On our first day in Costa Rica we got up somewhat early, ate breakfast, and got ready for a day of zip lining. I was super excited for this day because all the pictures of the place looked incredible and I was looking foreword to being out in the rainforest. The place we went to picked us up in a van and we drove for a bit while our guides told us about the wildlife and history of Costa Rica. We also learned about the palm oil industry, and saw a water buffalo pulling a cart full of the palm fruit headed for the refinery. Eventually, we had to transfer out of the van and into smaller cars that could navigate the steep mountain roads we went up. When we finally got to the start of the route, we were high up in the mountains as we got all of our gear on and listened to the safety briefing. Blake said, “I never thought I would get the chance to ride in the back of a truck through the rainforest on my way to go zipline.”

The first zip line was the longest and it took us over a huge ravine over the rainforest, providing amazing sights of the mountains that were entirely covered in trees and plants. The next one took us through a tunnel of leaves through the trees which was a fascinating sight.

After a couple more zip lines which were also super fun we reached the first repealing section. I got to go first and so the guide hooked me into the wires and ropes and told me how to hold the line. This section was pretty small, only about 15-20 feet down a rock wall but it was still very fun.

After everyone made it down, we headed over to the first waterfall we would see, and when we got there we saw it had a cable and rope leading into it. We found out that we got to zip line under the waterfall and then get pulled out and pull a lever to drop into the water below. I went first again and it was a ton of fun going under the waterfall and then pulling the lever to drop myself into the water.

The next two things we did were both a zip line/rappelling combination right above amazing waterfalls and we got to swim at the bottom of the second one after we made it down. The final thing we did was a Tarzan swing over another waterfall where we had the option to go upside down on.

We then went to a pavilion were we had our first Costa Rican pineapple and were introduced to our first Cremas, which are kinda like Oreos, but better. We also saw a wild coati, and our guides few it pineapple, which it ate exactly like how Dash eats goldfish, complete with looking up at you as it chomps it in its back teeth.

Then we headed back down to the tour company’s building and had what I think was the best meal of the trip. It was rice, beans, chicken, potatoes, carrots, and salad like we had many other times in the trip but it was all just cooked perfectly.

We then got driven back to our house and got all our stuff to hit the beach. This is where we saw our first troop of monkeys! We had a blast watching them swing through the trees. We also saw a sloth high up in a tree.

Mom and Halle were having some fun mocking people who take a million Instagram beach pics. But it turns out they got some really cute shots! We stayed until the sun went down.

We ate dinner at El Avion, which is a restaurant built around an old airplane. The food was alright and even though we didn’t have the best view in the restaurant, it was still pretty beautiful. We then went home and got ready for bed because it was getting late and we had another long day ahead of us.