Water: -falls, -slides, -falling-from-sky

So this weekend was the first excursion of three that I will be going on with ISA while I am here in Costa Rica. This time we were at Arenal which is one of the large volcanoes here. We stayed at a fantastic resort called Los Lagos that came with all of the great amenities expected here: pool, awesome slides (like the best ever), hot springs, butterfly garden, crocodiles, fish everywhere, frog collection, zip-line, horses, hiking, and of course there was a buffet. So, join me as I talk you through my weekend in a multimedia blog post...YEAH! This time around, you will find the pictures in a short video at the end (I borrowed most of them).

On friday morning, our Heredia crew met at our university where a bus full of students from the San Pedro program. Then, we began the 4 hour drive out to La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano. Once we got to the resort, all that was on our minds was the pool/hot springs and food. We were on complete sensory overload for sure. There was so much there, and the resort was big enough on the side of a hill that you take a free bus everywhere. It was here that we discovered the slide. There was this crazy slide there that we probably went on like 50 times (or so it felt). It was just constant fun. There were in total three slides at the resort; including one that went into the hot springs. These were definitely highlights of the resort.

Saturday morning was designated towards optional tours. I signed up to go canyoning, and it was probably one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. Canyoning is an activity where you rappel cliffs and hike in canyons. In this case it would mean rappelling down water falls and hiking through a tropical rain forest with friends. The day started at 7:20 when we scurried onto a bus that, after picking up some others, went to a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Here, we boarded into the backs of trucks outfitted with benches and tarp roofs to protect from the rain that was steadily falling. These trucks dropped us off in some ranch-like area where we got all of our gear on. Then...we walked. Suddenly, finding ourselves in a more forested environment, there was a wooden platform with cables. We were at the first drop. A 120ft rappel alongside a beautiful water fall. With our hearts beating out of our chests, we all took turns getting hooked up, testing our ropes (and ourselves), and dropping this great distance into a tropical rain forest. We spent the morning hiking and having 3 other rappels. Truly breathtaking, and pictures could never do it justice. This was followed by a great Tico lunch, coffee, and cookies. Outstanding. The afternoon was then spent from the comfort of the pools and springs as rain was falling. That evening was followed by the buffet and more pool time.

At the falls with Kyle, my good friend from DU

Sunday was our final day, and we spent it going to the La Fortuna waterfall. It is a pretty good hike down some stairs to get there, and it is well worth it. There are two falls that are large and impressive in the way that they fit into the lush landscape here. We were not able to swim in the falls, but seeing them was enough for this traveler. This ended our trip, but it sure was interesting. Outside of the amazing things I have already told you about, the weekend was filled with heavy rain, crazy lightning, thunder setting off car alarms, an earthquake, and no good views of the Volcano. Pura vida I guess!