Day 7 - Return Home

By Molly Franson

Pura Vida from our last couple of hours in beautiful Costa Rica. It is safe to say that this has been the trip of a lifetime. We are beyond blessed to have had the opportunity to spend this week together playing basketball, exploring, and growing closer together. We will never forget the memories from this trip.

When I first flew over Costa Rica we all looked out the window at the green mountainous land below. It was amazing from the airplane so I knew it would be even better once we were on the ground. Going through customs was pretty easy but getting my luggage was a little more difficult. While we stood and waited the power went out, but it was fine it came back on pretty quickly. The belt started moving again and I grabbed my luggage. Before we boarded and checked our bags, my handle on my bag wouldn’t go down and it got ripped off on the flight but it really was no big deal.

After we arrived to our beautiful resort, we experienced our first language barrier at the mall when we tried to order food. I was super excited to use my Spanish here, but I froze up when I heard how fast they spoke. It’s funny thinking back on that now because I think all of us settled in and learned a thing or two on how to communicate (we also learned that it’s totally acceptable to just answer with Pura Vida and it would suffice). A lot of the natives spoke enough English and when we got stuck our guide Silvia helped us through. At the Colegio Seminario, where we played our second game, I met two of the high school girls and tried to use my Spanish…I ended up telling them I was 900 years old and they were so confused, but died laughing at me. Needless to say, my Spanish improved a lot since the beginning of the trip.

            

Driving from adventure to adventure experiencing Costa Rica was really incredible, and completely frustrating. One day, we were driving through San Jose during rush hour and moved three blocks in 45 minutes. But we took advantage of the downtime and ended up playing games and singing as loud and obnoxiously as we could.

The houses in Costa Rica are so colorful. Some of them are built from scraps, others are nicer, but they all have barbed wired and fences. There is graffiti everywhere and some of it is really beautiful, others looked very destructive. The gyms we played in are no BB&T Arenas (which we are so lucky to have). They have concrete floors and crooked rims, but the athletes love their gyms and it’s so obvious. The people here have such a love for life. The hospitality was incredible. They welcomed us and they treated us so well. They have such a sense of community here. When we drove to an excursion we passed a park filled with people. In America it feels like our parks are always empty.

            

The food here was delicious. Every restaurant we went to people always took pictures of their food. After we would work a clinic, the people in Costa Rica would make our lunches for us. They usually consisted of a sandwich, apple and banana. It was the sweetest thing when we walked back and saw our homemade lunches. It was even sweeter when we realized they cut the crust off of all our bread!

When we took a day to hangout at the beach, we realized that the ocean is SO much fun, but also actually ruthless and doesn’t care about anything. For starters, we weren’t used to the salt water so all of our throats and eyes burned. Then we experienced our first double wave and got up after the first one talking about how cool it was only to get thrown around by the second one. I think our teamwork during our swim improved a ton. We came up with a system where we would call out the number of waves and whether we were going to dive under them or ride them out. Then we all kept checking on each other to make sure everyone was all right. Our communication was impeccable and we all made it home safely so that was definitely an added bonus. 

Our excursions, basketball experience, and time spent here was more than I ever could’ve imagined. We have grown together as so much more than a basketball team. We owe so many thanks to everyone who helped make this trip possible. You guys supported us and gave us a trip that really changed our lives!

Day 6 - Jaco Beach

By Shar'Rae Davis

The experience of going to the beach was incredible. Most of the team was sleeping the entire way there, but then came alive at we approached the tropical scene. Victor, one of our tour guides, stopped the bus so we could do a little shopping and see the crocodiles. The crocodile were about 15 miles out from Jaco beach. They were laying on a sand area right below one of the bridges that we had to cross with our tour bus. There were so many, and they were just sitting there. Every once in a while on crocodile would open and shut its mouth. It was so crazy that they were not moving at all. When I first walked over to look at them I thought they were fake (one crocodile had it's mouth open for almost 10 minutes!

After the crocodile viewing, we finished the bus ride to the beach. We were able to see the huge waves from the bus. Most of the waves were about 8-12 feet high (not very typical waves at American beaches). We all were very excited to get in the water, especially because we were so hot from walking around Jaco. Some of us went straight to the water while the others and I went to eat and do a little shopping. Eventually, we all ended up at the beach.

The view of the ocean was beautiful. We all took off into the water only to find hard rocks waiting for the bottom of our feet. After 5 feet the sand was a little softer. The salt water burned as well on initial contact, but we all got used to it eventually. The first few waves approached us and honestly I was scared, but ready to take them on! The waves defiantly won to say the least. It was funny being next to someone when a wave would come. It was even funnier to see my teammate's head pop up 10 feet behind me after being hit by a monstrous wave. The entire team had a blast.

