I have to share Logans teachers account of day 5 in Costa Rica. AMAZING! We started off the day with a community service project to plant trees with the Parque Eco (something). We learned about the importance of the over story canopy to the rain forest ecosystem, why we need to reforest the Costa Rican cloud forest area, and the role of these trees in the greater ecosystem. Their motto was, you are planting trees to provide us with oxygen tomorrow. After we planted several trees we engaged the students and helping volunteers in a 5 minute soccer match. Im happy to report, that like the Costa Rica vs UK match today, we tied our little match. Then, we set off to the top of the hill for our real adventures. We spent the rest of the day in a state of adrenaline fueled bliss. We set off on a horseback ride through the Monteverde hills, exploring the rural landscape via the back of the horse. It was one of our first opportunities to really see where people live, and see it in a human scale. We rode slowly through the farms and saw the small family places. There was Sun (morning) there was rain (afternoon) and there were smiles all around. Our other activity was even more jaw dropping and awe inspiring. We took a canopy tour via zip lines. The tour was incredible. We rode down a series of 10 zip line cables. The cable diggings were amazing. We rode through the over story of the trees, seeing the trees from a monkey eyed view. But then, the challenge got more intriguing. We rode a zip line thousands of meters long across a valley, hundreds of feet into the sky! Ahh! It was amazing. A short hike took us to the top of the next hill. There, we were double strapped into the longest zip line in Latin America. The line travels just 33 feet less than a full mile. It traverses the whole length of the valley we were crossing. When I did it (in the afternoon) the clouds and fog had moved in, so the cable line disappeared into the fog. We couldnt see where the end was, it looked like we were disappearing into the world of the clouds. We could see the valley below us, with sheep, cows, trees and grass, as we zipped through the clouds. It was an amazing ride. Eventually, the trees materialized, as did the guides, who told us to brake, and caught us on the landing platform, to hook us to yet a third long line, back to the lodge. After our day, we headed back to the hotel. Some of us spent some brief time in the village of Santa Elena, to visit an ATM and do a little souvenir shopping. Then, nice nice dinner, and quiet evening at our spectacular lodge in the forest. Tomorrow we are off to the coast. Buenos Noches.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 04:17:59 +0000
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