A Weekend in La Fortuna
Bountiful waterfalls, luscious greenery, booming volcanoes and bright colors are what envelop the beautiful countryside of Costa Rica. Last weekend our group visited the town of La Fortuna, an oasis for eco-tourism and adrenaline junkies. The main street in the city faced the massive volcano ahead that faded behind the hazy fog of the never ending rain clouds. On each side of the street there were countless signs advertising for zip lining, white water rafting, bungee jumping and more. This small town inland of Costa Rica’s eastern coast line inhabited some of the most remarkable tourist points that our group had the opportunity of visiting.
Our first day of weekend in La Fortuna led us to the hot water springs fueled by the activity of the nearby volcano. Baldi Resort, a nearby hotel, built a water park empire around these natural hot springs. Pools and water slides were strategically placed around each of the pools. Our small group of eight Northeastern Students were lucky enough to spend the afternoon at this water park resort. Each of us raced down water slides over 100 degrees as surrounding guests anxiously cheered us on.
The following day we woke up early in order to start our day with a morning hike through the La Fortuna National Park. We hiked through the jungle, crossed through rivers and walked across hanging bridges as we peered over the endless jungle canopy. The experience was surreal to say the least and the views were irresistible. As we stood on the bridges, 150 feet above ground level, peering through the towering trees and rainy mist I took a deep breath to cherish the undeniable beauty of our world.
As if our day couldn’t get better – we left the National Park to continue onto our afternoon of zip lining through the tropical rain forest. We took the tram from the base of the mountain in order to reach our starting point for our two hour zip lining expedition. We sped through the rain forest at almost 400 feet gazing over the rich and diverse jungle below. As I looked over my shoulder I could see in the distance the coast line. The sun subtly peaking through the clouds illuminating the peaks of the calming ocean waves.
The final day of our weekend mini-vacation landed us at the basin of the Catarata Water Falls. After walking down hundreds of steps we finally reached the bottom of the water fall. For a few minutes we stood in all its glory as gallons of water poured over into the river. We turned the bend and jumped into the ice cold river water as we stayed afloat at the mercy of the river’s current.
The weekend was a peek into the natural beauty of Costa Rica. Bewildered by all it has to offer words can only begin to describe the beautiful sites we were able to see.
