Blog archives for the day Thursday, January 5th, 2017

We woke up knowing that we had a busy day ahead of us but we were not sure what we were doing. We knew that we were going for a hike and that some of the day would be devoted to learning about the culture in Costa Rica. Knowing this, we left our hostel at 7AM to have our first of many hikes in the Talamanca Mountains. The hike started with a incredibly steep incline and after the first ten minutes I was not sure I was going to make it. Once we made it to the clearing at the top of the mountain, we were looking at San Jose and everything surrounding it.

After frolicking in the field and taking a few pictures of the view, we made our way back down the mountain and went to the first of many farms that we would visit during our time in Costa Rica. It was an organic farm run by a man named Ruben. During our visit we saw all the crops that he produces there. Among the crops were kale, lettuce, onions, basil, mint, and much more.

After our visit to the farm, we had a delicious lunch with a live musician playing while we ate. We then hopped on the bus and drove to a man that had a trapiche. A trapiche is a sugar cane mill. At the trapiche we saw all the equipment that he used to produce his products and we even got to have a little taste of some of the products he produces.

We left the trapiche and went to visit a man who makes masks. It was very interesting to hear about his process and I was surprised to learn that it takes a month for him to make one mask. After learning a little bit about the masks, a couple of us got the chance to put on a mask and put on a performance for the rest of us.

After an amazing performance from some in the masks, we headed back into San Jose to take a dance class. This was my favorite part of the day because being a dance major it is always fun to learn new styles and be able to bring what I learn back to school with me. At the dance class, we learned three different styles. This turned out to be a lot more of a work out then I expected because we were constantly moving the entire time. After shimmying our way through dance class, we all walked back to the hostel and had the rest of the night to ourselves. It was an exhausting day but an overall great one. I’m excited to see what else Costa Rica has to hold.

By Blair

Follow