This past weekend, I traveled to high heights, through dense forests, on narrow and windy roads, to an extremely small community perched on the side of a mountain, called: Providencia. This minuscule community consists of around 200 people, and the houses miles upon miles apart. To get to Providencia, we took 3 types of transportation: Van, truck & by foot. From Veritas, the 8 of us piled into a small van and traveled about two and a half hours outside of the city. The journey started in crowded highways, but quickly became one-way, wooded, dirt roads. Everyone in the bus was sure that we weren't going to make it up the tight and windy road, but some how, some way, probably by miracle, we made it to a small town. Here is where the van dropped us off, and said that we would need a 4x4 truck to take us the rest of the way. So that is exactly what we did. A dad and his daughter walked up, helped us load all of our luggage into the back of their truck, and said climb in! We all thought they were kidding, but they certainly were not. We all jumped into the back of the truck with our luggage and took another drive, on what they call, "The Road of Death." This was no joke. It is truly remarkable how vehicles can be pushed to such limits,
and make it up and down hills, on the side of a mountain, on roads made completely from loose gravel, and the gravel was more sized like large rocks.
When we arrived at the home, of the family with which we were staying, the mother welcomed each of us with a warm hug, and a kiss on the cheek. She thanked us so much for coming to visit with them, and that she and her family were so incredibly happy to have us there for the weekend. That evening, we got settled in and relaxed around the kitchen table for some fresh coffee. We walked around the house itself, and got acquainted with the area.
The next morning, we woke up for breakfast around 7 am, and ate the most delicious organic food! Everything for food in the community, is grown right there on the farm. So, all of the food was as fresh as you could ever imagine. Shortly after finishing breakfast, we packed up some water bottles and hit the road for what would be the most intensive hike I could have ever imagined. We walked up the side of the mountain, on what was a road for several hours, stopping along the way to look around and sight see. This had been one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. This adventure quickly turned green, where we began to hike into the forest to look for a berry field; and this was one of the most scary adventures I have ever been on. One slip up, one step to your left or right, and you were falling down the side of the mountain. It was crazy intense. Later that day, after our excursion through the forest, we took another hike to a beautiful waterfall about 40 minutes walk from the house! The first waterfall we went to, had a beautiful pond at the bottom, that also flowed into the river. Some of the people in my group went swimming here, but the reactions they gave after jumping in led me to believe that it was much colder than I wanted it to be. So, I stayed clothed, warm and dry on the side and took pictures of the more venturous people who took a dip! Our Tico Papa, took us on a hike to another beautiful waterfall called, Catarata Velo De Novia. We were not able to swim in this one because of it's dangerous pressures and short depths.
The next morning, we woke up for breakfast around 7 am, and ate the most delicious organic food! Everything for food in the community, is grown right there on the farm. So, all of the food was as fresh as you could ever imagine. Shortly after finishing breakfast, we packed up some water bottles and hit the road for what would be the most intensive hike I could have ever imagined. We walked up the side of the mountain, on what was a road for several hours, stopping along the way to look around and sight see. This had been one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. This adventure quickly turned green, where we began to hike into the forest to look for a berry field; and this was one of the most scary adventures I have ever been on. One slip up, one step to your left or right, and you were falling down the side of the mountain. It was crazy intense. Later that day, after our excursion through the forest, we took another hike to a beautiful waterfall about 40 minutes walk from the house! The first waterfall we went to, had a beautiful pond at the bottom, that also flowed into the river. Some of the people in my group went swimming here, but the reactions they gave after jumping in led me to believe that it was much colder than I wanted it to be. So, I stayed clothed, warm and dry on the side and took pictures of the more venturous people who took a dip! Our Tico Papa, took us on a hike to another beautiful waterfall called, Catarata Velo De Novia. We were not able to swim in this one because of it's dangerous pressures and short depths.
We also walked through the coffee plantation, which was pretty neat! Orlando, our Tico Papa, taught us all about the process of picking coffee beans all the way to it's roasting point. I really enjoyed learning so much about the process, and let me tell you, I had some of the best coffee I've ever tasted this weekend. The best part is, everything was completely organic! All in all, this weekend was highly enjoyable. It was nice to get away from the city and breathe in the cleanest of airs. For those you who may be reading this, because you plan on taking this trip, or studying abroad in Costa Rica... Prepare for a weekend of nothing but the land. There is no wifi. It's truly a weekend of walking, exploring, hiking, learning and adventuring. It's an amazing opportunity you shouldn't miss.
