Costa Rica Days 6-10: Rincon de la Vieja, Flamingo, Adios

After working so hard for five days in San Jose, it was time for us to head north for some much needed play time in the rain forest.

Rincon de la Vieja is a national park located in the northwestern part of Costa Rica -- very far away from San Jose, in both geography and way of life. Rincon de la Vieja is much more green than the urban landscape of San Jose, which was exactly what our group needed. There is a variety of wildlife within the park, including birds, mammals and tons of insects. In Rincon, we only had two days, so we needed to make the most of our time.

Our first day in Rincon, we spent a majority of our day zip-lining in the national park. What a treat! There were around ten total zip-lines that took us through canyons and over rivers, which included an abseil, a "Tarzan swing" and assisted rock climbing. The tour guides even assisted us in the "monkey" method, where you zip-lined upside down like a monkey. For many of us, myself included, this was our first time zip-lining, and the experience did not disappoint.

For our second day in Rincon, the theme was more rest and relaxation -- but not after a morning hike. The hike itself was very short, only around one kilometer long, but the reward at the end of the hike was incredible. Following our hike, we ended up at the Chorreras Waterfall, where two waterfalls cascaded together into a beautiful sky blue mineral water pool in an amphitheater canyon. It was the perfect place for us to cool off and enjoy our beautiful surroundings. This was the perfect time for us to take "artsy pics" and see the nature side of "Pura Vida" that we had heard so much about.

After our hike to the waterfall, it was time to take mud baths. Real, authentic, Costa Rican mud baths. Once again, this was a first for many of us (myself included once again), and the prospect of spreading mud all over our bodies was a bit uncomfortable to think about. Once again, and you're not going to believe this, but the mud baths did not disappoint. The mud baths were so isolated, yet had so much to offer in the form of scenery of the jungle, the nearby river, and the rope bridges we needed to use to get to the baths. Everyone had so much fun relaxing in the hot springs beforehand, which we needed to do to open our pores (for science), then spreading the mud on, letting it harden, then washing it off and going back into the hot springs. It felt like we could stay there all day, but we had to leave, because we had even more fun activities on the horizon. That's a well-placed pun that you will read more about in a future paragraph. But first, more pictures.

In the morning, we made our way to Flamingo, located on the western coast of the country. This would be the site of our final two days of community service, as well as our final excursions. For our community service, we worked on painting a house and making a porch. Easy, right? Wrong. Flamingo was HOT. Which meant that making cement was tiring. Yeah, that's right, we physically made cement. Mixed the rocks, shoveled the paste, everything. We picked up the cement, we laid it on, and we leveled it. We also spent hours painting a house for a family of eight, although the house it self was probably more suited for a family of four. That made the service all the more rewarding. The kids were there to see us work, and even help us, laughing all along the way. I don't have any pictures from this service, but it was really awesome to see what we could accomplish in such a short amount of times. I guess it was just one of those things where you really had to be there.\

In Flamingo, there was a lot of work, but also a ton of fun. On our second to last day, we visited Playa Potrero. Holy wow, what an incredible beach this was. Accompanied by the sounds and sights of howler monkeys on our walk there, Playa (Spanish for "beach") Potrero is a wonderfully tranquil beach that was perfect for us to relax and take in the beauty of this country. To the north, there was the small fishing village of Potrero. To the south, beach and rain forest. I do have some pictures of this place, but it's hard to encapsulate its beauty without being there for yourself to really experience a sunset over this black-sanded beach.

On our last day of the trip, we continued to work on service in the morning, then took professional surfing lessons in the afternoon. We were given our very own surf shirts, boards, and a lesson on the beach on the intricacies of standing up on the board. Trust me, there are many intricacies. After that, we were out on the water. Some of us were better than others at surfing. That's all I'm going to say about that. Regardless, we all had a blast. Following surfing, it was time to enjoy a final meal together, pack, and fly out in the morning.

This was an incredibly short trip by WestCoast Connection standards -- only 10 days -- but it was amazing to see how close our group got in such a short amount of time. In Costa Rica, we made an incredible impact on some of the communities here, and got to experience some of the breathtaking beauty that this country has to offer. This group truly turned into a "Familia" and embodied the "Pura Vida" spirit from beginning to end. I couldn't be more fortunate to have undergone this experience with this group, and will fondly remember my time here in Costa Rica forever.

From here, I will spend a few days in San Jose before embarking on the exact same trip a second time with a completely new group of kids. I won't be writing about it again, because that would be super redundant, but I will remain down here and will try to continue to work hard and play hard in Costa Rica. Cheers to everybody back in the states, and thanks so much for reading.

