Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to go rock climbing; not the kind of rock climbing we've all done at summer camp where we climb up a 30 ft. rock wall with the colorful little rocks screwed on there, but the kind in which you are 50 feet off the ground, gripping the side of a mountain, using muscles you didn't even know your fingers and toes had, hoping to God that the single person holding your rope will catch you if you fall (my hands are getting all sweaty just thinking about it). The place we climbed is called Escalada Cachi. There, they had this huge rock wall, trails to hike, rivers and natural pools to swim in, zip-lining,
Right when I thought I was in the clear, safe and sound on the ground, walking down the small trail to the swimming spot, a giant white horse shows up (PS, I don't like horses), and, just like in Copey, where all the dogs who roam around town seem to find me and follow me everywhere (PSS, I'm not a dog person either), this horse trapped me, separated me from the others, and would not let me pass him. I would try to go left, he would go left. I would try to go right, he would go right. I would try to run around and between trees, over rocks, and under logs, and, somehow, he'd always find me. I don't know what it is, but there must be some invisible connection between me and all the animals in this country that make them follow me around. After Xavier and Solana took their pictures and had their laughs (it was pretty funny, I'll admit), they distracted the horse with an apple until I could run away. Again, thinking we were in the clear, we walked on to meet up with Joe and Angela, and that's when we heard the galloping of hooves rapidly approaching us from behind.
Screaming and running seemed like the only two options. When the horse caught up to us, Solana and I were able to walk alongside it until getting to the river where we went swimming. Thankfully, the massive creature stopped following us when we got to the rocks leading to the river. For the duration of the swim, we were half-expecting the horse to show up downstream and race toward us again. Luckily, that never happened.
After our time at Escalada Cachi was over, we rode in the back of a truck on the bumpiest road I have ever been on up the hill to the main road back into town. Cartago is a beautiful city known for many things, but the neatest one I learned about is about the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels is a church that, on August 2nd of every year, people from all over Costa Rica pilgrimage to. People walk from all over the country to reach the church, see the statue, drink and wash in the water, and worship. I wish I were staying till then to witness such an awesome event.
After our time in Cartago, Xavier and I left to go to a hostel in San Jose, where we were staying for the night because of our plans for the next day. Before I talk about our whitewater rafting trip down the Pacuare River (which is one of the most legendary rivers to raft on the planet, according to NWRC), I wanted to share with everyone a wonderful connection we made when arriving at our hostel. The man at the front counter's name was Andres. He didn't look much older than Xavier or I, and it turns out he wasn't. He told us he was going to University studying English and French as we waited to confirm my reservation. He spoke English incredibly well and told us all about his dream to move to Canada. He has already learned Spanish (obviously) and Portuguese and has a little bit of Italian under his belt. This dude was awesome! He knew a lot about what he wants to do in the future and the kind of person he wants to be--it just amazed me how successful a person can be and not realize how awesome they are. Good luck to you, Andres, and thank you for sorting out our reservation mix-up!
After a nice, warm (that's right, I said warm!) shower, we went to bed and woke up early the next morning to catch our 2-hour long van ride to the Exploradores Outdoors rafting site. When we arrived, we were served breakfast, which included the best tasting pineapple marmalade in the world! After getting my third piece of toast and soaking it in the heavenly stuff, I got to talking with the people at the other end of our table. The friendly group of four were eager to talk to Xavier and I and very interested in all that we've been doing while in Costa Rica. I learned that one of the four used to be a rafting guide in Costa Rica. He shared some neat tips and other information, but seemed to be more interested in talking with us and listening to all we had to share. When it was time to leave, we got on a bus with our new friends, and, when it was time to pick people to be in boats, the group of four requested Xavier and I--so nice of them! We had a blast! We were the only raft NOT to flip/lose a person!
After the trip, on the bus ride back, I sat next to a guy our age from William and Mary (I think) whose younger sister is going to JMU in the fall, where my sister is currently going! When we made this discovery, one of the girls sitting in front of us said her cousin goes to JMU. She was going to the University of South Carolina and was on a school trip in Costa Rica. Her professor, who was also on the bus, jumped into the conversation then saying his daughter almost chose to go to Emory & Henry College for soccer, but, in the end, chose a school closer to home. And to think, all of these people just happened to sit near us on a bus ride back from a whitewater rafting trip in Costa Rica. Boy, is it a small world full of connections.
After a long ride home to Copey, I fell asleep and woke up the next morning to a very sore [insert ANY body part here]. My advise from the weekend: don't go rock climbing and whitewater rafting back-to-back...
...I take that back. You should TOTALLY go rock climbing and whitewater rafting in the same weekend. Just take a lot of ibuprofen and drink a lot of coffee the next day!
If there's anything I have learned from this trip, it is how great the power of communication can be, which I will talk more about in my next post! Then, I will talk about a woman named Chelsea, cell phones, taxi cabs, and more. Until then, below are some photos from the rafting trip (you can find more under the "My Photos" tab). Last, but not least, I am going to leave you all with one last Tico tip I learned from this weekend: Tico tip #16: Don't wear a raincoat in Costa Rica, unless you want everyone to know you are a tourist. Carry an umbrella instead.