White Water Rafting, Hiking, and Chocolate!

     So today was quite an adventurous day.  We started off the day by making a long, long drive to white water rafting in the Sarapiqui River.  This was the first time I had ever white water rafted, and it was an absolute blast!  Our raft was the only one for people to fall out of, and thank goodness I wasn't one of them!  We stopped about half way through to enjoy some fresh pineapple and jump off a little cliff into the river.  It was so fun that I went three times.  We all hopped back into our rafts to finish the adventure.  Once we finished, we headed back Pozo Azul to change into dry clothes and enjoy lunch.  I tried all new foods that I had never tried before.  The mango-pineapple juice was absolutely amazing and sweet. 
     After lunch, we headed down the road to the rain forest of Braulio Carrillo National Park where we got to hike a trail about 30 minutes into the forest.  During the trail, we had to cross a very, very long suspension bridge that was kind of sketchy.  The guide told us to stay in the middle, don't lean toward the sides, and stay about 3 feet away from each other.  At the very end of the bridge we got to see two monkeys!  Then we got to enjoy a chocolate tour that showed us how chocolate was traditionally made.  Chocolate comes from cocoa beans which can be found inside large oval looking fruits.  You have to crack them open like an egg and get the seeds and pulp out.  The seeds have to ferment for about seven days in order to dry out and kill the embryo.  Once they are fermented, they are placed in the sun or shade, depending on the weather, to dry out.  Once dry, they are taken out of the shell and smashed with a rock.  Then the cocoa is passed through a grinder to reach a powder form.  Hot water can be added to make a cocoa drink.  We were allowed to taste the chocolate at the different stages, and I felt like I was in Heaven.  I didn't mind the bitter taste because I love dark chocolate. 
     After the guide was done showing us the traditional process of harvesting cocoa we got to spot some cocoa trees.  Then we headed back to the building for a PowerPoint on ecotourism and sustainability.  There are different standard programs. The CST, certificate for sustainable tourism certified them in hotels.  The EBF, ecological blue flag, gave them 3 stars in natural place and watershed.  Tirimbina received four leaves as of December 2012. 
    After the presentation, we headed back to San Jose.  Once we got back to the hotel, we walked a couple blocks to an Italian restaurant, Basilico.  The inside was so cutely decorated and made me feel like I was actually in Italy.  It took us 2 1/2 hours to get our pizza but it finally came and was really good.  Once we were nice and stuffed (and some drunk) we walked back to the hotel to call it a night.