A Walking Tour of Toronto

Toronto is a melting pot like I’ve never seen. It is as diverse as any of the world’s capital cities I have visited including New York, London, Singapore, Sydney and Los Angeles. In addition to being diverse, it is well integrated with one neighborhood and its residents seamlessly blending into the next.

Toronto has a vibrant economy, plenty of parks and restaurants, a brilliant lakefront and some of the most interesting ethnic urban neighborhoods in the world. There is a lot to like about Toronto and little to fraught at. It even has a crime rate that is nearly ¼ of that of Chicago despite the fact that it has a population (2.5 million) nearly as big as Chicago’s (2.9 million). Recently, I spent 5 wonderful days in Toronto experiencing the full breadth of what this modern metropolis has to offer. For me and my wife, that meant running along the lakefront and walking up and down College, Carlton, King and Queen Streets to experience every ethnic neighborhood we could find. Our days began with wonderful breakfasts at our B&B in Cabbagetown enjoyed alongside travelers from Detroit, London and Dusseldorf and included trips through St. Lawrence Market, University of Toronto, Kensington Market and one memorable afternoon in Little Italy. Along the way, we accumulated experiences and memories that are encapsulated in my Toronto “diary” below.

Day 1 – Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

• As soon as we get off the short 1 hour and 10 minute flight from Chicago, we meander through Toronto’s modern Pearson International Airport. Quickly, we make our way outside and hop on a shuttle bus headed for downtown Toronto. Driving along the highway into the city, excitement sets in after we catch a glimpse of Toronto’s impressive skyline. After making multiple stops to drop the other passengers at their hotels, we finally arrive at the Chelsea stop which is nearby our Bed and Breakfast in Cabbagetown.

• We make the short walk to our B&B and are greeted warmly by the owner, Tan. Tan is a friendly Singaporean Canadian man a bit on the flamboyant side who is full of suggestions about Toronto. He is very helpful and proud and runs a clean, well organized B&B.

• We check into our pleasant, comfortable room and quickly organize our things before heading out to a nearby restaurant and bar called the House on Parliament. This recommended English style pub near our hotel has good food (I had the fries with garlic mayo and the caprese sandwich) and a lively atmosphere. Of note are the chalkboard menu inside and a nice below ground patio that looks up towards the street. Although I am only a 70 minute flight away from home, I feel like I am somewhere else far away from Chicago. I feel like I am in another country?

Day 2 – Friday, September 4th, 2009

• Today began with a 20 minute walk from Cabbagetown in the direction of the Toronto Harbourfront. As we walk, we pass through a nice park (Allan Gardens) and the St. Lawrence Market where we whet our appetite for lunch while perusing through meat and cheese stalls and various sandwich shops. Continuing on, we pick up our pace and run for an hour (over 6 miles) along the Harbourfront. As we run, we peer out at Lake Ontario in the direction of Toronto’s popular islands and take appreciation in our surroundings. Toronto’s Harbourfront is full of artistically designed walking paths and parks, a small beach and plenty of grassy areas to relax. As we run, we see ferries and sail boats, plenty of high rise lakefront living, playgrounds and parks. The Toronto music garden is especially impressive with intelligent landscaping and chairs strategically placed in a garden that weaves from left to right and rises and falls. The music garden offers free summer concerts on Thursdays and Sundays.

• After a shower back at our B&B, we put our feet back to the pavement in pursuit of the St. Lawrence Market for lunch. On the way to the market, we take in parts of the St. Lawrence neighborhood including an eye catching flat iron building decorated on one side with an illusory mural that depicts large windows and makes me question whether it is actually a painting or a hanging that has been tacked to the wall and is peeling off.

• Hungry and excited, we patrol the market in lookout for something we can sink our teeth into. We take pictures of meat cases and large stock bones for sale and glide through the market from one stall to the next. We make our way through cheese shops, clothing stalls, jewelry shops and many food shops. We decide to order a pork sandwich loaded with grilled onions and peppers from a Portuguese sandwich shop for starters. As good as the sandwich is, we only order one since we want to sample another type of food. After deliberating over a peameal bacon sandwich, eggplant parmigiana or dolmades and in between tasting 6 or 7 of Kozlik’s 35 varieties of mustards, we decide to finish our lunch with a plate of Eastern European goodies from a restaurant located in the basement of the market. We pick from the display on the counter and end up with a combination of meat pierogi, a potato latke and whitefish stuffed with crabmeat. I never would have imagined that this is what I would have had for lunch but Toronto is diverse in more ways than one and that includes dining establishments. The food is excellent and filling and we are now prepared to enjoy the 75 degree weather and see more of Toronto.

