Costa Rica Day Three - Blog (Everest Leo) "A Long Drive"

- March 23, 2022

    Day three of the Costa Rica A-term started off on a little bit of a mellow note. One of our classmates and friend, Alex K, had to leave because he was feeling sick for the second time on the trip. Everyone was sad to see him go, but we're in Costa Rica, we can't be sad for too long. After we all said goodbye, and had a tasty, natural breakfast of eggs, pancakes with honey, jam, apples, and bananas, Mr. Roddy took us on a hike. The trail that we walked along was a path that zigzagged through the property of Cedrela Eco Lodge, taking us up to the top of a mountain. 

    During the hike, we not only heard about Mr. Roddy's botfly story (a story about when he got two botfly larvae in his head), but we also found some vines hanging from a tall tree that, after Mr. Roddy tested to be strong enough, we all took turns swinging from. It was a fun find and definitely one of the highlights of the hike in my mind. Once we got to the top, after taking some group photos, we were able to see a lot of the crops that they grow on the property: things like avocados, coffee, and fruit. It was fascinating to see the workers in the field and know that all of our meals were coming from the fields fresh. After getting back down to the lodges by walking along the dirt road that led down to them, we had another vivid lunch of seasoned rice, beans, pico de gallo, and avocados. Then, because Ms. Novak had not come back from dropping Alex K. off at the airport yet, we had a couple hours of free time. It was a nice relaxing time right before we left to talk and play cards with each other. Finally, Ms. Novak came back and we all packed into the bus for the almost 6 hour drive to Rancho Margot. 

    For the first hour or two, we drove along, the roads familiar in their narrowness and curves, country ones we had driven before. But it wasn't too long before we got into the city and the scenery completely changed. Dense aisles of stores, restaurants, and offices lined the city blocks. The constant sound and rumble of cars was complemented by the thick canopy of power lines, criss-crossing over the streets. The city felt alive, and though it was the shortest part of the trip, it was a short, interesting look at San Jose.

    The next part of the drive was probably my favorite. We drove up and around a mountain covered in forests and as we continued, it started raining and the mist made it impossible to see 25 meters in front of us. The lush greenery and "endless" looking drop-offs made it seem like a mystical mountain above the clouds and away from civilization.

    Finally, the last leg of the trip was when we encountered farm fields, sparse forest, and scattered shops and towns. As it started getting dark, we realized that we might to make it to Rancho Margot in time for dinner, especially because we had to take a restroom pit stop. However as we pulled into Rancho Margot a couple hours later, all tired and a little grumpy, we found that we had 10 minutes to spare.