My final week in Costa Rica was definitely the busiest.
For our last weekend, we went to Manuel Antonio, a coastal region. After we got off our 3.5-hour bus and our taxi slowly drove up the dirt roads up to our Airbnb, we were met with a big gate and then a grueling uphill trail to the house. Yet, it was all worth it for just how nice the house was. Wild iguanas basked in the sun on the amazing pool deck. Coconut and mango trees surrounded the house. While we were swimming, we saw a pair of toucan birds glide over to a tree near us, which was something I have never seen before, especially in the comfort of a backyard swimming pool.
On the walk to a nearby beach, we saw scarlet macaws and white-faced monkeys, which I’ve only seen on TV. The idea that we were in the middle of a coastal tropical forest was surreal to me, and I had so much fun running into such exotic animals.
At the beach, Luke and I cracked open a coconut using simple tools (rocks) and our bare hands. Ripping open a coconut and drinking it straight from the plant at a Costa Rican beach is something that I never thought I would ever do…
After, we went to the Manual Antonio National Park to see more animals. The beach was stunning as well.
The days following our excursion were difficult. We had four days to completely finalize our prototype, carry out our testing plan, demonstrate our prototype functioning, and publish our team digication. We worked tirelessly before and after class to finish our project. In the end, we were able to produce a project that was great for the amount of short time and limited resources available.
I am so glad that I had the opportunity to visit such a beautiful country and deepen my engineering learning while doing so. I am grateful that I met friends that I haven’t interacted with at Rice yet.