• From here, we walk through a string of parks before eventually making our way to the Distillery District. This self described “creative zone” has a warehouse neighborhood feel to it with loft living, numerous art galleries, shops and restaurants and a 14 foot tall sculpture made of 2000 pounds of steel that goes by the name Koilos. The sculpture features a creature in the crouching position that has a head fringed with flames, giving the impression of a monster eager to pounce. The Distillery District hosts many outdoor festivals and events throughout the year including the Toronto Roots Festival, the Toronto Wine and Spirit Festival and on this weekend the Artisans Art Fair. We view some art and photography and I buy a piece of homemade jewelry for Ivy before finishing off an enjoyable few hours in this “hip” area with an organic lager beer at the Mill Street Brewery.

• After more walking and wandering, we pass by the Rex Jazz Club. Recognizing the name and realizing that this is a place we want to visit, we walk inside for some late afternoon jazz over a pre dinner drink. Emerging from the Rex, we move onto Rodney’s Oyster House for dinner.

• At Rodney’s, we take great pleasure in sitting at the bar and watching the barman shuck oysters and clams amongst other items before we ourselves indulge in a combination of oysters, clams and a scrumptious bowl of periwinkles (sea snails) that require the use of toothpicks to coax these tasty critters out of their shells. At this point, it I mid evening and we decide to walk back to Cabbagetown before finishing the night with 1 more drink (and a late night snack) at the House on Parliament.


Day 3 – Saturday, September 5th, 2009

• Today brought another beautiful 75 degree day that fit perfectly with our agenda which includes plenty of walking. We begin by walking straight up Carlton Street and eventually making our way to the University of Toronto. The University of Toronto is one of Canada’s premier universities and this area has an unmistakable collegiate atmosphere. King’s circle is reminiscent of a typical American University “quad” with architecturally impressive University buildings surrounding a large area of green space that is currently being used for an intense soccer match. Queen’s park looms around the outside of the buildings. This well maintained park is full of benches to relax in, trees to read under and paths to jog or walk through. After walking through the park and munching on some sushi for lunch in the high rent Yorkville area, we find the closest subway stop and make our way to Korea town. After walking though Korea town, we stroll through more neighborhoods before finding ourselves back on College Street. We stop at bar for a pint and stare out at a large festival that seems to be monopolizing a ½ mile stretch of College Street. As we enjoy a pint of Guinness in the sun, each of us takes a stroll to get a glimpse of this festival. Impressed, we decide to investigate the party before our eyes a bit further.

• The 6th Annual Firra Festival in Little Italy is one of the best street festivals I’ve ever attended. To indicate just how much we liked this festival, we arrived at 2 PM for a pint of beer and didn’t leave until after 9 arriving back at our B&B at nearly 11 PM. Over the course of 7 hours, we ate a lot and immersed ourselves in an Old World Italian showcase which included:

• 40-50 different classic Fiat cars in an array of colors lining each side of a section of College street
• Street food – lamb sticks, tripa alla calabrese, Indian samosas and barbeque
  chicken are some of what we sampled
• Outdoor dining and music of all sorts
• Lots of people and lots of families
• Diversity – This festival may have been Italian, but this is Toronto which means Thai, Indian and Middle Eastern shops and restaurants right next to fabulous, sprawling patios full of locals eating pizza, pasta or stuffed squid at places like Café Diplomatico

Day 4 – Sunday, September 6th, 2009

• After walking up to the Harbourfront with the intention of taking a ferry to the Toronto Islands on another beautiful morning, one look at the line convinces us to reconsider our plans. Instead, we opt to relax and read by the lakefront for a bit before meandering our way up near Chinatown and Kensington Market. This would be a day of many neighborhoods and even more walking. After making our way up Front Street and past the Royal Bank of Canada building I worked in over 6 years ago, we walk past the Canadian Walk of Fame taking in the stars of TV producer Lorne Michaels, Star Trek’s William Shatner, Pamela Anderson and Michael J. Fox amongst others. Approaching Chinatown, we walk past the Art Gallery of Toronto which is flanked on one side by a quaint park that provides a perfect viewpoint from which to appreciate this architectural structure. The gallery was recently renovated by world famous Canadian born architect Frank Gehry with a new glass façade that swells out above the sidewalk and seems to wrap the building and blend into the residential neighborhood that surrounds it.

