Sand, Waves, Ziplines and a Giant Red Diaper

I love the beach. Over the weekend we went to a beach town called Tamarindo in Northwestern Costa Rica. Tamarindo is a super touristy spot with a lot of stores everywhere. It's about an eight hour drive from Providencia and a completely different landscape than the cloudforest. We went from mountains to beaches. The beaches here have white sand, unlike Monterrico in Guatemala. In Tamarindo, we got away from the stores and visited different beaches. My favorite beach was Playa Negra. It's called that not because of black sand but because of the rocks that line the coast. Almost everywhere you can see black rock, in a few places there's sand so it's safe to go in but it's mostly rock. It's really cool when the waves, that were quite big, smash against the rocks. Costa Rica has a lot of beaches, but this one was especially awesome because of the wide space, fun waves and perfect water temperature. The whole trip in general was really nice, and we got to have a couple days relaxing just playing in the ocean.

Here in Providencia they have built an adventure park, which is basically an amusement park of cables wrapped around trees in the forest. It’s mostly made up of zipline and rope-swing type activities. The first one we went on was Jungle Fly. In Jungle Fly they strap you up in a huge, red “diaper” and then everybody else pulls on a rope to hoist you up. Once you’re pretty high they release you and you go flying through the jungle. I love the feeling of falling and swinging up and down with the wind in your face and birds chirping all around you. The next one we did is my favorite one, the Hollow Tree Climb. You can probably get what it’s about by the name but I’ll explain better. You have to climb up the inside of a hollowed out tree that’s 35 meters high (115 feet). I have an absolute obsession with climbing trees so you can understand why this one was my favorite. I climbed the tree in two minutes and thirty nine seconds. After the Tree Climb came a traditional zipline. This zipline was only like twenty seconds, not nearly as long as the one we did in Guatemala, but still fun. When we landed after the zipline we were on a platform and the only way down was to do the Tarzan Swing. The Tarzan Swing was kind of like Jungle Fly but instead of you being pulled up and let go, you have to jump off of the platform yourself since you’re already up high. I did it upside down and it was super fun to feel both the wind and my blood rushing to my face. After we were on the ground we went across the Monkey Bridge, the last activity. The Monkey Bridge is a cable that you have to walk on. There are also ropes hanging down from above that you can swing from, hence, the Monkey Bridge. The whole park is super super fun and I had a great time. With all the work we've been doing, and my new school (with loads of homework), I was ready for some fun. Costa Rica has so many options! My grandparents come for a visit this weekend, and I can't wait to show them around.

Arriving in Paradise

We’re in Costa Rica! We arrived here in Providencia (the town where we’ll live for three months) late afternoon last Tuesday, Feb 23. Providencia is in the middle of the cloud forest, basically in the middle of nowhere. The nearest town is more than an hour drive so it’s completely isolated. Providencia is one of my favorite places on earth, probably the number one. When we first got here it was dark and and cloudy so we couldn’t see much but the next day, I woke up and immediately was amazed by Providencia’s beauty. There’s nothing but nature all around and it’s in the middle of the mountains with an incredible view. There are also a lot of rivers all around, including the cleanest river in Central America (Rio Savegre), so you can always hear the rush of the water. In a place like Providencia, it’s impossible not to feel relaxed. Anybody who’s ever been here can back me up. Here in Costa Rica we’ll be going on some awesome trips and doing some really fun things so I’m super excited for what’s to come. Since the first time I came to Costa Rica four years ago I have absolutely fallen in love with it and even though I was sad to leave Guatemala, I’m so glad to be back in this incredible place.

Carlos and I are going to school here in Providencia! Even though school just started here 2 weeks ago, we entered the grades that we’ve been in since India, 6th and 2nd. I know that some kids will think I’m crazy for saying this, but I really like school and I’ve really missed going to class with other students. Now whenever I go I don’t want to stop. I want to go all day. In Costa Rica, like in a lot of other countries, they wear uniforms to school. We had to buy uniforms and whenever I put it on to go to school I feel super formal and official. Another thing that’s different here, that is true only for Providencia, is that there aren’t many kids at the school. At my school in California, there’s about 30 kids per class and 150 per grade. Here, there are 25 kids in the entire school and about five per grade. There are only 3 in Carlos’ class.

I’ve loved being in a class with other kids, receiving instruction from a teacher up front. Even though the  work is a bit easy, I’ve liked every bit of it. Although we’re going to the local school, here we’re still keeping up with our homeschool program. That’s why this blog is late. With school in the morning, then homework, then homeschool work I’ve been pretty busy. It’s been a great experience so far to attend school here because we get to see what it’s like to be a normal kid in Costa Rica.

In India and Guatemala the volunteering was mainly teaching kids, but here in Costa Rica we’re mostly volunteering with environmental projects. We’re doing organic farming, finishing the construction of a recycling center out of eco-bricks, and a little teaching of the local kids at the school about sustainable development and the environment. You might be wondering what organic farming is, or sustainable development, and you’re probably saying to yourself, what in the world are eco-bricks? Organic farming is what it’s called when farmers use organic materials instead of chemicals. Since pretty much everyone in Providencia is a farmer, when they use chemicals, it’s a lot of damage to the ground and the rivers. This is really important work and I’m learning a lot about what we need to do to fix our planet.

This weekend we’re going zip-lining! I’ll tell you all about it next week.