Pura Vida y Hasta Luego,
BD

Costa Rica Days 1-5: White Water Rafting + Community Service in San Jose

Buenos Dias from Costa Rica!

My name is Brad, and I have the unique privilege of working with twenty fantastic trip members and two equally fantastic staff for ten days down here in Costa Rica. This blog will serve as your  look-in to the activities we are doing, the work that we have accomplished, and some of the other fun things that we have going on down here, south of the border.

This specific trip is a ten-day community service trip. What that means is that the trip members we are working with understand that this is not just your normal vacation – we have traveled down here to challenge ourselves physically, emotionally and socially to make some pretty major changes. The work we are doing takes place in communities that are drastically different than anything any of us have ever seen before. But, before we talk about that, how did we get here?

Day One of the trip was a travel day. Many of the trip members met up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for our group flight. After a couple of card games, we boarded our flight and headed south. Once in Costa Rica, we checked into customs (alongside a local Costa Rican top level club soccer team…not a big deal) and then made our way to the hotel. The hotel is beautiful, tucked in between the Cordillera Talamanca mountains of San Jose. Once at the hotel, we gathered as a group for our first ever team meeting, where we talked about trip expectations as well as the “Pura Vida” way that people live down here.

In Costa Rica, “Pura Vida” translates literally as “pure life,” but for the people here (the Ticos, as they call themselves) it means so much more. “Pura Vida” means to appreciate what you have, to live life to the fullest, and to generally just enjoy the world around you! Similar to “aloha” in Hawaii, it is used in a multitude of ways – as a greeting, goodbye, or even as a sign of gratitude. For example, “Hey, thanks for the help.” “Pura Vida!” We embraced this mentality as we headed to sleep and prepared for our first push out of our comfort zones in the morning.

Day Two was white water rafting day! We went rafting at Exploradores Costa Rica, which we were told was ranked a top five white water rafting destination IN THE WORLD. Man, this place did not disappoint. In a word, I would describe the white water rafting experience as exhilarating. The trip took about three hours, as we rafted anywhere between class 2 and class 4+ rapids. The trip even included a lunch that was freshly made by our rafting guides, who were also local to Costa Rica, and included some of the most delicious pineapple any of us have ever had. As we made our way through the beautiful rainforests of Costa Rica, serenaded by the Cicadas up in the trees, you could tell that this group was growing closer together by the minute. We had a blast, but in the back of our minds, we knew the real reason that we had traveled down here was just about to begin.

Days Three through Five were service days. Our community service took place in a community called La Carpio, a neighborhood of San Jose. There, we worked with the Costa Rica Humanitarian Foundation. We heard from the foundation’s leader, who told us to “be ready” to do some really awesome work.

La Carpio is an extremely poor community located in San Jose. To give an idea of the conditions that the people here live in – we were told to play soccer with the kids. There was no field, so we played in the street. We were told to paint houses. We painted aluminum “fences” that served as walls for their homes. We were told to dig a walkway through a hill so that we could pour in cement so that the hill would not fall on a woman’s home. Okay, that one was actually very accurate. It was unbelievable to see our trip members’ (and my) reactions to these conditions – because as opposed to saying, “man, this is rough. This sucks. I don’t want to be here,” the response was the 100% polar opposite.

Our TM’s dove right into this work, doing everything imaginable – painting, coloring, digging, playing, donating, all with no regard for any of their personal things. It was fine that their shirts got paint on them, or that their shoes may have gotten a little scuffed up. Why? While our TM’s have done great work, we have all been inspired to do this work by the people who live in La Carpio. The people who live there have so little, but are pleased by so much. The TM’s LOVED playing soccer with us in the street; the adults were so grateful for us just to be there, and any work that we did was just an added bonus. We did so much good work, and it was so gratifying to see the finished product and all that we had accomplished over the course of our three days there. As a group, we reflected and came to the following conclusion: our time in La Carpio was life-changing, showing us the beauty in the simplest things that life can provide us.

Honestly, my most favorite part of this trip so far was the service. With that being said, we are now heading north in Costa Rica to Rincon de la Vieja, where we will be engaging in some very necessary down time (shameless plug to tune in next week to hear about some of the incredible things we will be doing!). From there, we will head west to Flamingo for our second service trip, as well as some really fun excursions.

It’s crazy to think that this trip is already halfway done. The group that is down here in Costa Rica is truly amazing, and is living life the “Pura Vida” way. I couldn’t be more proud of this group of honorary Ticos, and can’t wait to see them grow even more as we head into the second half of this trip.

