Day 3:  Almost Cried 3 Times!

This morning I woke up with mixed emotions.  On one hand, it was 5AM and I was still exhausted. However, on the other, I was convinced that the chatter of monkeys outside my door was the reason for my early rise. As I raced to the door to capture one with a trail of bananas, I was shocked to find out that all the racket was being caused by some crow looking creature. Huge dissapointment.

Looking to seize the day, I teamed up with a guide to go Cannyoneering.

Canyoning (known as canyoneering in the U.S.) is traveling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include other outdoor activities such as walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling, and/or swimming.

This quickly turned into one of the most exciting things I have ever done. I descended close to 1,800 feet by means of rappeling, climbing, hiking, and jumping off cliffs/waterfalls. It was beyond exhilerating. Canyoneering ended with me standing on the top of "Big Boy", a 250 foot waterfall and my guide asking me if I was ready to jump.  I had never been more ready! 3..2... I didnt let my guide get to 1.  I jumped!  I have always dreamed of something like this. Today, a dream came true. I would like to give a big shoutout to the Yang Family from New Jersey. I had the pleasure of spending my day with them. They had the misfortune of spending their day with me. Thanks so much for letting me borrow the helmet cam! I hope someday we can cross paths again! Safe travels.

For lunch I tried chicken and rice again. This time they nailed it!

After lunch I walked to La Escuela de La Fortuna.  This is an elementary school here in town.  Shortly after butchering some spanish in the principals office, I was introduced to 200 kids as the new english teacher! I was thrilled and terrified at the same time. I proceeded to spend time in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grade classrooms for the rest of the school day! 2nd graders loved me. 3rd graders loved me. 5th graders hated me.  That is until they asked me if I had a girlfriend and I told them I am dating Shakira. Somehow my sarcasm was lost in translation. Go Figure. Gym class consisted of a game of soccer with the entire student body at once. 200 kids verse me. I think this was because I said my favorite player was Messi, not Cristiano. (arguably the two most popular soccer players on earth. I had a 50% chance of guessing correctly) It was during the game that I almost cried for the first time. I had to ditch my sandals and play barefoot. Soon after, the biggest 4th grader in Central America smashed my foot while trying to kick the ball. After gym, I spent another 30 minutes with the 3rd graders. This was when Sebastian, 8, came up to me and proudly proclaimed in english that he was excited to have me as the schools new english teacher.  I was floored.  It was so touching.  I guess my introduction did not touch on the length of my stay. I tried telling him that I would be back tomorrow. Sebastian informed me that tomorrow is a national holiday here in Costa Rica and there is no school. Im leaving La Fortuna first thing Thursday morning. Slightly heartbroken but so grateful for the opportunity I was given. (2nd time) While I was saying good bye to Clairiella, the schools second grade teacher, I hit her with a ¿Te gustaria ir al cena anoche con mi? I dont have a clue if that is the correct way to ask a 2nd grade teacher who looks like Gloria from Modern Family to dinner, but hey, I tried. She smiled. Then told me she was married with a baby. For the record, I am not entirely sure she said no, but we cordially shook hands and parted ways. Wait, she definately said no. (3rd time)

After school let out, (families here can chose to send their kids from 7am-noon or noon-5. I think this is so the children can work/farm the rest of the day.) I teamed up with a guide for a hike through the rainforest. I wasnt really listening to the guide at all as I was just trying to keep up. Then I heard him mention Toucans! I instantly began to think that in short order I was going to be feeding my protein bar to the character on the box of Fruit Loops! In the end I could hear the toucans but never saw one. However I did see enormous/beautiful birds and leaves on trees that were 10FT long! When we arrived at the summit of our hike, we were at 2,500ft. I have no idea what the elevation was when we started, but I was tired. Then the guide proceded to tell me to look North. I had no idea which way north was at that very moment so I tried to casualy look all around me. I figured Id know what he wanted me to see. There it was! The Arenal  Volcano! Almost 6,000ft. It was beyond spectacular. We were at the base of where a village used to be prior to an erruption a while back. All I could think of was that this had to be where Jurrasic Park was filmed. Lush sweeping valleys at the foot of an active volcano. It was surreal. ( LAVA TIMBO! LAVA! sorry, inside joke for the soccer team I play on in Boston)

After my volcano hike, I quickly realized I made my first and most likely not my last mistake of my trip. I had looked into going to Los Lagos. This is where I could find hot springs (natures bathtubs) to soak in after an exhausting day of adventures. On paper it sounded like a great idea.  First, I found a place for chicken and rice for dinner. ( this may be what I eat until I leave the country). Once I arrived to the hot springs it was pitch black out. I desperately wished I had come during the day. For the view of the volcano/many other reasons.  All I had was a view of .. nothing... I thought this still should have been quite relaxing but it never really was.   I couldnt decipher whether or not I was about to sit in a hot spring, koi pond, ( no idea how to spell that and google in spanish isnt much help) or the crocodile pit! The legend on my map helped me conclude that they were all in very close proximity to one another. I suppose I would have just run in zigzags if any crocs came out of the bushes looking for a meal. No big deal.

It was 10pm. I was exhausted. I took a shuttle back to La Fortuna and passed out.

Today, I am meeting up with a white water rafting guide to do class 3 and 4 rapids! I wanted to do class 5 rapids but I dont know how to white water raft so I thought that might be a small problem.  I cant wait!

Like I said, I think my Macbook charger exploded. I will most likely be unable to post pictures/video until I somehow get that resolved.

Buenas dias!

The Future Is No Place To Place Your Better Days