Costa Rica!

Hello blog readers. It's Shayna again. Sorry that I haven't blogged in awhile but it has been a very busy past few days in Costa Rica. Our first day in Arenal was spent at the hot springs. My parents got massages at the spa while Rebecca and I did some swimming. It was so beautiful. The springs are hotter than hot tubs and are all naturally heated by the volcano. At around 4:30 we were done swimming so we decided to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner. We then went back to the hot springs for an Asian buffet dinner. They even had sushi! Yum! The next day, we finally got to sleep in. Yay! Since it was about 10:30 by the time we were all awake, it was not worth it to go have breakfast. We decided that we would go back to the hot springs and get drinks at the wet bar and then eat lunch there. The wet bar was so cool. I got to drink my fruit smoothing while sitting in the pool. The bar tenders were below the water line. After we had had enough swimming, we had lunch and then went back to the hotel to rest until it was time for our hike to the volcano. The hike felt somewhat like we were back in the amazon rainforest. He showed us a poisonous viper snake. Aaaahhh! He then informed us that they are nocturnal so they won't bite you. If they do then you only have 3 hours to get to a hospital matter a long and slow hike, we reached the lava flow. There was an amazing view of both the volcano and the towns around us. I took lots of pictures. The next morning we were sad to leave but I was excited to continue on the next part of our adventure. The adventure started the minute we stepped into the car. Lets just say it was a very very bumpy ride. We felt as if we were back in Kenya on a safari. At one point the driver pulled the car over to show us a toucan. So cool! At one point we saw a car pulled over to the side of the road. I thought they were looking at something but then we found out that the car had gotten stuck in the ditch on the side of the road and they were trying to pull it out. Does not sound fun! We were just waiting for something to happen to us. After a few more curves, we reached another van that had a flat tire. Luckily, we were very fortunate and did not have any problems (other than nausea). As you can imagine, we were very happy to reach our hotel. We had a very nice room with a beautiful view of the rainforest and a loft for me and Rebecca. That afternoon we decided to go on a chocolate, sugar, and coffee plant tour. We got to make chocolate, make sugar candy, and watch how they make coffee. It was very fascinating. We also got to ride in a cart pulled by cows. I have to say it was pretty scary. Our next adventure day in Costa Rica was filled with zip lining, night hiking, and walking through the cloud forest. Somehow, Rebecca did not inherit the Dollinger chicken gene and therefore has become the daredevil of the family. She convinced me to join her in her daredevilness and we decided that we would go on the zip lines together. My parents would be the photographers. What an experience! We zipped through the canopy from tower to tower. We repelled down a tree and did a very nerve racking Tarzan swing. Although I was scared at the beginning, I was so glad that Rebecca convinced me to join her. Our next slightly less adventurous activity was a walk through the cloud forest it is called that because you are literally in the clouds. It once agin reminded us of the amazon. We saw a sloth! My trip was complete. That was the last thing that I wanted to see before the end of the trip. At the end of the trail was a beautiful waterfall. Not quite like Niagara Falls but getting close. As we were walking back, it started pouring rain! I mean really pouring. We all put on our rain jackets and headed towards the hummingbird house. Ok, it wasn't really a house. It was more of an overhang with some hummingbird feeders. I did take a lot of pictures of hummingbirds though. After the rain let up a little we got back into the van and headed towards the hotel. We didn't have much time to reset fore it was time for the night hike. It started with a view of a beautiful sunset over the jungle I will definitely be showing you pictures of that. We waited awhile for it to get dark and then headed into the jungle. I have to say, it was pretty scary. I was glad that we had flashlights. We saw many different kinds of insects including fireflies, walking sticks, cockroaches, and crickets. It was so cool and I got some pretty awesome photos. This morning we packed up. Since the car wasn't picking us up until 12:45, we decided to do a cheese factory tour in the morning. We got to learn about how cheese is made and also the history of the Quakers in Costa Rica. They were the ones that founded both the cheese factory and the hotel that we were staying in. At the end we got to taste some delicious cheeses. We also got some very yummy milkshakes. This time we decided to walk back to the hotel with some stops in art stores on the way. We didn't end up buying anything but it was great to see some art pieces. When we were all packed up and ready, we got in the van and started the ride to San Jose. At the beginning it was bumpy but then we got on paved roads and it was a much smoother ride. At one point, the driver pulled over and showed us a troop of monkeys hanging out in the tree. We arrived at the hotel and had dinner. Now it is time for bed. I can't believe that we are going home tomorrow! I will definitely be sad to leave but I can't wait to go home. See u all when we return! Shayna