Day 5: Making Waves in Costa Rica

What's up back in North America? It's Sophia again- here to talk about Monday's awesome adventures! We started out the morning with a trip to the beach. During the ride, Luigi, our tour guide, talked to us about how surfing in Costa Rica is very significant for him. He described surfing as daily life: there are good waves and bad waves, but each new wave is a fresh start, and this mindset is an example of the Pura Vida lifestyle. Once we arrived at the beach, my first thought was how the Long Island Sound back home could not compare to the scene before us. The weather was bright and sunny and the water was crystal clear.

We met our surfing instructor, Herschel, who taught us how to stand on a surfboard. When you start, you lay down on the board. There are marks on each surfboard to indicate where your head, chest, and knees go. Then, when you stand up, you quickly bring your feet to the marks where your chest and knees were and you stand up. Finally, you bend your knees and stick out your arms in a perpendicular arrangement. We waded out into the water with the surfboards. Compared to our beaches in Connecticut, we were able to walk out very far without the water going past my stomach. There was a sandbar in the water that also contributed to this.

Herschel had us lay down on the surfboards and wait for waves. Then, when a wave came, he would give us a push and tell us to stand. Then we were surfing!

After surfing, Herschel brought out a bunch of coconuts with the tops cut off. The water of the coconuts are filled with electrolytes, and drinking it is incredibly hydrating, which is very important in Costa Rica. Once we drank the water, Herschel took a machete and cut the coconuts open so we could eat the part on the inside. 

Then, we went to a macaw sanctuary. Our tour guide was Marcelo, and he taught us about the Ara project. The Ara project is a non-profit organization that is working to protect the macaws in Costa Rica. With hard work and lots of care, the Ara project is protecting over 120 macaws, even though there was originally only 1. Deforestation is very dangerous for the macaws, and 80% of them die from habitat destruction. 20% of them die from hunting. This greatly increases the importance of the Ara project, as they are vital to the survival of these majestic birds. 

Finally, we went on a walk on the beach at night. Samuel was our guide, and he explained that we were going to look for sea turtles. Did you know that streets by the beaches use red light lampposts so they do not startle the turtles? White light scares the turtles and they will not lay their eggs in nests on the beaches.

It was very dark when we walked on the beach, and we continued to do this for hours. Unfortuantely, we did not see any turtles. :(

We walked more than mile-- and by the time we stopped to take a break, it was already 11:30pm. After a brief discussion, the chaperones decided that we should walk back instead of continuing to look for sea turtles. We were very tired, and despite being sad that we did not see turtles, we were very happy to get back to the hotel so we could sleep. 

Before we got back to the hotel, we saw a three-toed sloth climbing on a telephone wire. It was so cute! We even saw a second sloth with a baby draped over its belly. We got back to the hotel around 1:30, and we all fell asleep very quickly. We had also talked about "Type 2" fun previously, and there were definitely some aspects of the day that fell into this category. Although the turtle walk was physically and mentally straining, I am so happy that I can look back on the experience and say I had a blast. 

Our big takeaway is that nature is bigger than us, and we can't control it. Ultimately, our turtle search became a peaceful walk on the beach that we were able to share together. 

Pura vida!