• Toronto’s Chinatown is around the corner from the art gallery and at first glance, seems to be just a street filled with Chinese shops, restaurants and markets. While many so called “Chinatown” areas have similar shops, I am glad I took a second glance as Toronto’s Chinatown extends and extends along Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue leading us right into colorful Kensington Market.

• Kensington Market is a pedestrian area mix match of different stores and restaurants a block off of Chinatown. This colorful and lively area has its fair share of hippies, second hand clothing stores and a subculture all its own. There are plenty of shops selling fresh produce, meat, fish and spices right next to others selling fabrics, lace, jewelry and numerous shops selling vintage clothing. In between are a few bars and many restaurants serving up Portuguese, Indian, Fish and Chips, and diner style breakfasts just to name a few. We spend a few hours in this area wandering in and out of stores but end up only buying food and drink. We have a nice Indian lunch, a couple of drinks and a great spicy chicken empanada at a store that sells over 30 different variations of these tasty pastries. One of the variations is filled with kimchi, but even my Korean wife isn’t excited about the prospect of spicy fermented cabbage in a pastry shell.

• After exiting Kensington Market, we decide to continue our Toronto neighborhood tour and give the Greek town area in and around Danforth Street a look. This popular area, which served as the backdrop for the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding (it was imitating Chicago), is full of restaurants, shops and bars and is known for its nightlife. We enjoy walking up and down Danforth Street, peering into the various shops and restaurants and soaking up the culture. We end up popping into a Euro trash bar for a drink that is reminiscent of something you might see in Europe that has a contingent of middle aged Greek men out front loudly philosophizing about the state of Canada, the world, Greece, etc. over what sounds like a few beverages. While this could be annoying, it actually adds to the neighborhood and environment. After a drink, we have dinner at a Greek restaurant nearby and end another enjoyable evening with a walk over a bridge spanning the Don River that takes us through Cabbagetown in route to our Bed and Breakfast.


Day 5 – Monday, September 7th, 2009

• Due to our late afternoon flight, we are fortunate enough to have another five to six hours to soak up more of Toronto’s abundance of culture and atmosphere. After another excellent leisurely breakfast with some travelers from London, one of whom works for a UK film magazine and is in Toronto to cover their well renowned international film festival, we pack our bags and say goodbye. The owner of the B&B, Tan, is a very sweet man. He sits down with us and chats about Toronto and his plight to this city from Singapore amongst other things. His B&B feels more like a home to us than any place we’ve stayed in years and we intend to stay here again on our next visit.

• Blessed with more beautiful weather, we put our feet back to the ground once again began one final romp up Carlton street in the direction of a neighborhood called Little Portugal. After walking for 30 minutes and realizing we still have another couple miles to go, we jump aboard a streetcar to get us closer to our destination. Jumping off of the street car, I feel like I am 12 hours away in a neighborhood in Porto or Lisbon. I have been to Portugal and it is a rather small country, but have never been to a Portuguese neighborhood in a North American city as they usually aren’t advertised due to the rather small number of Portuguese immigrants (not counting those in Brazil). In between Portuguese shops selling day to day goods, meat and produce, there are local bars (nothing trendy here) for those wanting to catch some Portuguese football and more than one Portuguese bakery. We stop at one that looks too good to pass by and order a couple of scrumptious custard tarts that remind us of our time in Portugal in 2007. I didn’t know you could get these things outside of Portugal and savor the gooey, caramel like custard inside a flaky pastry.

• After walking around and soaking up the atmosphere in this area, we continue up College Street once again before finding ourselves in the Little Italy neighborhood. It is lunch time and we still have a few hours to spare so we decide to sun ourselves on Café Diplomatico’s patio over lunch. We have some good bruschetta and a couple of decent pasta dishes along with some beer and the sun. Café Diplomatico was opened in 1968 as a bar where Italian nationals could gather for coffee and conversation in the morning. They were one of the 1st restaurants to offer a large patio for al fresco dining that has now become the standard in this area.

