfall is located at the bottom of a ravine and the only way to get down there is to hike there.  There are over 500 slippery, steep and scary  steps down to the bottom of the waterfall.  As I was traveling down, I thought for sure that I was going to fall.  But, I didn't y vale la pena!  When I got to the bottom, it was like nothing I've ever seen.  It's hard to even imagine or describe the God's creation when it's as beautiful as this waterfall.  The water was turquoise and in spilling thousands of gallons per second into the river.  The best part is that you could swim in it!  Awesome!

After about an hour of swimming, the rain set in, both hard and fast.  We were soaked to the core and had to make the climb back up in the pouring rain. It may not seem like it, but that was an accomplishment!

I will have to write more tonight because it's time to hike!

Love,
C