The third day of the retreat had an array of activities in store for us. We took a break from the trail wandering and stayed close to the lodge all day – we were pacing ourselves before the following day’s adventure, a 30km round-trip hike up to the mount Ena summit.

Yoga practice ended with an introduction to Maria Fernanda’s own line of essential oils, and the benefits that each provided. Then after breakfast we headed to the river – the same spot we had dipped our legs in the day before. Along with essential oils, Maria Fernanda has developed a line of natural products, which she “engineered” herself. By producing them locally (directly in her home studio), she also provides employment for local women. Our outdoor spa treatment consisted in a cleansing clay mask, that we washed off with fresh river water. Then we applied Maria’s facial toner followed by a moisturizing oil. It was quite the treat, a little bit of TLC before continuing with the rest of our outdoor adventures.

At that point, our group was split in two. Half of us headed a few meters further down the river, for some cliff rappelling, while the other half disappeared into the forest to go climb a 35-foot tree.

We started the rappelling with a couple of “baby” cliffs, in order for all of us to get comfortable with backing up over an edge and dropping ourselves down (one step at a time) to the bottom. After this “mise-en-jambe”, we rappelled down along the side of a waterfall, landing into ankle-deep water. Our two guides, Eduardo and Felipe, were excellent at explaining all the steps and staying close by as we were coming down, making us feel safe at all times.

Once we were done with that part of the repelling (which was only a warm-up for what was to come next), we headed to the big tree for the climb. I very much enjoy rock-climbing, even though I don’t get to do it very oftne, so I was really excited, l staring up at this giant, at the opportunity of making my way up there. It was a really cool climb, the intricate branches and knots provided ample hand and foot holds and I made my way up to the top without too much trouble.

But first I should mention that when I got to the tree, I found Brice hanging from a separate rope, some 30 feet above the ground, taking photos of each climber from above – and providing encouragement whenever they would get to a tough spot or thought they couldn’t make it any further. As usual he had managed to find the most optimal spot for the best photos: the highest vantage point.

 

Brice started with the tree climbing first, clearly he hadn’t had the repelling course yet ;P

I wish I could have stayed up there a while, sitting on a branch and looking out at the valley around us…but that wouldn’t have been fair to the other women below, waiting for their turn to climb 😛

Once we were all done climbing, we headed back to the waterfall to regroup with the other half of the gang. Then it was time for the plat-de-resistance, the main challenge of the day, which both previous activities had – hopefully – prepared us for: repelling down the waterfall. While the rest of the day had not presented a huge challenge for me personally, this part made my heart beat race. And I didn’t even actually go down.

First we all reconvened at the bottom of the waterfall, so we could watch each other from below. Eduardo, all geared up, stood at the top of the fall and proceeded to demonstrate the process. The first part wasn’t very different from what we had done earlier – slowly step back over the edge of the cliff and let the rope slide in your hand, inches at a time, to lower yourself down. Eduardo or Felipe would descend alongside us, holding the rope below us for safety. The main difference up until that point was that we were now stepping into, and partially under, a vertical wall of water. When we reached the halfway point however, then came the catch – or in this case, the release.

At that point we had two options: jump off backwards, or slide along the cliff, into the pool below. Either way we had to slip off the rope and dive into the water….When Eduardo first demonstrated (I think he showed us how to slide off), my heart skipped a beat. It might not have been that high or that fast, but I saw him suddenly disappear into the water and held my breath until he resurfaced, a couple of seconds later. And I thought “how the hell is any one of us going to do THAT?”.

But some of the other girls were already lining up to go. Jackie went first, and after Felipe gave her all the instructions, it seemed she didn’t even think twice before pushing herself off the wall and into the water. She was followed by a few others, and with each of them I watched in admiration.

That’s also when I decided to pass. I wasn’t so much worried about the repelling, and after watching a few of my retreat-mates go down without a hitch, I probably could have mustered the nerve to go up there and do the same (or so I tell myself). But the fog had already rolled in, as it commonly did in the afternoon, meaning the sun was gone. And the water was cold. As in mountain river cold. And if you know me, you’ll know that when water is cold, I just can’t deal.

So instead I watched and it was awesome to see how each woman approached the challenge, and how no matter how much fear and apprehension they had at the top, they had to let it all go, literally, to reach the bottom. And then to see each of them emerge from the pool, with both a completely stunned look and a huge smile on their face, that was incredible.

Jodie had been one of the last one of us to climb the tree, and just couldn’t make it to the top. Frightened by height and unfamiliar with climbing she had gotten stuck just a few meters off the ground and came down quite disappointed. The waterfall repelling was totally a redeeming act for her, and I was so impressed at how she went for it, head on, as if she had done this many times before. To watch someone come back from a personal deception by crushing the very next challenge was truly inspiring…although not inspiring enough to make me want to do it…did I mention how cold the water was? Ok, moving on…

Meanwhile, Brice had of course made his way up to the top of the fall, and had gotten himself harnessed up and hooked to the side of the cliff, once again looking for the best spot in the house to document every one’s accomplishment.

It took a bit longer than planned for the 10 or 12 women who participated in the waterfall repel to all go. It was almost 4pm by the time we were done, so when we returned to the lodge, we pretty much ate (lunch), had our yoga practice, then ate again (dinner). With all the adrenaline rushes of the day, none of us seemed to mind the back to back meals so much.

After dinner, Eduardo and Felipe built a big fire outside, and we all gathered around it to recall the events of the day. It went something like this “Dude, I climbed up a tree today!” followed by “And you repelled off a freaking waterfall” and soon after “People, can you believe we’re in Costa Rica right now?”. Yeah we were in Costa Rica, challenging ourselves to new levels, and it was all around pretty awesome…