Friday: We arrived in La Fortuna at about 3 p.m. and immediately decided to go ziplining, which of course is what everyone thinks of when they think of Costa Rica. If I had thought about it more, I probably would have been scared and nervous, but I didn't think; I just went with it. I was actually incredibly bad at it initially. You have to hold the zipline with your right hand (in a glove) and kinda let it slide. Well I panicked when I was going too fast and pulled down too hard on the first 3 zip lines. On one, a guide had to come out and pull me back in. I got yelled at a little bit there... But after about the 5th zip line, I got the hang of it and was able to look down at the rainforest below me. There are no words to describe it... just perfection, pure unaltered beauty. Then we did the Tarzan Swing, which is basically bungee jumping, but you hold onto the rope like a swing. I was initially excited, then really scared, then I just took the plunge! You literally have to step off a platform and just trust the rope. It was, in a word, AWESOME. I would totally do that again. And then they gave us a free beer at the end :)
Saturday: The whole group went horseback riding to the waterfall. I cannot remember the last time I went horseback riding, or if I ever have been horseback riding to be honest. I was a little nervous at first, but I got the hang of it quickly and was very relaxed. It was nice to just trot through the mountains and farms. Then things turned ugly. Oh about halfway up the mountain, our horses were in a small stream area. The horse in front of me suddenly became spooked or upset or something and reared its back leg and kicked me right in the shin! My first reaction was, wtf just happened? Then I screamed, "HOLY SHIT!" Then everyone in the group stopped and started to ask if I was ok, and I couldn't get any words out because I was in so much pain. The guide immediately rode his horse up from the back of the group to help me out, and by then I was a blubbering mess. He felt so bad. Luckily, I had made a game time decision that morning to change out of shorts and into jeans, so there was no horseshoe to skin contact. This reminds me of Zoolander: Derek's Dad: "Derek, what do we do when we fall off a horse?" Zoolander: "Fall off a horse....?" Dad: "We get back on!!!" So I got back on the horse. The guide kept telling me I was so brave to keep riding, but I really didn't see another option - I mean, I was already halfway up a mountain!
After that drama, we made it to the waterfall, which was, in another word, breathtaking. There are some moments in my life that stand out to me as moments where I felt truly alive. They are, in no order: the Sydney Opera House, Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, being with the prison kids in Peru. And now, seeing this waterfall in Costa Rica. The pictures truly don't do it justice. It's just so beautiful. We went swimming at the base of the waterfall, which was really cold, but awesome.
Saturday night, we went to hot springs, which were not natural, but were actually a bunch of hot pools with swim-up bars. Not a bad Saturday night.
Sunday: Today five of us went on a safari. Like a real, actual animal safari. We went in hoping to see a sloth and monkeys, but not really expecting anything. Our guide was awesome. We drove 2 hours to get to the river, and on the way, we stopped a bunch of times to look at things. We would be driving, and he would be like, "Sloth! In the tree!" Then we would pull over. He was like a vulture or something, seeing everything! On the river, we saw monkeys within about 10 minutes. Seriously. Monkeys in their natural habitats, swinging from trees and everything! It was unreal. We actually saw so many monkeys on the safari that it became normal by the end of the trip. We also saw a couple sloths, iguanas, crocodiles, the Jesus Christ lizard, toucans, and lots of other birds. It was so, so cool. It felt like I wasn't living my life, like I was in someone else's magical life.
So now it is Sunday night, and I'm paying for this weekend. Of course, I have a gash on my leg from the horse attack. I also have rope burn on my arm from ziplining. And my right arm is soooooo sore from pulling down too hard on the zipline. I think I strained a muscle, that's how much it hurts. I can barely lift things. Basically my body is one big mess of injuries right now. But it was all worth it for this fantastic weekend :)
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