Next Up: Puerto Viejo!

Our final weekend trip was to Puerto Viejo, the Caribbean Beach of Costa Rica. This really was the Caribbean - I thought I saw Bob Marley about 20 times the whole weekend!

The coast here is a lot less pretty than Manuel Antonio on the Pacific side of the country. The beaches are dirtier in appearance, and there are places where it is dangerous to swim.

a view of the beach from the street our hotel was on

We were split into two groups of hotels for this weekend stay, and our hotel was gorgeous. We were in raised log cabin-style rooms, all with beautiful amenities, hammocks, air-conditioning (REALLY needed there!!), and nice, thick comforters.

there's the door to our hotel room!

The other group was put up in a hotel that had little cabins. The beds had mosquito nets on top, and although they had no air-conditioning, they had some really pretty bathrooms and a nice bar in the lobby.

Jen in her mosquito-netted bed at their hotel!

We ate dinner at a great outdoor pizza place in town that had delicious cocktails. Because we were such a big group, our food took a while, so we were brought bruschetta on the house - the BEST bruschetta I have ever had in my entire life!

At the restaurant, a Tico named Edwin and his son provided entertainment with guitar-playing, singing, and drumming. He performed all Bob Marley (a common theme in Puerto Viejo, of course), and we really enjoyed him. He even got me up there to perform “No Woman, No Cry” with him, and later, Dan, Chris, and I went up there and sang our Costa Rican version of Margaritaville. I think Edwin liked us!

jammin to some Bob Marley with Edwin and his son was so fun!

Later, we went to a bar/club right on the ocean. Here, there were little tables with candles by the ocean’s edge. It was really neat - very different from anything I’d seen before.

The beach the next day was really fun. We spent most of the time in the water, since it was so hot out.

cooling off in the water in Puerto Viejo

We concluded our Puerto Viejo trip with some shopping. Again, there were lots of street vendors along with the little shops on the road, and I got some great souvenirs for friends and family.

It was sad to return to Heredia knowing that the next time we left the town we would be leaving for the U.S.!

"Noche Tipica Costariccence", a Typical Night in Costa Rica

The Intercultura sponsored a bus trip to a “Noche Tipica Costariccense,” a typical Costa Rican Night. This was held in a restaurant on top of a mountain in the big city San Jose, and for a fee of $38, we had access to all we could eat and drink (in addition to a show) all night. The food was okay, but after the great food at La Paz, it was a little disappointing for all the money we paid.

Since we had to change into our dressy clothes directly after class after the waterfalls, we all had had a long day, but still had fun dressing up!

Dana, Jenni, Jen and me in front of the beautiful view of San Jose

The view from outside of the restaurant was breathtaking. In the dark, one could see all the lights of the city of San Jose.

the view was even more impressive in person!

The show after dinner was very interesting. The Ticos dressed up in traditional Costa Rican dress and performed some intricate dances to a live band. Later in the show, people were brought up to dance, and I got to go up there twice!

You can see me in action dancing here.

Dana and me with the dancers!

Then, outside, we were told there would be fireworks. Their concept of fireworks was a little different from ours; there was a little contraption with pipes jutting out from its sides that spun around and shot sparks from the pipes. Not quite the pyrotechnics we are used to, but it was still neat to see how Costa Ricans do things.

Costa Rican fireworks

We all drank drinks called “leche” (which, directly translated, means “milk”... I’m not sure how this drink got that nickname, because it does not taste nor look anything like milk). This included guaro, the popular sugarcane liquor of Costa Rica, orange juice, and sprite. It was a little strong for my taste.

The food at the Noche Tipica was a good representative for me of what Costa Rican cuisine is like. Many would expect the food there to be like Mexican food; however, the similarities end at the tortillas, which are a lot smaller than Mexican tortillas and served cold. Costa Rican food is either extremely bland (usually). When you are actually given hot sauce to add to your food, it is so spicy it is almost inedible. Surprisingly, because of the tease of Costa Rica cuisine, after a month there, all I wanted was Mexican food!