• We finish off our time in Toronto with a nice hour long walk up College Street which turns into Carlton Street before grabbing our bags from the B&B and departing for the airport. While I felt nostalgia immediately on the bus ride to the airport, I also feel that this is the 1st of many trips to a place that just feels right. Ivy and I feel like we belong here and blend in with the fabric of this diverse city. Maybe it is because we are an interracial couple or maybe it is because we are on vacation away from our day to day, but whatever it is, I feel a sense of home here in Toronto that I rarely feel outside of my hometown in Chicago.

Coffee, Ticos and Volcanoes

Costa Rica is many things to many people. A beautiful country full of natural beauty around every corner and what some consider to be the adventure capital of the world when it comes to outdoor activities like white water rafting, hiking, rappelling and surfing. To others, it is beautiful beaches and relaxation. Others revel in its cities, local food, markets and coffee. Whatever it is, it is something different to each person who visits. For me, it was peaceful yoga followed by wonderful coffee in the mornings. It didn’t end there though. There was adventure and nature at the ranch and beyond that made each day and night of my trip memorable in some way.

Yoga
Yoga, much like life, offers something different to each of those who choose to practice it. For me, it is relaxation, rejuvenation of mind, body and spirit, exercise and peace of mind. I have taken 3-4 different yoga classes over the past 8 years and despite the obvious benefits I saw from practicing yoga, I have never shown the determination to follow through and make it a daily practice. My discovery of yoga started in a studio in a small canal side apartment building in Amsterdam in the year 2000 where I was the only man amongst 9 women and also the only person who needed to have direction given to them in a foreign language. Since I felt uncomfortable about my non-existent Dutch, I did my best to watch every move and realized the unique in the moment presence yoga requires. As I watched intently, studied the moves and crawled across the floor with Dutch women that were bigger than me sitting on my back, I knew I was onto something that would have some kind of impact on my life. There were a few additional yoga classes I took over the next 8 years including one in a room where the temperature exceeded 100 degrees, but it wasn’t until Costa Rica that I began to fully understand the importance of this practice.

As I perused the web site of the ranch we would be staying at, I was excited to find out that they had a riverside yoga and meditation studio and offer free classes every morning as part of the room cost. I figured I would get the added benefit of a couple of yoga sessions while on vacation. It seemed like it would be the perfect place to relax with nature and find even more of myself on that seemingly everlasting search. However, after seeing the tranquility of Rancho Margot and practicing yoga that 1st morning, I immediately knew that I needed to seize this opportunity. For the next 6 days, we woke up every morning at 6:45 AM to stretch our bodies and relax our minds. Our class setting was a studio that is built on stilts like a pagoda, exposed on all sides to nature and which faces a mountain and hovers over a gurgling stream; I felt like I was in a heavenly place. I breathed in the fresh air, heard the birds, the rain and the water and was able to settle into my environment completely. I stretched my body like I never have before and relaxed my mind like I dearly needed to. It was therapeutic and helped bring me close to nature. It is what I needed and it is something I need much more often. I hope that my experience with yoga in Costa Rica at Rancho Margot is one that will continue on many of my remaining days until I know longer have any breaths to give and muscles to stretch.


Coffee and Gallo Pinto
Every morning at our magnificent eco lodge, Rancho Margot, began the same way. Yoga followed by a wonderful breakfast. These breakfasts were memorable ones with the freshest of ingredients. It started with a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and a bowl of fresh papaya, pineapple and watermelon. It continued with organic eggs that come from the chickens raised on the farm, farmers’ cheese made from the milk that comes from the cows grazing a hundred feet away and onions and tomatoes sprinkled with oregano that grow behind the dining hall where we sat and ate. Thick slices of chewy bread that were baked that morning were hard to resist, especially with a little jam. However, no breakfast in Costa Rica could ever be complete without 2 Costa Rican staples: Gallo pinto and Coffee. According to Wikipedia, Gallo pinto is:

Gallo pinto (or gallopinto) is the prototypical traditional dish of Nicaragua and Costa Rica cuisines. It is considered the national dish of both countries, although the two prepare it in a different manner, and is eaten as a part of any meal. Though many variations exist, the dish at its most basic is composed of pre-cooked rice and beans fried together with spices such as cilantro, onion and peppers.

