Each day we spend in Costa Rica was unique and interesting. However, one day sticks out as particularly interesting. In my opinion, Wednesday was easily the most challenging and exhausting day, but I also had the most fun.
It started out with a few of us waking up very early in the morning in attempt to catch the sunrise. Well, we tried, but turns out there was a mountain in the way. A little disappointed, but it was worth the effort. A couple of hours later breakfast was served and I managed to wake myself up with about 3 cups of coffee. The news came that we would be going to the field to pick coffee. This excited everybody because we were unable to go the previous day due to weather.
We made the lengthy trek down to the coffee fields and got our instructions. Seemed easy enough. The weather was beautiful and we were right in the mountains. Picking coffee is straight forward, you take the ripe berries off and put them in your basket, going from one plant to the next. It doesn’t sound fun, but being there with everybody and enjoying the weather turned out to be a really cool experience. I was oblivious to the process of producing coffee prior to this trip, so getting that hands-on experience made me appreciate coffee a lot more.
Once you finish picking the coffee, your day is just getting started. Hiking down a mountain isn’t so hard, but hiking up one can get to you. We hiked up the mountain and I got the best leg work out of my life. After stopping several times on the way back to the house for rest, we finally stumbled into the kitchen for lunch. I think we all were a little surprised by how physically demanding the work was and impressed that some people can do this every day.
This day was far from over, though. We had planned a ziplining trip on Tuesday and despite being exhausted, I was beyond excited to go. I had never been ziplining and didn’t know what to expect. To be honest, I didn’t anticipate how great it would be. Hundreds of feet in the air with incredible views. It was one of the most exhilarating and adventurous times of my life. I had no idea that ziplining could be that fun. Plus the Tarzan swing at the end, which is exactly what it sounds like.
After the great ziplining experience we all went to a café and talked about the experience. The coffee was amazing as always and the stories were even better. We got back to the house and had some fantastic dinner, bragged about our stories to those who didn’t go, and finished off the night by playing card games for hours. It was such an amazing day and really encapsulates my Costa Rica experience.
Trey Kenner
Sophomore Astrophysics major