Once we finished with the beach, we checked into the hotel in Los Suenos. The hotel was amazing. There was a huge pool area that ran right up to the ocean! We had the best of both worlds. It was an incredible day overall and I am grateful I was able to experience it with my teammates!

Day 5 - Hot Spring Water Park!

By Molly Glick

After going on a once in a lifetime opportunity to see an active volcano, we headed back to the bus and decided to go and sit in some hot springs, although we would have preferred cold springs because of the heat!  All the players thought that these hot springs were going to be like hot tubs dug into the ground.  Little did we know that it was actually going to be a water park!

Shortly after arriving at Kalambu Hot Springs Waterpark, we changed into our bathing suits and it was like we were little kids again! We went from slide to slide screaming with excitement and thoroughly enjoying ourselves! I would have to say that my two favorite slides were the one where part of our inner-tube literally went off the slide and the one that went straight down giving us a face full of water! We even had fun on the little kid park getting dumped on by huge buckets of water and getting stuck in slides! After taking on all the slides we headed over to the hot springs pool that included two waterfalls!

We had a blast and we had an amazing view while doing it too! On one side of the park was the volcano we hiked to earlier and the other side was full of grass fields with cows in them and mountains in the background! After a fun filled couple of hours we settled down and had a great meal that ended with rice pudding for dessert. Although the texture was odd, the taste was still good!

Overall the Kalambu Hot Springs Waterpark was a great addition to this amazing trip and I’m so thankful I got to experience it with such an amazing team and coaching staff! As they say here in Costa Rica, Pura Vida!

Day 5 - On the Volcano with Faith

By Faith Sanders

When I learned that we’d be taking a tour of the Arenal Volcano I imagined climbing the side of a monstrous mountain and looking down at the beautiful country of Costa Rica once we reached the top. We did in fact get a great view of the country, but unfortunately we could not actually climb the mountain due to the hazardous gases surrounding the base of the mountain and it was generally not safe.

Although it was not what I expected it was still a very beautiful experience. We started with a walk through woods that turned into rainforest as we approached the volcano base. While walking, our tour guide, Victor, showed us a tropical plant that when touched it closes and releases spikes as a defense mechanism to predators.

Once we reached the final steps that lead to our destination on the volcano’s base, Victor stopped our group and explained that we could only travel the base of the volcano to a certain extent because a group of people traveled the volcano several decades ago, and unfortunately never returned because they’d gone too far and inhaled the deadly gases. Gases are released from the Arenal Volcano still to this day, which is why it is still considered active.

We took tons of pictures with the volcano in the background, which I found pretty awesome. On the way down, my teammates spotted a huge bird that looked like a chicken with darker feathers, a black beak, and yellow tail feathers. It was one of the more exotic animals that I have seen.

My favorite part of the volcano tour was most definitely seeing the volcano (this time of year there is a 40 percent chance you are not able to see the volcano on the hike due to fog) and being able to capture every second of the magnificent sight with the GoPro camera.

Day 4 - Zip Lining

By Taryn Taugher

When people think of zip lining they usually think of three-second, teeny-weeny, slow rides through trees. But when it comes to zip lining in Costa Rica, the game has changed. I was literally zipping through the jungle at maximum speeds like a turbo jet— flying through trees and bamboo in the rainforest (they have Spanish names which there is no way I am going to attempt to spell them).

Before heading out to the lines I was strapped in to a tight harness that fits around your lower half of your body, which almost fit like a diaper. I guess you can say that they are supposed to give you a sense of safety because they don't work at all (just kidding). The lines aren't three seconds either, they were like 10-30 seconds! Despite the fun--We spent more time trying to brake when the instructor tells you to. Braking required us to pull down the wire with a padded glove that they give you upon arrival.

(Small Confession) It was even more fun not to break (while flying in a max speed) and almost run into the tree at the end. When I got across the line, one of the best parts was watching Coach Karmen and my teammates trying to brake and literally knocking over the instructor at each spot.

As I flew through the thick trees the view was almost breathtaking. They say that if you look really hard, or get very lucky you might see a sloth or even a monkey. Given that I am an unlucky person I didn't get to see one. But forget the cool animals, the trees were beautiful and for miles all you see was green and various other bright colors of flowers scattered all along the rainforest.

For those scared of heights the gorgeous view is definitely a distraction because if you look down then you probably will have to change your pants at the end. I will never forget this zip lining trip. The view was incredible and the lines were fun and super fast! I will definitely miss hearing Coach Dawn yelling WOOHOO all the way down the line! One of the best features is that we got everything on the GoPro! I am so glad I am apart of the NKU team and get to experience this, it's Costa Rica baby! PURA VIDA!

