After breakfast, we drove to 100 % Aventura, the company that would be leading us on horseback riding and ziplining. At first, we went horseback riding with helmets. I rode a brown horse with a white crest on his forehead called Anicio, who was very friendly. Though he kept looking back (as if to assess me) at first, he did not grow out of control, and was initially more disciplined that at least half the horses in our tour. He stopped without eating the grass that grew abundantly on the sides of the trail. As part of our tour, we wove up and downhill through the cloud forest, meadows, and with a panoramic view of the valley. I spotted several butterflies of different colors and sizes fluttering across the forest, and flowers of various hues. The overcast clouds cleared to give us sun for a while, before covering up once more, and giving way to slight drizzles and chilly, strong gusts of wind. I loved the tour, and how it put me at peace. Then, at around 10:30 am, we went to the ziplining tour, with a helmet and a harness. There were eight ziplines on the course; the first six zipping across the forest tops, and the last two were the longest, fastest, and highest (soaring over the valley). I went on the first seven ziplines.
After these new experiences, we headed back to Hotel Villa Verde once again for lunch. We then went to the Santa Elena Private Reserve that was trying to create a biological corridor by reforestation so animals and birds could migrate through forests without going through towns and cities. This was being implemented by using others’ unused land to plant trees. Their goal is to successfully plant and grow 5000 trees. After learning about their work, we were split up into groups; my group planted a small apple sapling. Others similarly planted food sources for animals and birds such as avocados.
After planting the saplings, I vividly remember it being 3:38 pm, and our activities for the day had elapsed!
After planting the saplings, I vividly remember it being 3:38 pm, and our activities for the day had elapsed!
Our tour director decided to let us explore the quaint little town of Santa Elena—called by locals as Monteverde. My friends and I bought ice cream ( the $2 lemon ice cream was really good!) and visited the Treehouse Café, which attracts tourists because of its unique design. As mentioned in its name, the restaurant has a big tree going through its middle, with branches brushing the heads of visitors sitting at corner benches. Its aerial roots also create an artistic, rustic appeal, and live music played on. After taking several snaps, we also window-shopped at stores, regrouped and rode the bus back to the hotel. We had dinner, distributed our gifts to other troops (called SWAPs) and visited the hotel disco briefly. Finally, I ran back in the dark to Room 16 at 9:30 pm—evading the moths of various shapes and sizes flying, bugs crawling and bushes rustling suspiciously.
Our room was cozy and much better than our room in Las Cabanitas (which had holes in the roof, which were poorly patched up with orange tape). There were two windows, from which strong gusts of wind from the mountains rushed into our room, eliminating any need for air conditioning. After quickly getting ready, I tucked myself in the covers, with a headlamp and my glasses as protection against all evil (namely bugs).