Day 3- By Emily Seymour

It's hard to believe that we have been in Costa Rica for only a few days! It's even harder to believe we are in an area this beautiful. Today started off a little different than most. A small group of us decided to wake up to watch the sunrise at 5:46. Unfortunately it was really cloudy, so we decided to just hike down to a river. Once we got to the river, we decided this was the perfect time to hike up the river. The water wasn't incredibly deep, so I thought I'd be fine wearing rainboots. For the ,let part it was, until I walked through part of the water that reached my knees then it didn't really matter at that point. The group continued climbing over rocks and wading through the water until we reached a fallen log and decided that this would not only be the photo op but also the turn around spot. The eight of us made it back up to the Center just in time for breakfast.
After breakfast, all of us split into the same two groups and switched our project. My group was set to work in the rainforest. Before we even knew what our rainforest project was, we came across a sloth chilling in tree. Since our group was a lot smaller than the other group, we all stuck together and began trekking through the rainforest. Albert told us about the different conservation projects going on around the Center. The hike was steep and slippery. We kept having to step over fallen trees and avoid all the ants that began climbing up our boots. Once we got to a certain location, Albert sent us to form a human chain down a slope as he and two students got plants to bring back to the Center. While they were off doing that, the rest of us tried not to fall down the slope. There was hardly anything to grip onto and proper footing was hard to get. We managed to transport all of the plants, with only a few people falling. After that, we trekked back down the same path and went to try sugar cane. It was delicious!
Following that excursion, we ate an early lunch before heading to the zipline. The zipline spans over the rainforest and has eight separate ziplines. We all were suited up with harnesses then rode a cable car up to the top of the zipline. Once at the top, we were able to overlook the lake and rainforest. The view was, once again, stunning. After taking pictures (can't get enough group pictures), we set off down two practice ziplines before going to the real thing. Once on the ziplines, the view was surreal. We were soaring over the trees with the wind in our face. It was so incredible that I didn't know where to look. I don't think I've ever done something that amazing before. On the final zipline before the "photo zipline," we flew down the cable for half a mile. After completing the whole course, I can definitely saw this was such a remarkable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Today was filled with such adventurous excursions. Costa Rica is an incredible country with such beauty. I can definitely say that I'll miss it once we have to leave. The pace of life is a lot slower and more chill than the United States; it is such a nice break. The people also seem genuinely interested in what you have to say. The conversations don't feel forced. I cannot wait for what tomorrow has in store when we go back to the school. It will surely be awesome!