Day Four: A Day Suspended Above the Rainforest (written by Mia Loewenberg)

 We started our morning in La Fortuna with a wonderful breakfast buffet at the resort. It had everything you can think of. There were fresh fruits, cold and hot cereals, eggs, tortillas, sausages, pancakes, pastries and of course gallo pinto, or rice and beans. Rice and beans are a staple here and have been included in so many meals. 

After fueling up, we loaded onto the bus for the Arenal Hanging Bridges (also known as my worst nightmare). There were five bridges in total, all varying in height, but each one felt terrifyingly high. They were at a height where only monkeys and birds belong. While the swaying of the bridges was definitely nerve wracking as we crossed, the fear vanished once I took in the view. It was definitely worth it for the beautiful view from the canopy. 

I thought the heights would be the only source of adrenaline, but the three mile hike provided plenty of adventure on its own. We spotted sloths, monkeys, poisonous snakes, and even tarantulas. However, the true villains on the trail were the Army ants. These aren't like the ants back home. They move in swarms and their bite feels like a bee sting.

Bryan unfortunately learned this the hard way. While we were passing the swarm, a spider crawled onto my shoe. In my panic, Bryan came to the rescue and wiped it off, but got bitten by four ants in the process. (Thank you, Bryan!) 

The most peaceful moment was finding a hidden waterfall. It gave us a cool mist which was a relief from the humid heat and let us have a moment to relax and eat some desperately needed snacks before we finished the trail. 

Our next stop was a local farm, where we tasted and smelled our way through the gardens. We broke up cilantro and citronella leaves to release their scents and sampled everything from sour cucumbers to sweet stevia leaves. We even pressed sugarcane stalks through iron machines to make our own juice. To top it off, we tried guarapo, which is a sugarcane based alcoholic drink. It only made sense that we used raw sugarcane sticks as a chaser. 

For lunch, we headed to a restaurant to shape our own tortillas. Apparently, the roundness of your tortilla determines if you’re ready for marriage! Afterward, we got groovy with some traditional Costa Rican dancing. It’s a good thing none of us are dance majors, but despite our lack of rhythm, we had a blast learning the culture behind each dance.

We capped off the afternoon with a quick stop for ice cream and even better, another sloth sighting on the way back. We have now officially seen both the two toed and three toed sloths!