I will close this blog in true Costa Rican fashion, by saying…

Pura Vida y Hasta Luego,
BD

The Cleveland Cavaliers Are NBA Champions

"I just need some time to process."

Those were the only words that I could muster Sunday night. I had just finished watching my hometown basketball team win their first ever championship, surrounded by over 20,000 delirious fans inside of an arena that was sold out for a team that wasn't even playing there. I walked out of the arena with friends who were wondering, "What do we do now? Where do we go? Bars? To the LeBron banner? Did you see that Kyrie shot? When do you think they're going to build a statue for LeBron?"

"I just need some time to process."

Outside the Q after Game 7

There was so much to think about. This was my favorite sports team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. This team was led by LeBron James, the prodigal son of the city who had been drafted by that team 13 years ago, only to leave for greener pastures. Then he came back -- no one leaves Cleveland and comes back, much less the best basketball player in the world. They had just become the first team to ever win after being down 3-1 in the Finals. They had done that against the team with the best regular season record ever, who also happened to beat them in the Finals last year. Oh, by the way, that team, the Golden State Warriors, were playing at home. And the Cavs won. If you pitched this plot as a movie, it would probably be deemed too unrealistic. Yet, it happened. In real life. Here we are.

"The Cleveland Cavaliers are NBA Champions" is a sentence that only used to be true when I was playing NBA 2k on my Xbox 360. Today, it is a factual sentence, and I'm trying to think about all of that, and how it happened. How the hell all of that happened. Aside from all of the LeBron story lines, to me, the most improbable thing about all of this was this NBA Finals series. It was so perfect for Cleveland, as a city. It was so perfect for me. And honestly, it was probably the only way that it could have happened.

Bill Simmons was right. He's written so many good articles over the years, but I feel like this quote has always stuck out to me the most. He was trying to describe to a friend what it was like to be a fan from a "cursed" sports team.

"Yeah, I get it. You’re not even that mad. You just feel empty inside. You head into every big game assuming you will lose, and when it happens, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. You claim that you have your guard up, only deep down, that guard is lowered just enough that you’re hoping against hope that THIS game will be different. Only it never is. “I get it,” I said. I tried to explain to Steiny Mo that these things can turn only in the most dramatic of ways. It will never be a typical win. It will be a life experience. It will break you down in sections. It will take you to the abyss and back. You will have to be stripped of any and all hope, and then — and only then — will you see a light. That’s the way these things work."

Yeah.

There were so many times that these Cavs were counted out. Down 2-0, people were asking if it'd be a sweep. Should we trade Kyrie for Chris Paul? Does Kevin Love even belong on the floor? Then, the Cavs won game three. "OK," people said, "Golden State was going half speed. They'll wake up, win game 4 and make it a gentleman's sweep." Then Golden State won game 4. Questions about LeBron's legacy, Kevin Love's future rang louder than ever. Here we go again, I thought. How typical of Cleveland is it, to have the best team they've ever had, only to run into the best team the NBA has ever seen in the Finals. How typical of Cleveland to get so, so close, only to run into a level of greatness that was just a notch ahead of theirs. Just like Elway. Just like MJ. Just like that Browns team that moved, only to win the Super Bowl a few years later. So close. But never able to finish. Sigh.

But then, something amazing happened. Things started go in Cleveland's direction. Draymond Green was suspended for game five, and the Cavs won that game on the road. Andrew Bogut, a key big man for the Warriors, got hurt. Wait, I thought, this isn't right. We are the ones with bad timing and worse injury luck. What is happening? The series went to 3-2. "OK, well, Draymond is coming back, and Golden State will win in six." The Cavs came back home for game six, and won that game, too. "OK, well, Golden State is at home. Home teams are 15-3 all time in game sevens. No team has beaten them three times in a row at all over the past three seasons. No team has ever come down from 3-1 to win an NBA Finals." Every analyst continued to pick Golden State; FiveThirtyEight gave them a 65% chance to beat the Cavs in game seven. Everything pointed to Golden State to win the series, even after the Cavs had won twice and seemingly had all of the momentum.

I looked at the schedule. Game Seven was on Sunday -- Father's Day. I had to get back to Cleveland.

Growing up, the Cavs were always my favorite team. When I first started getting into sports, Cleveland didn't have a football team, as the Browns had just moved. The Indians were the hot ticket in town, being a perennial contender, but that also meant that tickets were harder to come by, so I went to their games less often. The Cavs, meanwhile, were awful. Always at the bottom of the league. What that meant, though, was that my dad and I could always go to a game. That's how a lot of my childhood was spent, scalping tickets outside of the arena. "Hey, we're just trying to get in the place." $20 later, we were in. No one ever came to the games, so that meant my dad and I could "jump" seats. We started in the upper deck, but would always move down as far as we could. Most of the time, this was the lower bowl.

