Water Day

After last night’s late arrival, our students didn’t catch their first glimpse of Arenal until this morning. Although clouds hid its peak, Arenal’s steep, volcanic rise from the countryside is unmistakable. This is no ordinary mountain and the region offers plenty of options for the adventurous traveler. The students took advantage of these offerings today as they kayaked, hiked to a waterfall, and relaxed in natural hot springs.

To break up the group, each bus was on a different schedule for kayaking and exploring the waterfall in the morning, but we came together again at the hot springs, which gave students a chance to spend time with friends on other buses. Our group travels well together and it’s a joy to see them share so many wonderful experiences.

For my bus, the day started with a kayaking trip. Each student donned a life vest and a partner for their tandem kayak before hitting the water. This man-made lake is one of many projects that helps Costa Rica produce 100% of its electric energy needs with renewable resources; something they have been able to do for the first time since the start of 2015. Our trip highlights included a race, beautiful views, swimming time, and even a capsized kayak or two.

After our kayak trip, we made our way directly to the waterfall. There was no time to dry off before we hiked ~450 steps down to one of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve seen. Even with the relative crowds of a popular Costa Rican tourist destination, this powerful waterfall in a cloudy forrest felt magical. I can only hope that the hike back up those 450 steps didn’t erase the special experience from our students’ memory.

After a quick lunch and some time to explore La Fortuna (which mostly consisted of buying ice cream), we made our way to the hot springs. The springs feed a series of pools which range from comfortably warm to painfully hot. Regardless of their chosen temperature, the time to relax and rest our sore muscles was appreciated by students and chaperones alike.

Tomorrow we leave Arenal as we make our way to the cloud forest of Monteverde!

Tonight I was approached by a number of students who wanted to share their experiences. Below you will find two anecdotes written by two of these volunteers. If I can pull them away from the pool, I’ll try to have more students fill us in each day:

Today we went on a great adventure to Lake Arenal where we kayaked and explored the general area. A young Ethan Fingerhut was traveling in his kayak when his worst nightmare occurred. Ethan’s glasses fell into the 100 foot lake where they were never to be seen again.
- Noah Gross

Today we went around town for a bit. When kids our age go around town it basically means shopping. As groups, we looked into many stores, but at least for me, I had one issue: negotiating. Although I come from DC where everything is mostly a set price, I have blood from the Middle East. Everyone who knows the area knows there is a whole lot of negotiating about prices. I was completely ready for the job... at least I thought. I have negotiated prices throughout my life but have never experienced what happened today. I was looking at a Barcelona soccer jersey that was completely authentic *wink *wink. I immediately noticed something to my advantage, I saw in the jersey how much the store owner had paid, approximately 18 dollars. She was charging 36 so I knew I had the edge. I said something about how much she had got the jersey for and then asked for a more reasonable price on my behalf. The store owner immediately whispered “no” and then walked away. I never have had to experience someone walking away from me while I was negotiating. She ended up winning and getting $35 because I had no problem with her asking price. Somehow I bargained the price down 1 dollar, so at least I had one thing to try to be proud of.
- Noam Jacobovitz