Costa Rica Day 5- The Freezing Cold Waterfall and the Adorable Sloths

Our fifth day in the beautiful Costa Rican jungle kicked off with yet another delicious breakfast. Today’s menu included rice and beans, eggs, pancakes, french toast, orange juice, and watermelon juice. 

With full bellies, we departed to our first activity of the day: A cheesemaking class. Rancho Margot is self-sustaining, and all the dairy products they serve or use originate from their farm. We learned the process of making queso fresco (fresh cheese) from milk, and each student took turns to participate in these steps, including pasteurizing milk, coagulating it into a solid, and demolding it so it can be edible. We all watched with wonder as our very large tub of milk eventually turned into a small block of fresh cheese. 

Following our cheesemaking class, we took a soap making class. As It turns out, all the soap bars we had been using to shower in our rooms had actually also originated on the farm. We were first given a brief soap making lesson, including how you must wait 40 days after making the soapbar before using it to prevent your skin from burning upon contact (very important to know). After the lecture, we went to Rancho Margot’s vegetable garden and picked which flowers and plants we wanted to include in our own bars of soap. We then got to place them in the mixture of sodium hydroxide, burned cooking oil, orange essence, and water that will solidify into a bars of soap in the coming weeks. 

After two enjoyable classes, we feasted on an equally enjoyable lunch. The main entree today was fried chicken with sides of vegetables, rice and beans, potatoes, and puree. 

In the afternoon, we drove to Catarata Fortuna (La Fortuna Waterfall), an impressive waterfall in the middle of the jungle. Although the water was freezing cold and we had to traverse some slippery rocks to move around, most students found this to be an incredible experience. As someone who grew up in Houston, I was a little hesitant to jump into freezing cold water, but it was definitely worth it. After a few minutes of shivering, I was able to develop a deep appreciation for my surroundings, as all you could see when looking upwards was a hundred feet of jungle surrounding you. This was punctuated by the piercing sound of the water crashing down around you with incredible force. 

Once we had grown exhausted, we left the waterfall and quickly dried off to go to our next destination: A sloth sanctuary. Our tour guide Eduardo was hilarious, constantly cracking jokes and making a few references to Indiana Jones regarding his fear of snakes, which was relatable for most of us. Although we saw numerous sloths, the group found a mama sloth walking across a branch with a baby sloth wrapped around her to be especially endearing and adorable. However, we also crossed paths with the infamous Fer De Lance (the most venomous snake in Costa Rica), when it briefly crossed our trail. After seeing an owl, observing the sunset beside the Arenal Volcano, and eating delicious pineapple served by the awesome Eduardo, we got back into the bus and headed home.

Dinner certainly didn’t disappoint, as we ate ribs, pasta, rice, vegetables, and beans. The last item on our agenda today was the daily community meeting, which today took place in the relaxing naturally heated pool on the ranch. Although we’re all very tired, today was a lot of fun and we’re looking forward to the upcoming days and all the adventures we will partake in.