Hi! We are Mia and Paula, and we are here to tell you about our joint pre-trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Before heading to Nicaragua, we decided we were going to adventure the beautiful jungles of Costa Rica. We took this trip with our friends Kieran, Ken, and Tabish. We began our trip from Pearson's Airport in Toronto on an early morning flight to Liberia, Costa Rica, only a short 1-hour drive from the Nicaraguan border. We then took a bus up a dirt road to a nearby Eco-lodge situated not only in the middle of the jungle but also up an active volcano! Our lodge in the Rincon de la Vieja National Park is home to four of the five primary tropical ecosystems- the only location of its kind in the Americas. They have approximately 335,000 species of land organisms, which is equivalent to 2.6% of the world’s total biodiversity; more land species than the sum of all the species found on the north of Mexico, United States and Canada. We stayed in small, wooden cabins in order to fully immerse ourselves in this experience.
We began our adventure here by experiencing their network of 16 hanging-bridges. These suspension bridges in the tops of the large trees of the tropical jungle allowed us to see monkeys, toucans, tree frogs and even coati. Being afraid to heights, going on these hanging-bridges with the boys was a bit frightening for us because they thought it would be funny to jump up and down as they walked across! We made sure to walk alone next time.
After this, we were able to explore the network of volcanic thermal springs on the property that were located between two beautiful rivers. We were even able to take volcanic mud baths while enjoying the beautiful scenery. The next day, the boys slid down the 500-meter water slide through the jungle while we watched from the hanging bridges. We then learned about the process of coffee making and an ancient tradition of Precolombian style pottery to produce ceramics that represent the Chorotega Indian culture in Costa Rica.
Each day, we were able to end our adventures by watching an uninterrupted view of the breathtaking sunsets of Costa Rica from our location up the volcano. Each night, people would stop what they were doing to watch and dance in the light of the sunset. The thing that struck us the most about this part of our trip was an incredible culture, and the undeniable kindness of the Costa Rican people. A saying that the people of Costa Rica use often is “Pura Vida” translating to “pure life” or “simple life”. This expression really amplifies how they live their lives each day. Pura Vida” means that people are grateful for the things they do have in life, instead of dwelling on the negative things that they don’t.
On the sixth day of our trip, we got on a bus to cross the border and headed for San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua to meet up with the rest of the students on our Global Lab. San Juan del Sur is a coastal town known for its colorful, young, surfing culture. As a large group of 10 people, we got a beautiful Airbnb home in the hills nearby the town with incredible views and an even better pool. Because of the young and vibrant culture of the town, within hours of arriving, we were able to find a pool crawl party and meet a variety of people from all over the globe.
Something that struck us about this portion of our trip was the stark difference between the rich and the poor of the country of Nicaragua. When we looked off the balcony of the beautiful house we rented as a group in San Juan, only 100 meters away we could see the small huts of the locals that lived nearby. While we had an infinity pool, they did not have running water. This was something unlike what we had ever experience in Canada, and it helped to put our trip into perspective.
We spent a week here, enjoying the beaches, the food, and meeting new people from around the world. We rented motorbikes and ATVs to drive around the city and to neighboring beaches. We also drove up to the colossal statue The Christ of the Mercy (where the two of us almost got stuck halfway on our ATV since the hill was so steep) which was 134m above ground and overlook the northernmost seawall in the bay of San Juan.
Unfortunately, due to unpredictable circumstances, we had to leave the country and continue the project from home since it had become unsafe due to the current political situation. This was a new challenge that we had to overcome. It has been two weeks since we’ve been back, and we communicate with our team and our client via Skype and other resources to ensure that our project is still underway. Although this was not the ideal situation nor what we had expected going into the project, we are still in continuous communication with our other two team members and the companies. The first week we had to leave the country was quite hectic since it was so last minute, but we are now getting into a routine with the project, such as daily updates with the team and bi-weekly or weekly meetings with our client. The socio-political situation is still a concern for the safety of the team as well as the companies and the people. We are constantly keeping up to date on what is happening in Nicaragua and will see what the future holds.
Until next time,
Paula & Mia