Final Fun Week in Costa Rica

Through no prior planning of my own, I am in a wonderful situation where I have no final exams. So instead of sitting in Evanston for a week, I decided to gather a group of classmates who were also in the same predicament for a trip to Costa Rica, with my pitch being “Who needs finals..Let the adventure begin in Costa Rica with active volcanos, tree houses, and cloud forests! “. The country is rather undeveloped and lush with trees and plants as we are in a tropical region. We have rented some SUV’s and make our way to Monte Verde on the first day, which is the cloud forest. The drive is nice and scenic, though it can take a while on the 2 lane highway if you get stuck behind a slow car or truck. I have never seen so many shades of green in scenery. The best part is stopping for fresh coconut water along the way. We go zip-lining in the cloud forest and get a beautiful view while flying through and above the forest.  A nice end to the night was drinks on the balcony and at the jacuzzi to watch the sunset. A must try is the guaro sour, which is very refreshing for the hot and humid days. The next day we take a van and boat ride over to the Arenal Volcano. It is active, but has not erupted since 2010. Here we go on a hike through the forests in search of creatures that live around the volcano. Ending the day at the hot springs was a rather unfortunate twist for me. Coming down what I call the Waterslide of Death, I ended up twisting my knee, and thus limping around for the rest of the trip. Had I see how the slide was actually spitting out people at the end, I would not have gone. But I guess you can’t have it all!