Fútbol, cascadas, y la playa

Adventures from “Spring Break” Part 1

I’ve officially been on “spring break” since this past Thursday, which has allowed for some much-appreciated free time. Before the start of my program, I didn’t even realize there would be a free week. But it’s Semana Santa, and since half of the country shuts down, it’s kind of inevitable. So, like many native Costa Ricans, I planned a week of traveling with friends. And so far, so good.

Lo siento, mi familia … ¡soy Saprissista!

There was an intense battle this past Saturday night between two Costa Rican provinces. At around 8:00 p.m., several men in uniform confronted each other in front of a screaming crowd of thousands. This battle is called El Clásico, and I was lucky enough to get a ticket to go and watch.

So maybe the battle metaphor was a little overblown — but this fútbol (read soccer) game was one of the most intense sporting events I’ve ever seen. Two teams, La Liga and Saprissa both have incredibly loyal fan-bases and a fierce rivalry. And El Clásico is the ultimate test — the game where they play each other. I went with my host brother and his girlfriend, who cheer for opposite teams. Each has been demanding since I arrived in Costa Rica that I join their side. I decided, that whoever won El Clásico would be my team to cheer for from then on.

The game was almost two hours (including half-time) of non-stop action.

We arrived at the stadium an hour and a half early; even though each ticket had an assigned seat, we wanted to beat the rush of people right before the game. From the first kick-off to the final few minutes of the game the crowd was a non-stop cheering-gasping-cursing machine. The three of us followed the bleachers in standing up one minute, sitting down the next, with plenty of Spanish swearing and yelling and cheering in between. While La Liga scored first, Saprissa triumphed in a 3–1 victory. I’ve betrayed my current host family, who is completely Ligista, but my host brother’s girlfriend is happy and my rural family is devoutly Saprisista, so I’m proud to be on the maroon side.

Cascada Verde

The post-victory celebration didn’t last long. Sunday morning, I woke up at 4:15 a.m., foggy but excited, to catch a bus downtown. Two other trimester students and I rode for five hours along the sea down south, to a town called Uvita. We stepped off the bus into almost unbearable heat — 100 ºF with suffocating humidity. But after a grueling walk we arrived at our hostel: Cascada Verde (or “Green Waterfall”) and met up with several of the semester students.

Our hostel was a beautiful oasis in the jungle. A hammock hung in nearly every corner — I loved lounging and listening to the forest singing with the soft sounds of conversation in Spanish, French, German and English. A couple from Berlin acted as splendid hosts, and we had access to a kitchen to cook meals and make coffee.

After settling in rápidamente, we took a short walk to the nearby waterfall. I fell in love with the natural pool right away. Short cliffs, green with moss and wet with rain, circled a turquoise pool and we clambered over the rocks to dive in. Plenty of people were launching themselves from the cliff and splashing into the water, and we all soon gathered up the courage to jump as well (although maybe from not quite as high).

Hanging out on the cliffside, waiting to jump from the waterfall.

Unfortunately, we missed the lunar eclipse because it was cloudy, but listening to the jungle rain on the tin and canvas roof of the hostel was a fine price to pay.

We also visited the beach for a tiny bit, until it started raining and we left. Although riding the waves and seeing the views of mist in the mountains made the short trip worth it. And actually, my second part of Semana Santa will be at the beach. We’re going to Jacó this Saturday, a popular beach town, to stay in another hostel (this one has a pool!) and spend two days swimming, surfing and playing in the sand.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for Spring Break Part II.