I decided to go for an exploration scuba dive with Claudio, who owns the Agua Rica, a diving shop near Wayra. We start on Friday 18/01, when I first watch a introductory video and then go to a hotel pool with Claudio where we practice the most important techniques - clearing a water-filled mask and recovering a lost regulator (the regulator is the thing you breath with). Next we practice "neutral buoyance" (that means swimming weighless, i.e. neither sinking nor ...

This week I took two surf classes. The first one wasn't too bad, at least we learned the basics of getting up (at least one version of it, apparently everyone is doing it differently), and managed to surf a few seconds on a white wave. The second surf lesson was useless, because the teacher just told me the same stuff again, and spend the rest of the time with chatting up random chicks. So I rented a board for one week. The first time on my own I though this is ...

We join a ziplining (canopy) tour in the forest near La Fortuna. This is how it works: You wear a harness that is attached to some rolls that roll on a steel cable. You slide down the cable sitting, and you have one hand in a leather glove sliding on the cable behind (!) the rolls. That hand is both to keep your direction and prevent you from spinning, but also to break by pulling on the line with the glove. I don't trust this technology very much, but it's all w...

We arrive at the Backpackers, La Fortuna. It's still time to go to the La Fortuna catarata, a really nice waterfall, probably 20 m high or more. We move down about 500 steps to its bottom, where the water rushes with force into a basin of very clear and cool water surrounded by rocks. We go swimming in the water. It's impossible to get closer than 10 m to where the water falls into the pool, because the water current just pushes you back - but it's fun to try. A...

For the weekend, we have rent a car with four people (Roman, Kristina, Christian and myself), to go to Lago Arenal. Arenal is a dam lake, and one of Costa Rica's most important energy sources. It is famous for windsurfing (and pretty much the only place in Costa Rica where windsurfing makes sense), as the winds over the lake are strong and steady. Next to the lake, there is the large and still active volcano Arenal, which gives the lake its name. After a stop i...