Welcome back to 2-2-2 Tuesday!
Here are 2 Cultural Highlights, 2 Quotes, and 2 Brief Stories for you to enjoy.
Inspired by Costa Rica
2 Cultural Highlights
1. 41 Yard Dash!
Sloths set impressive records. On average, sloths travel less than half the length of a football field on any given day. I dare Usain Bolt to attempt such a feat. Shockingly slow, right? Or efficient. It depends on how you look at it. It’s comical that the word for sloth in Spanish is…el perizoso. It means, the lazy one. Sloths also have impeccable natural camouflage, which makes them incredibly hard to spot. Our experience confirms this fact. We spent four days trying to find an active sloth before the magic happened!
We were walking in the rainforest in the right place at the right time when a sloth started to transfer trees about twenty-five feet above us. We watched for thirty minutes, completely mesmerized by every move. Distance traveled? About five feet! We walked away with sloth-like silly grins on our faces and painful cricks in our necks.
2. El Puente Raiz: The Most Incredible Bridge in Monteverde, Costa Rica.
Which bridge is most impressive in this idyllic landscape? Selvatura’s largest hanging bridge, which stretches over 560 feet in the cloud forest? Meh. Not in my opinion. Why?
Let me introduce you to El Puente Raiz, which is a beautiful bridge created from the roots of a ficus tree. El Natural. Its roots span 15 feet over a river. Additional roots from the same tree reach down to the ground, which form the supporting pillars. Nature does it best. It surprised us how few people were exploring this spot when we arrived. If you find yourself in Monteverde, check it out.
2 Quotes to consider
- “The ultimate form of preparation is not planning for a specific scenario, but a mindset that can handle uncertainty.” – James Clear
- “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” — Albus Dumbledore (JK Rowling)
2 brief stories
1.
Another Round of Medical Trips for Farzak:
Serving Guatemalans who lack access to basic healthcare is one of the highlights of our travel experience up to this point. We’re happy to welcome another opportunity starting next week. This trip, we will be providing care to underserved Guatemalans in Tikal and outside of Antigua.
During these experiences, we get to use our professional skills to help run a general medical clinic. We also enjoy interacting with students to help them fine tune their skills as they advance toward their degrees in healthcare.
Thanks Danny, Hafsa, Holly and others who make this experience possible! We appreciate you, and look forward to seeing you soon!
2. A Shout Out To Belgian Hospitality:
This morning, we completed a ziplining course outside the city of Monteverde. Not surprisingly, it was an amazing experience zipping around the picturesque mountains of a rainforest.
What we didn’t see coming was the bonus friendship we’d form with a mom and daughter from Belgium. They adventured in front of us on the course. Between jumps, we had a great time talking about our hometowns and interests in life. Farah shot pictures and videos of their rides, which she shared after we all finished the course.
They more than returned the favor by offering to drive us back to Monteverde with their rental car. In the end, we enjoyed the extra time getting to know them a bit better. They saved us a couple hours we would have spent waiting on our shuttle, which made our hungry bellies happy.
It’s often the small things that make big impacts. Thanks Belgian friends!
Thanks for tuning in to 2-2-2 Tuesday! If you have any feedback, comments, or suggestions, we’d love to hear from you. Have a wonderful week!
– Zack and Farah
