10,000 people

They say third time is the charm, well it definitely was. Don’t get me wrong, my first two times in Colombia were amazing, but this experience was so different, and one of the greatest thrills I’ve ever had in my life. My dad had the opportunity to talk to 10,000 individuals in Medellin, Colombia at a convention. I couldn’t be any more proud of him when he broke the news to us; my mum and I insisted that we accompany him on the trip to share the experience with him.  We were to fly out to Medellin and stay for 4 days, and attend the event. My dad, Anil Gupta, had a 90-minute slot in which he talked about happiness, giving, growth, and gratitude.

The group of individuals he talked to were full of energy, and were ready for anything. They filled an entire bull arena. They had blow horns, lou
d voices, high energy, and their country flags. It was one of the coolest thing knowing that everybody was there for the same reason, to make a difference and to step out of their comfort zone. All of the people were super grateful of life, and were ready to go to the next level.

            To be honest, I was a little nervous at first just because 10,000 people is a lot, even though I wasn’t speaking, but naturally it got the best of me. The real nerves kicked in when my dad requested that at the end of his talk, that my mum and I would come up and say a few words. At first, I was super cool about it because I thought he was joking… he wasn’t.  I’ve talked in front of about 300 people, but adding another 9,700 was a whole other story. But nevertheless, I was ready to assist my dad.

            My dad had an announcer go on the stage and introduce him, while I went around waving a flag. I just remember praying to myself that I wouldn’t trip and fall. I MADE IT. No bumps, bruises, or mishaps. I went off stage and exchanged places with my dad. The crowd went crazy; he had a standing ovation. I felt amazing knowing that so many people respected and loved my dad, but I can’t even begin to imagine how he must have felt.

            By the time it was my turn to talk, surprisingly, my nerves kind of went away. I don’t know what happened because usually I’m a little stage freight, but I walked confidently on stage ready to give some advice to everyone. It was short, sweet and to the point. It felt amazing, I got to experience a small snippet of what my dad was feeling.

One of the coolest parts was that the coordinators of the event treated all of us like loyalty; we had a makeup crew, a personal RV, bodyguards, and VIP treatment. It felt so cool, and the people were so nice and humble.

The adventure continues

Water tubing

My greatest fear thus far is the water, well more like the ocean. The river never really scared me even though there could be alligators. I was totally confident of tubing down the river and waterfalls. The only scary part was getting stuck, or when the current kind of took you along regardless of where you actually wanted to go.

I remember there were some areas that had large waterfalls; our tour guide insisted we go one at a time and once we went through, hold onto the rope on the other side so we could all stick together. Of course, my tube got stuck going down so I needed assistance, almost flipped, and rushed down the waterfall, missed the rope and was holding onto a rock on the side of the bank. JUST MY LUCK! But, I wasn’t the only one, the guy right after me ended up missing the rope as well and I managed to grab onto his tube so he can at least stay with me; the two stragglers.

The parts where the current wasn’t strong, was extremely peaceful. I kind of laid down to the best of my ability, and just gazed up at the sky, the trees and the overall nature. I could smell the fresh air, hear the birds chirping, and feel the wind. That right there was paradise. I didn’t think of anything else; I was completely present to that moment. We drifted like that quite a bit, until of course another waterfall came.

Mud bath

When I went to Colombia a few months back, I went to an inactive volcano where I was able to have a mud bath!! Here in Costa Rica, the volcano was far from us but they brought the mud to us!!! We had two options, hot or cold. Even though it was extremely hot out, the idea something hot just seemed quite soothing. The tour guide handed us paintbrushes that we could dip into the mud and lather our bodies with. We laid down on the to let it dry and jumped into the water to get it all off. It took a few jumps and scrubbing to get the mud off. Oh, and not to mention that the mud SMELT disgusting… and I mean disgusting. I remember smelling like sulfur for days [only downside].

The jump from the top of the rocks to the bottom into the lake wasn’t that far but it still worried me as the current was strong and there were large rocks that I obviously didn’t want to come into contact with. I jumped regardless, hoping for the best. I just figured that so many people have done it before and the tour guide wouldn’t have said to jump if he didn’t think it was safe. I survived, obviously.
IT WAS SUPER REFRESHING. The water was crystal clear, you could see the little fishes swimming around, and the water was nice and cold. The only thing that freaked me out (there’s got to be something right?) were the plants because as I got closer to the side to get out, they would brush up on my leg and freak me out. I thought it was something in the water ready to take me away. (a little dramatic :P)

Hot Springs

 Ending the day in the relaxing hot springs. The area had various springs on levels all differing in water temperature. As you traveled up to the top, the water temperature of the springs also increased. I wanted the hottest one possible so I went all the way to the top. It was big enough for about 20 people to sit comfortably, but there were only two of us. We swam around and had the entire thing to ourselves. It was the perfect way to end such a crazy, fun filled, adventurous day.