I can certainly attest to that fact that Gallo pinto is extremely popular in Costa Rica. We spent 10 nights in Costa Rica and that meant 10 mornings and 10 breakfasts at 3 different locations. We were served Gallo pinto every single morning. I thought I would get bored of the dish but I really didn’t. I think it was because they didn’t overdue it and it didn’t dominate the meal. I would have felt lost if I didn’t see that small to medium size scoop of grayish rice (colored from cooking with the black beans) speckled with red and yellow bits of pepper and spices on my plate. It has a bit of spice to it but not too much. They say this dish gives Costa Ricans the energy to work hard outside. It gave us some energy and also helped to ensure that we didn’t need to eat lunch due to the significance of our breakfast.

The coffee in Costa Rica is outstanding. Coffee production in Costa Rica began in 1779 in the Meseta Central, an area with near perfect soil and climate conditions for this type of plantation. A native plant to Ethiopia, the blend introduced to Costa Rica had been first cultivated in Saudi Arabia and is therefore known as Arabica. Coffee growing soon surpassed cacao, tobacco, and sugar in importance and by 1829 it had become the major source of foreign revenue for the country. Today, this industry thrives as coffee and bananas are the 2 agricultural goods that dominate Costa Rica. They say that much of the best coffee is exported but my experience doesn’t support those statements. We had wonderful, flavorful coffee with a gorgeous aroma every morning. One cup, 2 cups, three cups… It usually stopped for me there in the attempts to control my caffeine intake but I genuinely looked forward to those few cups every morning. We enjoyed it enough that we went to the Central Market in San Jose on the last day of our holiday, sampled 2 different coffees and bought 12 half pound bags of coffee to bring home with us for ourselves and as gifts for our family and friends. The smell outside that store in the market still sticks in my head and the backpack that I used to carry the coffee home with me still has that wonderful aroma that brings back memories of my fine breakfasts and wonderful coffee that made each morning in Costa Rica something to look forward to.

Adventure and Nature
Above all things, even the beaches, it seems like everyone comes to Costa Rica to experience adventure and get close to nature in one way or another. Whether it be their white water rafting (which I heard was the best in the world over 15 years ago during a trip on the New River in West Virginia), rappelling or hiking through the rainforest, Costa Rica is full of natural wonder. For us, every day had some kind of adventure.

City Life
My first surprise was just arriving in San Jose. Seeing the capital city in any country is always interesting. Seeing one in a Central American country that is so different from the ones in the United States and Western Europe that I am more familiar with is a whole new thing entirely. From the crowded streets to the mix of ramshackle homes, middle class neighborhoods and affluent residences in walking distance from one another, things are decidedly different. Adventure is somewhat in the mind of the beholder but you can feel it just as much in your body as you heart excitedly pounds inside your chest. I felt it as I walked through the crowded streets, sat in local restaurants trying to figure out what I was ordering for lunch (and was surprised with what showed up at times) and especially when I made it to the market. You would absolutely never see something like this in the United States. You can still find your old school market if you look hard enough in a large US city, but you would never see so many disparate things for sale under one roof. At one fish stall, we saw gigantic fish jammed into a plastic barrel waiting for more sales to occur so that they could make their way into the display case. At another, we smelled and tasted wonderful Costa Rican coffee. With 20 different food stalls inside, we sat and enjoyed fresh seafood soup and fruit shakes for lunch one afternoon. I know this isn’t the kind of adventure people think of when they come to Costa Rica, but it is adventure just the same. Many people skip San Jose completely or are too frightened to venture out and around this capital city. My time spent exploring Costa Rica’s capital was exciting and enjoyable.

