We weren't dry once

Day 2:

Day two was the Costa Rica day in my opinion. It involved zip-lining, hiking through a rainforest and we weren't dry once. 

The day started with our zip-lining tour, just inside Arenal forest. We did 13 zip-lines total and the "Tarzan swing". Each zip-line got longer and longer, with the longest at 1400 feet. We got drenched on our way up to the first one but after a few it cleared up enough to see some of La Fortuna while cruising through the beautiful rainforest. The Tarzan swing was a whole other beast on its own. It drops you 114 feet straight down and then swings you up the other side. Charles was the first of our group to go and we didn't realize he was going until we heard a genuinely terrified "OH SHIT" as he dropped down towards the concrete pad and then swung back up into be trees. All the guides were so kind and encouraging, I'd been zip-lining before but this was a whole different experience. 

Top: our whole group

Left: Alisha 

Center: Laura doing Tarzan swing 

Right: Mike 

After zip-lining we came back to the hostel to enjoy some fresh fruit smoothies and relax a bit before the afternoon hike. Charles, Laura and I went into the town to buy a journal from one of the local shops and lunch fixings from the supermarket. When we got back to the hostel it took a while to convince ourselves to brave the rain for the hike and it was definitely worth it. 

The hike we did was about 6 km up Cerra Chato, an inactive volcano, and then down to the lake inside. On a clear day you would be able to see all the way across the lake to the rim of the volcano on the other side and the lake would be a brilliant teal. Unfortunately it was either raining or we were in a cloud the entire time. The rain did not by any means take away from the beauty of the rainforest all around us, and it made for five or six pretty hilarious mudslide falls.

Hiking up to Cerra Chato

Walking stick buddies! 

It took a while to get the all the mud off but when we finally did we grabbed some drinks at the Lava Lounge, a bar and grill. The sangria was great, but one look at the menu and it was nothing compared to the place we'd eaten the night before, so we went back there. This time it was packed full of locals and we felt confident in our decision to go back there. We weren't disappointed.

 "Quando esta in Costa Rica, hace como los Ticos". (our rough translation of "When in Rome...")

I've been overall very impressed with the Costa Rican people, "Ticos". Everyone is so helpful and excited. Even in a tiny touristy town they are not pushy or seem to have any ulterior motive, just genuine. They are patient with my poor high school Spanish/mixed with Italian, and some even speak it back to me, despite the fact that they're fluent in English.