It has only been three days since we’ve been in Costa Rica, but it feels like much longer! We arrived on Friday night (May 27th), and it has been non-stop since then. On Friday after arriving from the airport, we had a late dinner with Dr. Wettergreen’s family before heading off to our respective hotels to rest. Kaira and I were in Hotel Luz De La Luna, just around the block from Hotel 1492 where the other GMI students were staying, and from Urban Ecalante, our compass in the city if we ever get lost. Over orientation and the first night in Costa Rica, it was great getting to know everyone in the cohort, and it was an experience flying internationally with people I had just met 24 hours before.
On Saturday, we started the day off at the Craft and Farmer’s market. Dr. Wettergreen walked us around (our first trip around Costa Rica in the daylight!). Jhalak, Raniyah, and I had some coconut water straight from coconuts, and once we finished the vendor cut the coconuts to eat the meat from it. We all also shared some Costa Rican string cheese (very fresh and way better than the string cheese I’ve had in the U.S.). Over the course of the morning, I began to understand how hot Costa Rica actually gets. It was pretty humid, and walking around in the heat only intensified it. After the market, the GMI students all walked back to take a quick break before our afternoon activities. At around noon (it was only noon at this point!) we met at a cute coffee shop in Escalante for some coffee and snacks. Kaira and I got there first and just about missed the afternoon showers, but the others weren’t so lucky. The rain got pretty intense for a few minutes before fading out, just as we had been warned before coming to Costa Rica. After that, we went to Walmart to pick up some essentials, then headed to Hotel 1492 to plan the next few days.
Saturday was beach day! We took a bus – only 10 dollars round-trip if you can believe it – to Jaco beach. At 7:00 am, we boarded the bus, and spent the next 2 hours looking at the Costa Rican countryside and mountains. At the beach, we grabbed breakfast (a traditional Costa Rican meal with Pinto Gallo, cheese, eggs, and fried plantains). Then we sat in the sun, took dips in the ocean, drank some tropical smoothies, and then headed back. I definitely burnt my nose despite the copious amounts of sunscreen I used over the day. I will update once I figure out the amount it needs to stay un-crispy. Once we came back, we had dinner with the ODEK undergraduate students! It was great seeing fresh faces, but also served as a bonding moment for all the GMI students.
Monday was a more laid-back day. We started off by going on a tour of the nature conservation zones at the University of Costa Rica. There were frogs, leaf-cutting ants (walking in a line to their nest!), spongy trees, and soursop fruit we ate straight from the tree. The best part, however, were the sloths! We saw three in total, but the last one was special. It was awake during the day (unusual), climbing around (more unusual), and crawled to the bottom of the tree to use the bathroom (most unusual, since they only go once a week!). It was a special and slightly weird moment for all of us to witness, given how rare it actually occurs.
I’m excited to see how the boot camp goes! For now, enjoy the videos of the sloth!
