ultimate gringo day

Yesterday morning began by being strapped into a harness, an orange helmet placed on my head, and being escorted into a van. I spent the following 2 hours flying through the canopy of a rainforest in Costa Rica. Although it was fun, I barely had time to enjoy the scenery below because I was traveling down the zip line so quickly. We had to deal with an obnoxious Danish guy who thought he was hilarious, but was annoying to everyone around him.

Next I took a tourist shuttle to a lake, where we got on a boat, to another shuttle. The boat ride was very enjoyable and offered fantastic views of the active volcano in Costa Rica, the 3rd most active in the world, Arenal.

the only documentation of the gringo day: Volcano Arenal (notice the plume of smoke)

Immediately upon arrival, we went on a tour of the volcano to see the lava at night. (Don´t worry Mom, we were really far away.) We saw chunks of it rolling down the sides of the volcano; it was gorgeous. I could have stayed there for hours, but instead was swept away to enjoy the hot springs near by. This was the most awful thing I´ve done the entire time I´ve been here. It was an extremely developed resort, with swim up bars. This may sound luxurious, but to a backpacker, it was hideous. I never thought I would spend any time at a resort on this trip, but there I was, trying to occupy myself for 2 hours until the bus picked up back up.

I need a break from the "gringo day," so I´m heading to Panama.