To an eight year old kid, it didn't matter how good the team was. "Dad, Shawn Kemp touched my hand! I'm never washing this hand." Message to younger Brad: you're going to want to wash that hand. "Dad, can we just stay for the last minute?" The Cavs were bound for what was probably another 15 win season, but we always stayed. "Dad, we have to get there for player introductions. They are SO. COOL!" Nineties graphics were the best.

I became infatuated with the Cavs. I followed them for all of their worst seasons, buying Bobby Sura jerseys, imitating Darius Miles' celebration during my middle school basketball games and making signs for Smush Parker in meaningless February games. Then, I saw them draft LeBron. Finally, some hope for the Cavs! My dad started working as an usher for the team, which was so typical -- "I get to watch the games in great seats, and I get paid!" He would start bringing home rally towels and t-shirt promotions from the games when they started becoming competitive. I went into high school. The Cavs even made it to the NBA Finals one year. LeBron left, which sucked, but that was OK, because it meant we could hop seats even easier when I came home from college. When I would call home from college, or come back to visit, we would always talk about the Cavs first. Draft picks, upcoming games, new jerseys, whatever. Didn't matter. We loved the Cavs. "One of these years, it's going to be different," he used to tell me. Yeah, OK, Dad.

My dad died in 2012 from a heart attack. I went to a Cavs game the weekend after he died, got two tickets and hopped seats for a February game featuring two teams who wouldn't make the playoffs that year. I started in the upper bowl, jumped to the club level, and finally jumped to the lower bowl, ten rows off the court. The Cavs won in the last minute. Perfect. I haven't jumped seats at a Cavs game since.

'

"Scalp & Jump" -- beginning seats at the top, moving towards final seats at the bottom. Cavs vs. Mavs, January 2012.

LeBron came home. Dad would have loved this, I thought. Dad always loved how amped up the city got for competitive games. "To the Q!" he'd proclaim before heading down to usher a big playoff game. I watched from my new city, Washington DC, as LeBron started on his quest to give Cleveland a title. They struggled. They got better. I watched as many games as I could, following their every move. All the way to this game seven.

Game Seven was on Sunday -- Father's Day. I had to get back to Cleveland. To the Q. I rented a car and made the six hour drive to Cleveland, on a perfect weather day. I soaked in everything the city had to offer -- every bar downtown was packed, people were chanting in the streets, and the Q sold out for an away game. Sitting down, as the game started, everything hit me. The Cavs had one chance to win a championship, on Father's Day, and there I was, sitting in a section that my dad probably had directed people to at some point while he worked there.

The game started. It was a quintessential game seven. Cleveland was down 8 in the third quarter, 4 points down in the fourth. So close. It was a tie game with four minutes left. I've seen this movie before. I know how this ends. The Cavs will lose in a close game, and we will spend the next three months debating what we have to do to get over the hump. Then we'll start again next season, hoping that it'll finally be the season. But again, something amazing happened -- Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, two of the best shooters ever,  couldn't make anything. Kyrie Irving made a stepback three. LeBron made a clutch free throw. Golden State missed their final shot. It was over. I hugged my friends so hard that we had an accidental dog pile on each other. "We Are the Champions" came over the loudspeakers. People openly wept in the stands. The Cavs had won the championship.

To the abyss and back. "One of these years, it's going to be different."

I woke up the next morning and made the drive back to DC. The whole way, I listened to Cleveland sports talk radio, and heard stories of why this was so important to people. I probably listened to more grown men cry on that six hour car drive than I have total in my life to that point. Why did people care so much? Why do I care so much? It's just a game. It's just sports. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter.

But it does matter. Sports can provide hope. Sports can bring people together. Sports can make strangers hug each other in streets, as I saw in Cleveland last night. What other form of entertainment can do that? They can form some of the most powerful relationships you have in life -- for me, that was between me and my dad. Sports can help us forget the toughness of the world around us (I realized yesterday that I hadn't thought of Donald Trump in over 24 hours!) and make us believe in real life fairy tales. What the Cavs did in this year's NBA Finals should have never happened. They shouldn't have taken this series to five games, but they did. They shouldn't have won game six, but they did. They definitely shouldn't have won game seven, but they did. Sports can make years of despair and disappointment worth everything in one night. That's what happened for the city of Cleveland Sunday night. That's pretty amazing.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are NBA Champions. It doesn't really matter. Except that it really, really does.

This year, it was finally different. They did it.

Let's Go Cavs.

BD