This morning, during breakfast Renata and I met up with the other McMaster alumni volunteers. We also met Leo, the trip coordinator from VIDA, McMasters’ partner organization in Costa Rica. After group introductions, we headed to Monteverde. The bus ride to Monteverde was incredible. Up in the mountains, we passed through picturesque countryside’s, lush green landscapes, and experienced our first Costa Rican massage as we winded around the bumpy gravel road to Monteverde. In Monteverde, we stayed at the beautiful Los Jardines hotel, where Renata and I got our own balcony overlooking the clouds. Then it was off to lunch at Don Luis, a contemporary restaurant near our hotel. After lunch, we had a quick siesta, before we headed into Monteverde town. Monteverde town is a cute little tourist town with gift shops and restaurants. You ... read more

Today we are heading out for an early morning canoe tour and day hike. The gloomy weather outside guaranteed that there was going to be a 100% chance of rain that day. So, I prepared my camera with my own plastic rain cover and used the dry bag provided by Tortuguero Tours as extra protection. Renata’s phone was still not working. Jessica, from Tortuguero Tours suggested that we try to place the phone in rice to help remove the humidity. So after the canoe tour, Renata and I are heading to the local store to buy some rice. At the Tortuguero Tours office we were treated to some fresh fruits and coffee while Jessica went to get our National park entrance tickets. We were also given binoculars to help us locate animals in the distance. On ... read more

Pura Vida is Spanish for “Pure Life.” The phrase runs deep in Costa Rican culture. Costa Ricans use the term for multiple purposes: to say hello, goodbye, I’m great and everything’s good. Pura Vida is a relaxed, simple way of looking at life; no stress, no worries, being thankful and not dwelling on the negatives. People say you don’t quite understand what Pura Vida means until you come to Costa Rica. So, here we are, two sisters, on our epic journey to live the “Pura Vida Experience, Costa Rican style. Our first stop Costa Rica’s capital city, San Jose. We arrived at Juan Santamaria International Airport at around 1:00pm. Getting through customs took a gruelling two hours and with traffic we finally arrived in San Jose around 4:00pm. However, we were not discouraged. It is all ... read more

Monday, October 17th, 2016 Day 3: Ottawa and Gatineau: Raking in mint and history! This morning, Renata and I woke up early to make are way for our morning tour of the Royal Canadian Mint. The Royal Canadian Mint produces Canada’s official and collector coins. On the tour we learned about how coins and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic medals were made. The wavy face of the Vancouver Olympic medals evoke the Vancouver-Whistler landscape. No two Olympic medals are the same. If you place all the same coloured medals together they will form two large master artworks; an orca whale for the (Olympics) and the raven for the (Paralympic). The Orca symbolizes powerful and knowing no boundaries while the Raven symbolizes creativity and agility. After the tour we got the chance to hold a golden nugget worth ... read more

Saturday, October 15th, 2016 Day 1: Toronto to Ottawa – Feeling chilly at the capital and finding waterfalls in the fall! Since my sister had an upcoming work conference in Ottawa, we decided this would be the perfect time to explore our nation’s capital. I’ve only been to Ottawa once for a job interview but did not have much time to look around. My sister took a direct flight from Toronto to Ottawa courteously paid by her employer. I on the other hand had to pay for transportation; so I took the cheaper train instead. We both met up in Ottawa for lunch and after settling into our hotel room we went off to explore. I did not realize how cold Ottawa was going to be at this time of the year. In Toronto we were ... read more