Driving
Adventure didn’t end in San Jose. In fact, it was just beginning as it continued on the ride from San Jose to La Fortuna which was full of beautiful surprises at every turn. We are surrounded by beautiful mountains on every side and it seems that we are driving through the heart of the country as the road dips and rises allowing us to see beautiful valleys below and small to medium size green mountains on all sides of us. At street level, we encounter intermittent vendors on the side of the road selling home grown guanabana, bananas and vegetables while others have Christmas decorations and bird houses made of corn for sale. There are small businesses and ramshackle homes with rusted sheet metal roofs that have clothes draped over their sides so that they can dry in the sun. While a distant comparison, it reminds me of a nicer version of some of the favelas that I walked through on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. It is funny how rural homes, so simple and basic, look much the same whether in Botswana, Brazil, Vietnam, Mexico or Costa Rica. Some of Costa Rica’s wonderful coffee comes from these areas, as we pass by one coffee plantation after another. Some of the plants are young and small while others are ripe and ready to be harvested. In between these plantations, sugar, corn and other crops grow, the sole reason being to provide shade to the coffee plants. We continue driving on amongst cloud covered mountains that stare us in the eyes. There are cows grazing everywhere and we are surrounded by beauty. Finally, we see the Arenal volcano with ominous clouds lurking below its peak. It almost seems that we are driving into a storm. After a long, bumpy road that is covered with potholes that could easily blow out a tire, we finally arrive at Rancho Margot.

Sustainability
Rancho Margot is a revelation! Just 30 minutes from La Fortuna, it feels like we have arrived at an oasis deep in the jungle. This completely sustainable eco lodge has no gas or power lines coming into their 400+ acres of property in the middle of the rainforest and is in full view and in close proximity to the most active volcano in the world. Juan Sostheim is the mastermind of Rancho Margot and he, his family and staff operate the ranch. After a previous career, Juan bought this land and realized his dream. We talked to Juan and his son Frederic at length about this ongoing project and it is obvious that they realize and understand the significance of their undertaking.

The water flowing from the surrounding mountains fills the natural stone pools and feeds a large water turbine that produces the power needed to operate the ranch. If you are pondering what happens during a drought, this is not a concern in the rain forest. They grow their own fruits and vegetables, have a medicinal garden and raise cows, pigs and chickens. They use all waste for composting and produce their own methane gas from the liquid run off from the manure. Currently, they produce their own eggs, cheese, milk and some meat but they are working towards being able to produce everything on site including yogurt and marmalade which will be for sale. Rancho Margot is something to be proud of. Sitting in the middle of the rainforest, it is amazing, refreshing and peaceful.

On one morning, our adventure is in its most basic form. We help out on the ranch by assisting the farmers working in the dairy with milking the cows. It feels strange pulling on the utter as I almost feel like I am doing something inappropriate. However, I soon get over this feeling as it requires focus in order to get any milk to come out of the utter. It also requires forearm, wrist and finger strength and most importantly, rhythm to pull through the utter in a consistent fashion. Compared to Ivy and I, the farmers who do this on a daily basis can get 3-4 times the amount of milk we’ve been able to squeeze in the same amount of time.

On another day, we tour the ranch grounds. It is fascinating to learn about all of the different flowers, medicinal plants, fruits and vegetables that grow at the ranch. The clinical name is listed for all plants and our guide explains the benefits of growing each specific plant. Some of the plants, like the so called “sensitive plant”, we touch. Interestingly, this plants small and sensitive leaves curl up after they are touched. We also learn about animal waste and worm composting which is vital to Rancho Margot since it produces all fertilizer. Juan’s vision for the ranch is astonishing. The range of things that need to be considered, from power lines running to the bungalows to the pipes that transport water throughout the ranch, are vast and varied. Juan and his staff’s venture is one that involves constant trial and error. I am excited to visit again in a few years to see all of his initiatives fully implemented.

Hiking
After settling into our bungalow and relaxing for all of a whole hour, we set out to hike up to the mirador, or viewing point, in the hopes of watching the clouds break so that the Arenal volcano can come into full view. We are accompanied by one of the ranches dogs, a beautiful golden retriever named Acha. As we make our way up the mountain, we see beauty on every side of us. There are bushes, ferns and numerous plants bestowing beautiful tropical flowers. We hike toward the volcano in the distance that stands stoic amongst the clouds and is flanked by green covered mountains. Below us lies a tranquil lake that reaches out, in and around, more greenery in the distance. At our peak, we sit and stare at the volcano. What a rare treat to see nature so naked with so much beauty around us. Acha seems equally engaged and at peace with the surrounding environment.

