We hit the ground running Thursday, when our group of eight made our way to the GMI space at the Bioscience Research Collaborative in Houston. With a brief orientation, we were off to Costa Rica the following day.
Arriving in San Jose we breezed through customs, retrieved our luggage, and were off to our hotels. We are staying the the Escalante neighborhood for the Medical Device Innovation and Needs Finding Bootcamps. It is a very walkable and bustling area especially at night. There are many cafes and restaurants with open air dining. For our first dinner we went to a restaurant called Saul where many of us tried our first “refrescos”, natural fruit drinks blended with milk or water. It was a long day and after dinner we all crashed, eager for our first full day in the city.
We met in the morning outside URBN Escalante, one of the tallest buildings in San Jose. Our only plan for the day was to explore the Saturday farmers market. On the way we passed by tons of street art and I have been taking as many photos as possible of the vibrant murals. The walk was humid and sunny but it made the fresh fruit at the market look all the more appealing. I settled on a liter of coconut water and two different kinds of tamales. Everything was delicious and it was a good opportunity to get familiar with the currency, colones. In the afternoon, Asma and I went to a nearby cafe to grab a snack and were joined by the rest of the group before we set off to Walmart for some essentials and then back to the hotels to plan our next day’s activities.
Figuring out what to do Sunday was easy but actually making it happen was a lot harder. We decided to take a bus from San Jose to Jaco to explore the beach but as we tried to buy tickets, seats kept selling out. Finally, we were able to settle the details and were off to Jaco early the next morning.
The two hour bus ride to Jaco was easy, comfortable, and came with great views. We drove through the mountains and I was glued to the window taking in the lush green sights. When we arrived in Jaco we found a restaurant off the beach and had a typical Costa Rican breakfast: gallo pinto, eggs, cheese, plantain, and coffee or juice. Then we were off to burn our feet in the sand and watch the surfers braving the waves. It was a very relaxing day and some of us had a lovely nap on the ride back. In the evening we met up with the Rice undergrads and shared pizza.
Monstera Deliciosa Fruit
Today, some of us went on a nature and wildlife tour around the University in San Jose. It was incredible to see the biodiversity around the campus in the heart of the city! The school has protected natural areas to maintain local flora and fauna and preserve habitats for native species. While walking around we had the opportunity to see many trees, ferns, and flowers even trying the fruit from the monstera deliciosa plant. In addition to being wildly entertained by the “tickle tickle” plant that moves when touched, we saw leaf cutter ants, carpenter bees, a frog, and sloths. Silly as it may sound, the truly special thing we saw today was a baby sloth making its way down through the trees to take its weekly poop. Our guide noted that it is very rare to see a sloth doing its business as it is the most vulnerable position it can be in and while our furry friend didn’t mind the paparazzi, he was quick to climb back into the safety of his tree.
Looking forward to the rest of the week and meeting our Costa Rican colleagues for the bootcamp tomorrow!
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