Rafting, chocolate, and monkeys, oh my!

Today we started off the day with local fruit at breakfast. The fruit here is extremely fresh. I'm definitely going to miss that, when I get back to the states. After breakfast we headed to Posa Azal for white water rafting. Since we started off on level four, one of the hardest level of rafting, I was in for a surprise.

Once we reached deep water, we had the opportunity to jump off a ten foot cliff. Unfortunately, the impact caused me to lose my shoe. Luckily the trek back to the vans wasn't as long as the journey there. After rafting for approximately 13 miles, we enjoyed a traditional Costa Rican lunch consisting of fruits, meat, beans and rice. After lunch, we headed to Tirimbina where we walked in the rainforest towards a chocolate refinery. While hiking through the forest, we saw lots of plants,  monkeys, poison dart frogs, and bullet ants.

While at the refinery, we learned the process cocoa goes through to be manufactured into a  chocolate bar. We were able to try raw cocoa beans, hot cocoa, and milk and dark chocolate pieces.

After walking back to the lodge, we listened to a lecture on sustainable ecotourism. The lecture talked about the different levels businesses can achieve, while being eco-friendly. They were rated on a leaf system of 1-4. Four leaves was the best and meant your business  meets or exceeds the highest standards. He also talked about making the environment a better place for those that come after us. After the lecture, we boarded the bus for the two hour drive home. We had dinner at a pizzeria. The service wasn't the greatest, but the pizza was very greasy, yet delicious.

I ended the day blogging in the lobby with a watermelon daiquiri made with fresh watermelon. My 

Costa Rican adventure so far has been a blast. I'm excited  to see what the rest of the trip entails. 

Buenos  noches, Costa Rica.