Day 2

"Let the games begin"

Rafting site

Today was the first day where I experienced the highs and the lows of Costa Rica. The morning began at 6:00 A.M. where we ate a wonderful buffet style breakfast at the Tryp Sabana. Around 6:30 A.M. we all loaded onto the tour bus and headed to the white water rafting site. While there we met several people who gave us instructions on how to raft properly and how to keep safe in the dangerous parts of the river. Before getting onto the raft, I had anticipation on being the first person to fall into the water but fortunately I was pretty good at keeping my balance on the raft. We traveled about 8 kilometers on the raft, which is approximately five miles. There were some areas in the river where we hit stage four water pressures and my group and I handled it very well. Even though we never fell into the water, we still were completely soaked with water from bumping into the rocks that were all over the river. Surprisingly, I am typically motion sick when I am on the water but that wasn't the case. It was very exciting and refreshing. Once we finished rafting, lunch was provided and we had a variety of fruits and vegetables. It was very tasty and different from what I usually eat in the states.

Bridge to the Cocoa Plantation

When we left the water rafting site, we traveled to the Tambina wildlife resort and we took a tour of the entire facility. Our guide instructed us that we would be surrounded by many different animals, such as monkeys, snakes, iguanas and many insects. We began to walk and I noticed that we were getting close to this bridge that extended 800 feet which is very high in the sky over water and the jungle. I was EXTREMELY nervous when I took my first step on the bridge, it was shaking like a swing and I was terrified. Every step I took felt like my demise! The only thing that was between me and falling 300 feet out of the sky was one long medal bar. Every step I made the bridge was making snapping sounds like it was going to crash. Nonetheless, I made it across...drenched in sweat. When we finally got off the bridge we were greeted by monkeys and they were not too happy to see us. The monkeys were throwing sticks at us and one monkey even pooped on the tour guide, (true story). We walked on side of a mountain where we could look at the river and the jungle simultaneously. As we trailed and trailed we finally made it to a stopping point at a hut where we got a ton of history on the cocoa bean and how different cultures have used it for over 3000 years. The information provided was very informative and helpful. The guide even gave us a gift which consisted of fifteen cocoa beans!

Tour guide/lecturer

As soon as we were done with the cocoa bean presentation, we all headed back to our starting point, which meant crossing the bridge of death again, and we received a lecture on eco-tourism/ sustainable business practices. Eco-tourism is a practical way to shield the natural environment and create social and economic aids for local communities. Our lecturer told us that an important element of Costa Rican innovation was a certificate of sustainable tourism, which is known as the five leaf program. The system is designed to include a series of direct incentives that will increase in benefits for each company, in direct proportion to its increased rating. This means that as the rating increases, more and better benefits will be received; international and national publicity and promotion, specifically designed for the CST; training for its personnel; priority participation in various world tourism fairs and events, etc. So, in essence, we learned a lot about the various tourism programs that are held in the country and what percentages of the proceeds that are earned go to the various components they have.

The trip today was very exciting and educational. I learned something new about the tourism industry and how imperative and vital it is to the Costa Rican country. So, stay tuned for tomorrows blog titled “DAY 3: Hotel Fiesta”…