Wildlife And Waterfalls of La Paz

My favorite weekday tour was of the La Paz resort, which has actually recently been partly wiped out due to hurricanes in Costa Rica. The animal exhibits survived the storms, but the waterfall tour area is being reconstructed.

La Paz is a great tourist spot for viewing all kinds of different wildlife and beautiful waterfalls. The tour involves a lot of hiking, and at the beginning, everyone is given a walking stick to “fend off the snakes” if necessary (we saw no snakes).

We first entered an aviary of all kinds of different birds. All the girls were instructed to take our earrings out, because some types of birds are attracted to shiny things and will actually peck at your earlobes to steal your piercings.

We saw some beautiful parrots, macaws, and the funniest little hopping tucans!

HEY, tucan!

the beautiful parrot we saw upon entering the aviary

There were also owls and other types of birds with which I was not familiar, like the black-bellied whistling duck pictured feeding below, but I loved seeing all of them and their pretty colors.

the owls were still sound asleep (as I would have chosen to be that early in the morning!)

the black-bellied whistling duck

I found more monkey friends, too! There were tiny little monkeys with faces called marmosets who would come close to the cage to see me up close.

they kept coming to the cage to see me!

you can kind of see his little face here

There were also beautiful flowers all over La Paz, and another butterfly garden! The butterflies here were a lot more friendly, and I got to hold a few.

my favorite butterfly, or "mariposa" shot

I finally caught one!

The hummingbirds were so funny to watch flitting around the exhibits. I loved watching their jerky but graceful movements.

it was hard to get a good picture of these quick little guys!

The amphibian exhibit was so cool. Many of the frogs we got to see looked almost fake with their shocking colors. Also, many of them were poisonous, like the bright colored one pictured below.

the picture of this frog is one of my favorites of the entire trip

another type of rain frog

Finally, we hiked the waterfalls. They were quite a site to see!

this shot of the La Paz waterfall is very popular - 

just weeks after we visited here,
Sheri Shepard from The View was filmed

in this very spot on the show!

the view from above - these are the spots that are being reconstructed after the storm

The La Paz food was some of the best we had throughout our entire trip. We had a buffet of pizza, garlic bread, rice, fries, as well as Costa Rican staples such as fried platanos and pineapple.

If you are to visit Costa Rica, La Paz is a MUST-see!!

Wildlife Refuge Tour in Manuel Antonio

Our wildlife refuge tour of Manuel Antonio was one of my favorite organized activities of our entire time in Costa Rica.

We were split into three small groups. Our tour guide’s name was Flaco. This means skinny in Spanish, and he explained that it is what all his friends call him. He did a GREAT job in finding us lots of wildlife to see up close and personal.

Flaco and la cucaracha he made me from palm leaves

In the opening of the tour, he made a cucaracha (cockroach) out of two palm leaves. Because I could name the typical Costa Rican meal (Casado - see my Tour of Heredia post) the fastest, he gave me la cucaracha to keep. I still have him in my room at home, preserved with hairspray, just as Flaco told me to do.

The first monkey we saw was a howler monkey. They make CRAZY loud noises in order to claim the territory around them. Apparently, the male monkey who howls the loudest gets to claim his territory.

Next, we got as up close and personal as one can possibly get to a white-faced monkey. Remember how I said the butterflies didn’t like me when we went to the butterfly garden? Well, monkeys loove me.

my monkey friend

This guy wouldn’t leave me alone, and kept trying to grab my hair from a low branch. I was able to capture the end of our encounter with him.

he was ready for his closeup!

You can see this guy in action via video here via youtube.

The guides stressed that it is very important not to touch the monkeys, as they can be dangerous. People sometimes enjoy the beach within the wildlife refuge, and it is important to watch your belongings, as the monkeys will steal bags.

We got to see a variety of lizards, as well. The nicknamed “Jesus lizards” (because they walk on water) were all over the place in Manuel Antonio)

can you find the "Jesus lizard?"

there were MANY different types of lizards around our hotel, too!

