Day 5: Chills, Thrills, and Spills

Hello everyone one last time from Monteverde. Today was the big adventure day for sure, and as a result I'm going to have to make this update short because I'm fading fast. We started out today at the Santa Elena Cloud Forest with about a two hour hike or so. It was incredible to be in there. So much life exists in this rare cloud forest, and it was a great experience for all involved. Probably the best part of the education that came out of the hike was just helping the students to appreciate the balance that exists in nature, and all of the mutual relationships that exists between the thousands of species there. Our guide Gustavo made an excellent point, that if you cut down a tree you don't just cut down a tree but an entire habitat, and if you re-plant a tree, the tree may grow back, but that habitat may never return. That said, we visited a local high school afterwards to plant some trees in connection with a project the high school is involved with. So another day of giving back. We then broke for a quick lunch and then off to horseback riding and zip-lining. Both were great. For many it was their first time engaging in such activities. Needless to say there were no sad faces at the end of the day. My challenge was that I had a horse named Renegade, and I soon found out why the name. He did whatever he desired and he liked to kick other horses. What are the odds that this was the horse I got put with? Then with zip-lining, which was good times, I got stuck 2/3 of the way down by accidentally breaking too early (long story, but it's valid), and I had to get rescued. Let's just say a few students had some laughs at my expense, but hey, such are the joys of being on tour. There was this thing at the end called "Tarzan's Rope" at the end which was essentially miniature bungee jumping followed by swinging. Most did it, I couldn't, and not making any apologies for that. Couldn't work myself up to. But the majority did and had an exhilarating experience. The day was capped off by the kids adopting this dog that befriended us on the way to an ATM. Still not sure what to do with it. Another long story that will have to be explained later. So tomorrow morning we're up bright and early to head off to the Pacific Coast. On the way, a little change of plan: we're going on a crocodile safari! More on this tomorrow. Good night everyone!