Water Day

As expected, today was a wet, fun experience for our students. After a mercifully late breakfast time (8am), our whole group made their way to kayak on Lake Arenal. Under the watchful eyes of our guides, our group ventured across the lake in pairs to a protected cove where they immediately jumped out of their kayaks to swim... and helped de-kayak anyone too slow to put themselves in the water. Although our paddle began in a chilly rain, the sun quickly forced its way through the clouds and gave us a great view of the volcano (seen below).

With sore arms, we then made our way to La Fortuna, one of the most incredible waterfalls you will find. The granite walls and towering trees frame the falls and gave our students an unforgettable setting to swim and chase fish. Our students were so impressed with the view and refreshing swim, they hardly complained about the 500 stair climb back to the bus! Sadly, you will need to rely on your student's social media feed of the falls for photos as I was not brave enough to risk my phone with the river's slippery bottom. Here's a sloth we saw on the way instead!

As we weren't quite wet enough, our group then made its way to the Baldi Hot Springs. This spa is far from the hidden oasis I expected before my first visit, with countless pools, waterfalls, and similarly sized tour groups. Our students enjoyed testing their endurance in the increasingly hot pools while the chaperones enjoyed the opportunity to soak our tired muscles. Again, this wet environment was not suitable for my phone, so here's a picture of a woodpecker visiting our group at breakfast!

Tomorrow, our group travels to my favorite destination of our trip: Monteverde! Our kiddos, slightly more sun-exposed than yesterday, are now tucked away in preparation for tomorrow's early wake-up. Hasta mañana!