Our descent brings more wonderful views and some amazing encounters with nature. I come across a white horse grazing leisurely and am able to get close enough to touch him. After running into 4 other horses along the way, night is setting in and I am eager to get back to the ranch. I continue to follow Acha, barely visible in front of me, when I come across 5 horses standing behind each other in a single file line. They also appear to be heading in the direction of the entrance to the ranch. We follow the horses for a bit until they veer off in another direction. We continue on, following Acha, in the direction of the ranch but decide to change course and follow the horses instead. This proves to be a wise decision as we witness an experience only nature can offer. As darkness sets upon us, we stand silently and watch 5 horses cautiously navigate across a river that is running high due to the pulsating rain that has been impacting the region recently. Witnessing something so simple, yet so primitive, is beautiful to me. It is like watching National Geographic, but doing it live. There is real danger for each of these horses and I can sense this in their actions. The river is high and there are no guarantees that these horses will make it across without issue. Each of them moves in a diligent and cautious manner, some more confidently than others. Slowly, all of them make it across the river and quickly disappear, running into the rainforest.

Flying and Rappelling
Another day’s adventure is much different as it includes flying. We participate in sky trekking or canopying. Other than sky diving, this is as close to flying as most people every get. We ascend high up a mountain using a gondola much like you see in ski country and are rewarded with wonderful views of Lake Arenal and the surrounding volcanoes, mountains and the rainforest. We hear the howler monkeys and birds as we slowly soar amongst the mountains to the 1st platform. The distances between platforms range from .1 to .6 miles. Between these platforms, we will fly while strapped into a harness that is attached to an elaborate cable system. We have no choice but to completely trust our guide and the equipment as there is nothing to save us in the case of an equipment failure. I am weary at first prior to my first “flight”. After watching 5 others in my group take their 1st flight, it’s my turn. The guide makes sure I am firmly in the harness and makes eye contact with me, indicating that is time to fly. A few seconds later I am diving head first into the wind with nothing but 2000 feet between me and the earth below. I am flying through the clouds and can’t see a thing for a few frightening seconds before emerging out of the clouds and seeing the lake and rainforest below me and the volcanoes in the distance. I feel a unique sense of freedom as I fly through the air with nothing but air between me and nature.

Rappelling is a much different, exhilarating experience that is full of beauty, peril and surprise at the same time. In order to get to the waterfall we will rappel down, we follow a path leading from the ranch that takes us right into the heart of the rainforest. It is raining slightly and all the rain over the past few days forces us to plod through streams that have grown beyond their means. We lumber through streams and muddy trails trying to keep our balance, all the while encountering trees, flowers, plants and bushes at every turn. Below our feet, the ground is covered with leaves that have fallen from the trees which extend 30-40 feet above our heads. We all stop and turn when we see the most spectacular blue butterfly that flutters to our left, and then to our right. The 5 of us and our companion Acha continue hiking for another 20 minutes before we finally arrive at the first waterfall. It is 60 feet high and from the brackets I can see in the rocks, it appears that we will be hiking up this waterfall. The pulley system we are using would stop us from having a complete free fall to the bottom, though a complete loss of footing or grip would likely result in a collision with the rocks and some kind of injury. I feel a sense of adventure run through my bones as I carefully climb and pull myself up the waterfall, scaling the slippery rocks beneath my feet. Each step requires my fullest attention. After successfully ascending to the top of this waterfall, we continue our hike and make our way to the top of another waterfall.

Here, we peer over the top, but the rain and our inability to get close to the edge prevent us from being able to see the bottom, over 100 feet below us. All we know is that we will somehow be climbing down this waterfall and the thought of that makes all of us a bit nervous. Sensing our uncertainty, Carlos, our guide, reassures us that we need to trust our equipment. No matter what he says, I’m not sure. I completely trust the equipment, because if the pulley system and harness break, we won’t survive. Equipment alone isn’t going to get any of us down the waterfall though. We are. This isn’t canopying where you just strap in and go. It is obvious that we are going to need to pay incredible attention to every step while maneuvering the pulley system to guide ourselves down the waterfall. Making that task even more challenging is the fact that we are all drenched to the bone.