Sloths are also plentiful in Costa Rica, and from what we learned about them, they are probably the grossest animal on the planet. They move so slowly that it’s hard to see they are moving at all. They are also so lazy that they don’t clean themselves, causing entire ecosystems to live in their fur. Ew! This shot was taken within the telescope to see the sloth up close.

the famous sloth eating his breakfast

I loved seeing all of the wildlife, especially the monkeys! Can you imagine wild monkeys running around our American beaches?

The best weekend trip in Manuel Antonio

On our way to our Manuel Antonio weekend excursion (the Pacific Beach), we stopped at a place to eat called “Isla Crocadilla.” We all gathered around on the highway and looked off the side edge to find around 50 crocodiles sunning themselves! They were all humongous - and there were cows just a few feet away grazing in the grass. It was wild, and we all expected to see a crocodile or two decide it was time for lunch.

the HUGE crocodiles!

When we arrived in Manuel Antonio, we found two restaurants right down the road from our hotel. After checking them out, we saw that they served happy hour drinks! From 4-6 every day, margaritas, pina coladas, and daiquiris were 2 for 1. We loved it, and definitely took advantage of the deal the two nights we stayed in Manuel Antonio. My favorite of the two restaurants was called Sammy’s, pictured below. I had some of the BEST pesto pasta of my life there!

happy hour!

On Saturday, we woke up early to take the wildlife tour. The tour was awesome even though it was a rainy, overcast day. We got to see lots of different animals, which I had really been hoping to do. I plan to dedicate my next post to that tour entirely.

our group for the wildlife tour

After our wildlife tour, we had the entire day to do whatever we pleased. We decided to check out the hundreds of street vendors. There was some really neat handcrafted jewelry, clothing, and nick knacks. The vendors were very friendly and used to tourists, and I had a fun time haggling with them for my souvenirs.

My friends Dana, Jen, Bekah, and Jenni and I then took a banana-float ride! For only $10 each, we got to ride on a banana-shaped float behind a speed boat. We all fit on it, and it was so fun (and FUNNY) trying to stay on through the rough waters! The ride was only ten minutes long, but it was definitely worth only $10.

that banana float ride was so fun!

Later that night, we ate at a restaurant called “El Avion” (the airplane). The entrance to the restaurant is an old cockpit fashioned into a bar on the inside - it was really neat, and the seafood there was delicious!

the cockpit entrance to the restaurant

We also hit the bars in Manuel Antonio. Once again, Roberto was kind enough to drive the big bus so we wouldn’t have to pay for taxis. Ladies were free (a common theme in Costa Rica), and we danced the night away until the early hours of the morning. The funniest part of our bar experience was when we found street vendors outside with carts of chicken on a stick. My friend Thomas was so excited over this chicken, and bought about five of them. I tried a piece - it was really good! The concept should be brought to the states for sure.

chicken on a stick, on sale outside the club

Our final day in Manuel Antonio was a free day. Four of us chose to spend our final hours renting a surf board and a boogie board for the great waves! It only cost $15 for two hours, so we got a pretty great deal for a lot of fun in the water. The little son of the boards owner (who was wearing a little shirt... and nothing else) loved Dana and me, and latched onto our legs and wouldn’t let us leave. Unfortunately, it was time to get back on the bus and head home for Heredia.

our new friend, the son of the surfboard rental man

I loved the beaches and fun of Manuel Antonio. If i could return to any of our weekend excursions, I would surely choose Manuel Antonio!

Weekend trip to Volcan Arenal

Our first weekend excursion was to Volcan Arenal, Costa Rica. In order to travel in sufficient time, we needed to wake up at 4:45 AM... not fun!

We traveled in two huge busses on our trips. On the way to Volcan Arenal, we stopped at a big indoor marketplace which had many hand-crafted gifts. I bought a walking stick for my dad (he collects them) and a Costa Rican wooden handmade serving platter for my mom. I also found some cute handmade earrings for friends.

Our stop for breakfast was fun. I had a really yummy omelette. Many people had their pancakes, which were also delicioso.

