(Blog by Ali Schueler and Natalie Koke)

Hola!
Day three was busy and thrilling! We started bright and early. We had breakfast at the hotel (and it was delicious as usual). We then packed up our belongings and we were off to our next adventure!

We began our zip lining adventure with a 3 hour car ride to La Fortuna. We arrived at the Arenal Mundo Aventura and after watching a video on how to zip line correctly, we were ready to go. We took a short ride on a wagon up to the excitement, and for the first cable of our zip lining adventure, we had to climb up a tall tower. You would think that flying through the air while only being held up by a cable would be the most nerve-wrecking part, but to be honest, it was climbing those stairs up to the top of the tower that got all of us gripping the railing pretty hard. Finally we made it up, and before we knew it, we were being strapped on to the cable and taking off! There are no words to express how beautiful the scenery was. Flying fast over and through the canopy of the rainforest is an experience that cannot be explained in a picture. There were waterfalls left and right, and we even got to say hola to a few toucans gliding over us from tree to tree. In order to get the full experience of Costa Rica in its rainy season, Mother Nature decided to give us a little obstacle to get just that. We got caught in a thunderstorm and had to wait for about 30 minutes for it to pass, but we kept our enthusiasm high and were able to complete our zip line adventure! Of course, we did not quite stay as clean as we originally thought, as you can see in the photo below.





We made a quick stop after our zip lining to learn about one of the indigenous cultures of Costa Rica, the Maleku Indian community. It was very interesting to be able to hear about the culture's traditions and ancestry, as well as being able to hear some of the presentation in the community's unique language. They had beautiful carvings, instruments, and clothing. Afterwards, we ate lunch at Arenal Mundo Aventura, having a choice between chicken, fish, and pasta. By then it was time to go check in at our new hotel for the night at Magic Mountain in La Fortuna.



Our last stop of the day was at the amazing Baldi Hot Springs. We were able to eat dinner with many choices, from chicken to chocolate-covered strawberries. We were so excited to check out the hot springs and pools, though, that we may or may not have ignored the rule of waiting 30 minutes after eating to go swimming! After a big day walking and flying through the rainforest, it was a nice, relaxing way to end the day. Check out some of the photos and video below to see the amazing resort!



Adios!
Minnesota Crookston Volleyball