I wearily watch each person before me make their way down. I hold my breath and pray as my fiancé, Ivy, makes her way down. They all do so slowly and without incident. Finally, it’s my turn. I cautiously and fearfully begin my descent. As I look up, water pours into my eyes. This immediately forces me to focus even more so on the moment as all of my attention is now directed at the rocks in front and to the side of me and to my feet below. Slowly, I make my way down, allotting myself more rope using the pulley system as I move down, step by step. Each time I pull on the rope to release additional slack from the bracket, I diligently and cautiously make sure to place my foot as far into the rock’s crevice as possible to avoid hitting an edge and slipping off. It is hard to go down straight as the rocks are all over the place. I find myself veering to the right and hear someone yelling. I look down and realize I am going in the direction of the forest wall on my right and need to make my way back to the center. I slowly attempt to work my way back over. Finally, it feels like I have achieved some sort of groove as my movement is more continuous and I am able to make my way down from the right to the left and towards the bottom. My overconfidence gets the best of me as my next step is not so secure and I feel myself begin to slip. My balance wavers and I am unable to regain it. My foot slips off the rock and my body thrusts back to the right, sways back to the left and bounces back side off of the rocks, before stopping. I can barely hear Ivy screaming, “Oh my God” below. After realizing and fully appreciating that I am still locked in place, I attempt to regain my composure and turn myself back around. I have fully tested the equipment and Carlos was 100% correct as I would have fallen freely without it. My clothes and jacket have absorbed the brunt of the blow and I am ready to continue my descent. I focus much more intently and move down the mountain step by step. As I approach the bottom and see everyone’s face, I feel a sense of exhilaration run through my body. Finally, after what seems like 30 minutes, my feet are securely on the ground. I approach the others and we all look at each other and smile. The looks on our faces speak of pride, accomplishment and a distinct sense of satisfaction. I feel alive. This is one of the most adventurous things I have done in my life.

Water
After dinner one evening, Frederic approaches us and mentions that the ranch may be arranging for a trip to a natural hot spring that is open to the public later that evening. Excited since this is something we want to do, we assure him that we will be prepared whenever the driver is ready. Within 30 minutes, we are boarding a van dressed in our bathing suits with towels in hand. As we make our way down the rocky road that connects Ranch Margot to El Castillo, we can see the Arenal volcano in the distance. We look to the left and right and see many cars parked with both Ticos and tourists standing and watching the volcano from the side of the road. Our driver follows suit and pulls the van to the side of the road. The ten of us climb out of the van, walk over a small hill, stand and gaze at the volcano. This is the first time I have really gotten a clear view of the volcano at night and I can clearly identify molten lava rolling down the side of the mountain. It is bright orange and glowingly beautiful. Days later, I find out that what I was seeing were actually molten lava rocks that were bouncing down the mountain. I am in a bit of an awestruck daze as I stand and watch the power of nature before my eyes. Now and then, I look up at the sky above me, seeing thousands of visible stars. I don’t remember seeing so many stars since I was in Australia in the middle of the outback with no lights for miles and only the stars sparkling above me. For 10-15 minutes, I sit and watch beautiful molten lava rocks tumble down the mountain. I feel like a little boy as I try to locate the little orange dot in the distance and track it as it bounces along and makes its way down the hill. It is almost like natural fireworks as I can see sparks fly as the rocks make their way down the mountain. As I watch the volcano and the lava rocks, I can hear a thunderous rumble as Mother Nature makes me acutely aware of her presence.

We continue on and ten minutes later we are climbing out of the van again. We remove our shoes and climb over some rocks into an inlet where the warm, hot spring waters flow. It feels exciting as there are no guides and no restrictions. I feel like I am going somewhere that is off limits; a place where few tourists venture. One after another, we carefully climb over one last set of rocks until we are knee deep in the water where a quaint pool of natural spring water awaits us.

I let the others go before me, assisting them over the rocks. As I help the others, I start to feel the rapids and eventually the power of the water starts to push me off of my secure setting behind some rocks. I try to resist until I can’t hold on any longer and my fingers begin to painfully slip from the rock I am holding onto. My foot slides out from behind my safe-haven and into the path of the rapids I go. I can feel my heart beat quickly. I have no control and no idea where this will take me. As the water pulls my body along, I look in the direction of 2 men who are still waiting to climb into the lagoon. They look at me and quickly respond, grabbing my leg and arm and pulling me to safety. I am relieved and shaken as I slowly make my way back into the lagoon where the others are relaxing. This time I make sure to stay clear of the rapids and veer to the left to the calm water. After I am finally able to settle down, I enjoy the feeling of the warm, natural thermal water against my skin. We sit and relax and look at the plants around us and the mist coming off of the water. It is a reflective moment as I ponder the environment around me – the stars, volcano, lava rocks and water, the power of which should never be underestimated.