Day 4 - Clinic

By Rebecca Lyttle

Today we had our second clinic with the boys and girls from a local high school, along with a few younger children starting from age 3. It was an amazing experience to see how excited and eager theses children were to learn from our team. Most of the children did not speak English, but they watched closely to our movements and went hard in every drill. We had 6-7 stations set up that allowed all skill sets to be able to participate.

I could see the joy in every child’s eye and it made every minute enjoyable. There was a little girl by the name of Brenda who was about 3 years old and everybody loved her (she was one of the Costa Rican coaches’ daughters). She smiled the whole time and it was awesome to watch her get excited.

At the end of the clinic we gave out shirts, bags, and sunglasses. All of their faces lit up as they received their gift and they were very thankful. Even though they were simple gifts and prizes they cheered and were excited beyond measure.

They asked a few players to take pictures with them and showed their appreciation for us being there. A few of the children came to our game right after the clinic and cheered us on as we played the Costa Rican national team. I hope that we made a positive impact on their lives because I know that they touched ours.

Day 3 - Rafting with Ri

By Rianna Gayheart

Our Saturday morning in Costa Rica started at an early 6:30a.m. After breakfast we headed to Exploradores Outdoors to take an extreme trip down the white waters of Rio Pacuare. The two-hour drive started off mainly with sleeping, but as we neared closer I was once again captivated by the views of this beautiful country. With phones ready, we captured shots of green mountains and blue skies! I even accidentally took a picture of a goat walking alongside the road!

As we arrived at the base we were greeted with a traditional breakfast and introduced to one of our guides for the day. As we headed towards our launch site he instructed us on our safety equipment as well as commands we would be hearing while in the water. Commands such as; “forwards”, “backwards”, and “get down” seemed simple enough in the safety of our bus, but would later prove to be a little more complex! After a bit of a drive we switched to vehicles that would drop us off at the river. Lets just say these vehicles were more equipped to handle the off-road terrain. With a fifteen-minute drive of constant bumps, ups and downs, and squeaky breaks, the river was in sight!

I shared my raft with Christine, Kelley, Molly and Sarah, along with our guide for the day, Jorge! Decked out in our life jackets and helmets we hit the water. As we practiced commands you could feel the excitement building. We felt like masters with our oars! No one wanted to say it out loud but there was a feeling in the air that our raft might not be the most successful so the command of “Get Down!” where we sink to the bottom of the raft in cover was definitely the one we took the most serious in practice!

As we started to go we reached our first set of rapids and executed perfectly! As we celebrated and laughed at our concurred obstacle Jorge insisted every celebration end with a shout of ‘Pura Vida’, and an oar high five! We obviously obeyed his instruction and celebrated our victories over the water many times throughout the day!

As we worked through our nineteen-mile trip down Rio Pacuare we faced rapids leveled 1-4. Nothing can truly begin to explain the feelings you get when rafting. Your excitement levels are through the roof but at the same time you’re constantly nervous about which rapid will be the one to throw you overboard. It’s exhilarating and nerve-wracking all at the same time.

As Christine and I sat in the front of our raft we braved the massive waves that soaked us and the gigantic rocks that I thought were surely going to be the icebergs to our Titanic! Although we weren’t the best paddlers in the world we still moved down the rivers with, well not exactly grace, but we’ll just say efficiency!

Once we became comfortable in the water Jorge through us for a loop… no literally, he spun us in circles going down the rapids! We also went down backwards and sideways! There was definitely never a dull moment!

A little after the halfway point we stopped for lunch. Each guide carried parts of our meal with them in the raft and they worked together to create an amazing buffet-style meal in nearly no time at all. We sat around eating burritos and sandwiches with all the toppings and even got to experience some Costa Rican candy nuts and desserts. Molly had the first life changing experience of the trip with her first taste of pineapple! A moment she will never forget!

As we set off to finish our journey down river we never could have guessed the sites we would see. Beautiful waterfalls and wildlife surrounded us but nothing compared to jumping in the water and swimming down one of the canyons. Arm in arm Christine and I floated down the river on our backs and soaked in as much of the view as possible. The cliffs seemed to go up for miles and the sky a perfect shade of blue. In that moment, everything stood still, in that moment it actually sunk in that we were in another country and having a once in a lifetime opportunity. As we climbed back in our rafts Molly said what we were all thinking; “That was by far the best moment of my life.”

As our journey came to an end we thanked our guide and left him with what I will leave you…  Pura Vida! Until tomorrow!