Day 1: February 28, 2026
¡Welcome to Costa Rica!. After such a long wait, they finally arrived in the Pura Vida country. It was so nice to meet at the beach and see this wonderful sunset, and we finally got to meet each other's families. We had our first night here in Monteverde.
Day 2: March 1, 2026
Our second day started amazingly, and we explored the wonderful and mystical Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve. When we were in the reserve, it felt like being inside a cloud. We loved all the animals that we knew, including Oropopo, the owl that we met. They told us that this owl species was the biggest in Costa Rica. One of our favorite parts of the day was to know Monteverde downtown and of course take some pictures.
Day 3: March 2, 2026
Finally, the español classes got started, and we were really excited about learning a new language. After a very productive morning, we went to the Monteverde Life coffee tour to learn the entire production process, and finished the day with a beautiful sunset.
Day 4: March 3, 2026
On our second day of class, in addition to learn español, we also learned about Costa Rica's culinary art. As part of the class activity, we prepared arroz con pollo ourselves. Later in the afternoon, it was time to shake our bodies, and we had fun dancing in our Costa Rican traditional dance class. At the end of the day, we relaxed in the jacuzzi, explored the surroundings, and ended with a night tour where we discovered the nocturnal creatures of the cloud forest.
Day 5: March 4, 2026
Today we tried real 100% chocolate for the first time. We had the opportunity to learn a lot about cacao, understanding the entire process behind it, not only from the chocolate, but also how tapa dulce is made. It's incredible how much work it takes, but its delicious flavor makes it all worth it.
Day 6: March 5, 2026
We have been learning fun local words like "chunches" and what it means to be "camote". It's been super fun and interesting. This is our last night with our host families, which brings mixed emotions because we have grown really attached to the country. Today we went on a ziplining adventure, taking our emotions to the limit, and finally visited Monteverde's most iconic tree, the ficus. It was amazing to see it.
Day 7: March 6, 2026
The day we did not want to come, finally arrived, departure day. After one last class and lunch, we said goodbye to this beautiful place with the hope of coming back soon. Once we got to San José, we tried new fruits, visited Finca Life, and went on a Trapiche tour.
Day 8: March 7, 2026
Today we visited a volcano, and even though we could not see the crater, the experience was still fantastic. We also went to La Paz waterfalls, where we hiked, saw monkeys, lots of birds, and beautiful waterfalls. To end the day, we stopped at Fresas Land before heading back to the hotel and enjoyed some delicious strawberries with cream.
Day 9: March 8, 2026
Our last morning in the country finally arrived. We said goodbye to everyone, hoping for a safe journey home and that our paths would cross again.
