Manuel Antonio

Jimmy comes in for the crash landing.

Yesterday, John, Jimmy, Gabe, and I woke up early to do our final La Fortuna excursion of the trip -- zip lining over the rain forest. As someone not in love with heights (I have in the past assumed crash position during take-off and landing), the idea of jumping off a platform into open nothingness was unsettling. What´s more, after we took the tram to the top of the mountain, I realized that the intense fog and mist meant we had to jump into the clouds, blind, unsure of where the end of the line was. Second thoughts? too bad. I did the first canopy and realized, once in the clouds that there was me, suspended by a harness, 600 feet of open air, and rain forest. Let´s just say I ran through the cable snaps/harness breaks scenario more than once -- in mid-air for that matter.

That afternoon, we took a 5+ hour car ride to Manuel Antonio, a charming beach town. The ride was long: though we slept for most of it, we did banter ... if I may, I´d liken us to a prep-school version of The View. In a couple weeks, we´re kinda spreading across the country (i.e. Gabe and Jimmy are staying in the northeast; John is going to Los Angeles), so it´s nice to have some face time post-Choate, after which it will be harder -- but still possible -- to stay in touch.

Manuel Antonio is great. Our hotel is amazing: we´re staying in 3 bedroom apartment, outfitted with a kitchen, multiple bathrooms, dining room, and living room (I´m typing from a hotel computer, so I can´t upload pictures until tomorrow). This morning, we went to the national park, and took a 3 hour guided animal watching tour. In the afternoon, we hung by the beach, though we couldn´t go very deep into the water, because Costa Rica has severe riptides. Concluding thoughts -- if I ever have to see or eat rice-and-beans again,  I´m going to be sick. All the other food is great and authentic though.