Day 5: Muddy Caminatas, Waterfall Vibes, and Fighting for Justicia

Heyyyyy everyone! It is Zi and Lexi here, coming at you live as today’s Líderes del Día (Leaders of the Day). Today our big themes for the day were Waterfall Hike Fun Day & Environmental Justice.

Chasing Las Cascadas

The short bus ride to the trailhead was just the calm before the storm. The trail down into the canyon was a super steep, muddy caminata (hike). Slipping and sliding around together was a total bonding experience! Abi and Katelyn were talking about childhood hikes they have been to, Layla, Nicole, and Liliana were adoring the animals all around the farm. Josiah, Adrian, Wyatt, and Antonio were creating new ways to get rid of the flies around them! Reaching the base of the waterfall (cascada) made every single muddy step worth it. The crystal-clear pools were absolutely beautiful, and we saw so much cool wildlife like cows, horses, dragonflies, and a hawk soaring above.

Sliders and gliders! Navigating the steep, muddy trek down to the canyon together.

Pure paradise at the base of the spectacular Las Trillizas waterfalls.

Making some new local friends along the trail.

Deep Thoughts & Environmental Justicia
Introducing “Fofo” & Unpacking Environmental Justicia

Our Question of the Day really made us look at our surroundings differently: “How does an increase in tourism impact the people in nearby communities as well as the environment?”

To help us unpack this, we got to hang out with Andrés Rodolfo “Fofo” Zúñiga Romero for our afternoon seminar. “Fofo” is a total legend in sustainable development and environmental management here in Costa Rica. He skipped the dry, boring lecture format and kept it completely real with us. We dived straight into the heavy themes of environmental justice, resource depletion, and the major paradox of ecotourism. He showed us how luxury travel can accidentally compromise the livelihoods of nearby marginalized communities by draining their local resources.

“Fofo” breaking down the deep intersections of economic growth and environmental justice.

This seminar sparked some serious, deep reflections across our entire delegation. Hearing Fofo speak made us realize that land isn’t just a commodity for us to consume or use for aesthetic travel photos. As a squad, we talked about how our own travel footprints affect the places we visit. A lot of us reflected on how easy it is to ignore environmental damage when you are just looking for a luxury vacation. It challenged us to rethink what true justicia means, pushing us to see ourselves as a community that must treat the earth with genuine love and respect.

To lock in these concepts, Fofo split us up into an intense mock civic hearing simulation debate! We played the roles of developers, local community members, and government authorities fighting over a wetlands project. Isabel, Shani, and Lucia had the roles of government and were really tuned into their speech and debate skills. This activity completely changed our perspective on global citizenship.

“Fofo” split us up into mock civic hearing simulation debate where we played developers, local community members, and government authorities. Liz and Natalie made a lot of good point here supporting an ecotourist resort. It completely changed how we look at travel and made us realize that fighting for true justicia (justice) means protecting both the people and the land.

Shifting our mindset from treating nature as a commodity to treating it as a community completely changes how we interact with the world. People… (just August) were so interested in this picture that they showed incredible flexibility.

Pushing through a muddy, tough path brings you to the most beautiful views and the strongest friendships.
Zi and Lexi, Leaders of the Day

P.S. to mom, dad, and friends,

My experience throughout this trip has been amazing! Adrian you were so right about me under packing.. I totally should’ve brought way more tops and pants because now I am waiting for the only laundry day we’ll have. I’ve been to so many little shops and I found a lot of new snacks and I can’t wait to share with you all when I am back. I really want a home cooked meal so bad but I miss you all so much and I cannot wait to be home soon!!!

Best, Zi 🙂

P.S. To my ates, I went to so many cutesy grocery stores that I just know we would have all loved walking in all the aisles together. I WILL be bringing back snacks. (Ate Zara, I got ICE CREAM) To my mama, yes you’re right, the clip-on hanger is very helpful and not my flimsy purple hangers. And to my friends, I miss you guys and I have so much to talk about when I get home, and I’ve been looking at old digi pics at times to see your faces 🙂

With big love, Lexi <3