This morning we left La Fortuna for a white water rafting trip down the Sarapiqui River and then back to San Jose for the start of the Habitat portion of the trip.
The morning started with smoothies and coffee from the hostel before heading out to the river. We were on a trip with the same company as the zip-lining and they did a fantastic job taking care of everything for the 36 people on the trip. Just like the zip-lining, White Water rafting was something I'd done before but doing it in Costa Rica was a completely new experience. The whole trip was about 10 miles over 2.5 hrs down Class III and IV rapids on the Sarapiqui River. We were lucky enough to get the sun out for most of the rafting portion of the trip but we were definitely not dry. These were not just float down a river rapids, these were intense and constant for most of the length that we paddled. During the few slower sections you had to remind yourself to look around at the beautiful surroundings. About halfway down we stopped for a pineapple and watermelon snack and were able to jump off 15-ft cliff into the river. Our rafting guide, Antonio, had literally grown up on this river and had about 20 years of guiding experience. At the end of every rapid he had us put our paddles in the air and yell "PURA VIDA!", or pure life, good life. The trip included a typical Costa Rican lunch at the end, Casado, essentially a rice and beans dish with some meat or fish on the side. The running joke about Costa Rican food seems to be that it's always rice and beans, sometimes they mix it up and go with beans and rice.
The rafting tour company had then arranged our transport back to San Jose in a private car, which was a huge improvement from the crowded bus. Our driver, Christian, probably would have talked to us the entire 2 hours if we hadn't fallen asleep. He had so much to share with us about the country, the history and the culture. He was excited to answer any questions we had about anything from the climate to their healthcare system.
We arrived at the Marriott hotel near the airport in San Jose and were enthusiastically greeted by Habitat Costa Rica Staff. Our guide for the week is Wadel, or Woody. He seems to have a ton of energy and stories, and couldn't say enough times how excited he was for the week. We had our welcome dinner with the other team that will be down here this week. They are an open Global Village trip of about 12 people from all over the US. At the Welcome dinner we also had the opportunity to meet more of the Habitat for Humanity Costa Rica staff, including their Development Resource Coordinator, Global Village Coordinator and a couple other guides. After dinner they gave us a brief presentation on poverty in Costa Rica (52% of their population is living in substandard or overcrowded housing, including 1.1 million people, about 1/4 of the population living in extreme poverty), the work that Habitat Costa Rica is doing in the country (both New Construction and Home Improvement projects) and the Habitat Costa Rica partner families (families are selected by the government for a home). Everyone on our team, the other team, the Habitat staff members were so excited to be in this room and ready to start the week. It was the kind of contagious Habitat energy, excitement, and passion that I've only ever felt before on Habitat trips. It's impossible to describe, but it's the reason I do these trips over and over again and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon.
I'm pretty sure the direct translation of "Cheers" in Spanish is "Salud" but everyone here also loves "Pura Vida" and after the 3 days I've spent here so far I can see why.
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