Throughout its eight-day trip to Costa Rica, McDaniel men's soccer senior Nick Lewis will be providing insights through a blog here as well as updates through the team's Instagram account.
Friday, July 19
Today was bittersweet. We had a late breakfast and were able to wander around freely through San Jose and truly explore what San Jose was all about. We grabbed lunch and thanked Michael and Dennis, our tour guide and bus driver, and made it to the airport. While I'm writing this, we are in the Costa Rican Airport about to head off to El Salvador, then back to Dulles.
Overall, this was the trip of the lifetime with the friends of a lifetime. I know I'll never forget the experiences. 10/10. Hope everyone enjoyed reading my blogs.
Thursday, July 18
We had a early start to the day, grabbing a quick 30-minute breakfast and then got on the road to head to our hiking spot. It was a humid day and the trail we hiked on was mainly deep mud, making all of our shoes brown. We went up and down steep mountains in the rain forest and at the top of one the mountains, there were a bunch of cows and goats.
The hike took about an hour, but once we got to the waterfall, it was 100 percent worth it. There were two different levels to the waterfall. The top wasn't really safe to walk on, but the bottom had a large pool and we were able to swim around in the freezing water.
Then, we had to hike an hour back to the bus while it was still hot and humid. We grabbed lunch at the hotel before checking out and headed back to San Jose. On the way, we stopped at this one bridge where there were crocodiles just hanging out on the shore. They were huge.
We made it back to our original hotel, the Barcelo Palacio, and had a calm dinner not wanting to leave tomorrow. We're excited to explore more of San Jose tomorrow and sad to leave tomorrow night.
Wednesday, July 17
After a late breakfast at the Laguna Lounge in the hotel, we were able to get some naps in preparation for the workout today.
We traveled to Quepos Cambute's stadium and had a successful workout with them, considering the heat and humidity. After that, assistant coach Caleb Davis was gracious enough to purchase Costa Rican pizzas for the team. We were able to scarf them down before a torrential downpour during our time enjoying the pool.
After the pool, we had a calm dinner while it was still drizzling, making for a peaceful dinner. We are excited to go hiking tomorrow to check out our tour guide's favorite waterfall.
Tuesday, July 16
Today, we woke up and had an early breakfast to quickly get on the road for some white water rafting.
We traveled along the Costa Rica coast, making for a bumpy and slow ride to get there. We passed fields and fields of palm trees lined up in perfect rows, a lot like corn fields. We went up a super steep hill to get into the facility and we had to leave all of our stuff on the bus, bringing only ourselves and sunscreen.
Once at the facility, we hopped on a more tightly packed bus with no air conditioning, up and down the sides of mountains with incredibly tight and rocky roads for 45 minutes.
Once we made it to the start of the rapids, it made it all worth it. The views from inside the raft and all the adrenaline when the raft is being thrown in every direction is one of a kind. We even got to jump out of the raft and check out an amazing waterfall. On the second to last rapid we went on, our raft leader let us jump out of the raft and go through the rapids just hanging on the side of it.
After that, we went back up the facility to grab lunch, then right about when the sun started setting, we walked down to the field where we played in a local pickup session, mixing up the teams and playing until the sun set. We ate dinner at the hotel and a couple of us enjoyed a late night swim in the pool.
Tomorrow, we have our last game against U-20 Quepos Cambute and more pool time.
Monday, July 15
This morning, we woke up, ate breakfast as a team, and had plenty of time to eat and reflect on our favorite parts of the last couple of days.
Coach Corrieri gave us a good amount of time before we walked along the river and started our training session. It was very hot and humid. While at the training session, some of the locals invited us to come back tomorrow and play in their pickup game.
After our session, we drove to a supermarket to pickup some lunch then headed to the beach. The beach was called "la ventana" because there were two caves that were sort of little passage ways to the ocean. The water was warm and relaxing and was a great way to recover from the session earlier.
We ended the day with a splendid dinner at the hotel and more time in the pool. Tomorrow, we're looking forward to white water rafting, a pick up session, and a long time in the pool.
Sunday, July 14
We had an early start to the day, grabbed a nice bite at the hotel, got on the road at about 7 a.m., and had a decent drive to our first activity, ziplining!
Once we got there, we drove up the side of a mountain attached to the back of a tractor and went down 10 different lines. My personal highlight was going down one of the lines upside down like a spider. The views were breathtaking.
After we finished with ziplining, we took another trip closer to the shore and grabbed traditional Costa Rican cuisine and watched the Euro final where Spain emerged victorious. We walked around and checked the shops and markets close to the shore and then drove another couple hours to our new hotel, Hotel Villa Rio Mar. Upon settling in, we all hung out by the pool and watched the Copa America final.
Overall, this trip has been so much more enjoyable than I ever thought possible. Tomorrow, we have an early training session and then a nice relaxing day at the beach.
Saturday, July 13
We started the day grabbing breakfast at the hotel, then got on the bus and headed into the town. We saw Costa Rica's legislative buildings and historical monuments. We explored the central market and got to experience all the different cultures being expressed through their individual shops and food.
After we finished with the market, we explored the other side of town and made it to our lunch spot. We enjoyed a variety of different Costa Rican foods from corn ribs to Birria burritos to even a simple rice and beans plate.
From lunch, we went back and rested for a couple hours to prep for our game. The game started great for us after a great cross and finish within the first 10 minutes. We absorbed their pressure and were able to get a set piece 10 minutes before the half and bagged another goal.
After halftime, the game slowed down and was passive until one of their players shot it from 30 yards and put it top bins which helped to wake us up. We kept fighting and eventually we got the game sealing goal, and then another one for good measure.
Post-game, we headed back to the hotel for a nice calm dinner to get ready for the beach and zip lining tomorrow.
Friday, July 12
We arrived in San Jose at four in the morning. Although we were excited, most of us were exhausted from the long travel day.
We were greeted by Michael at 5:30 a.m. who had a bus waiting for us to take us to the hotel. Everyone was back in good spirits after we ate breakfast. Fast forward to onw o'clock and we were all enjoying naps by the pool in the sun.
We headed to the Costa Rican National team practice facility and played 7v7 handball and football on their sand soccer field. This was most of the teams first encounter with sand soccer which made it that much more memorable.
Then, we headed back to the hotel to rest and eat a small dinner before our match tomorrow against AD Carmelita.