After finally settling in at the hotel, we hiked up the mountain to see the volcano. The hike was in the pouring rain, of course, because that's all it does in Costa Rica (so it seems), but we got to see some neat plant life and a couple of spider monkeys up high in the trees. Once we got to the top of the volcano, we all took pictures.

Dana and me at the top of the Volcano!

THEN we went to the Baldi hot springs. This was one of my favorite places we visited in all of Costa Rica - it was like one big waterpark with a bunch of swimup pools! The pools have hot water flowing through them from the volcano - it was so neat. The drinks were all crazy expensive ($10 each), but they were very good. My favorite was a banana drink with a coffee liquor called "The Crazy Monkey."

our group loving Baldi Springs!

There were even waterslides!! My friend had an waterproof camera, so we got a lot of pictures of the fun that night. After we had our fill of swimming, our group had a great buffet of chicken, pasta, and salad.

all us girls with our drinks at the swim-up bar!

That night, we went to the discoteca. It was really fun to show off our dance class skills in salsa and merengue, and we had fun watching some of the locals and other tourists dancing the night away around us.

discotecas have great dancing!

The next morning, we got to go ZIP-LINING!!! Zip-lining in Volcan Arenal was one of my favorite special activities by far. We each paid $60 to zip across 10 lines. After an information session, we rode up to the top of the mountain, put on harnesses, and were off.

I LOVED zip-lining!

It surprised me how much technique is involved in zip-lining. It is really important to keep your brake pad (in your one hand) on the cable, your other hand pulling down on the metal clamp attaching you to the cable, and your feet high up in the air. Otherwise, you will get stuck in the middle of the line, and one of the workers will have to come and fetch you. I thought this was so fun - I was only one of three people who got all the way across every line without getting stuck!

It began to rain on our LAST line. After standing in the pouring rain for half an hour, we were told we could no longer ride horses to the waterfall. This was disappointing, but I had a LOT of fun zip-lining and would most definitely do it again!

Spanish Class in Costa Rica

After an interview in a small office with a teacher in the Intercultura, we were all placed into our classes.  Since most students along on the trip were simply finishing their spanish language requirement credits and not minoring or majoring in Spanish, I was guessing my class would be small.

dance class with our teacher Kike was always a lot of fun!

I was right! My class of Advanced Spanish Conversation and Intermediate Spanish Grammar (combined into one class) consisted of two other students and myself.

Our teacher, Nuria, was a super nice Tica.  I was a big fan of hers throughout our stay in Heredia.  She wasn't much older than we were.. I would assume in her late twenties, so she was more like a friend.  This made our class time really fun (which is a good thing - class is 5 hours long Monday through Friday!)

Nuria and our class on Presentation Day - we had to wear the old-fashioned clothing of San Jose

Nuria taught us many things other than the curriculum.  In fact, every time I learned a new/interesting word, I wrote it down.  My list grew to some interesting terms:

cita a ciegas - blind date

trasnochar - to stay up all night

goma - hangover

batido - milkshake

carambola - starfruit

promedio - GPA

me cae bien - to get along with (if you like a person, unless it's a love interest, it is incorrect to say "me gusta (person)"

molida - crushed

cangrejo - crab

estar con sueno - to want to sleep

cordales - wisdom teeth

hacer trampa - to cheat

chupete - hickie

trenzas - braids/dreadlocks

guacala - ew!

culo - butt

These are the kinds of things I really take away from my trip to Costa Rica, not all that bookwork!

We also had some great dance classes, beading classes, and cooking classes at the school.  In dance class, we learned salsa, merengue, and other latin dance.  Our dance instructor, Kike, was pretty cool.

In cooking class, we learned how to make empanadas and chorreadas, which are just like pancakes; however, our teacher, pictured below, would get very angry if we said "pancake."  Apparently, chorreadas are a big deal, and much better than pancakes (I actually would just prefer pancakes. She served the chorreadas with some gross sour cream).

our interesting cooking teacher making empenadas

Obviously, the classes were the reason we took the trip to Costa Rica, and they taught me a lot, but I think I learned just as much outside of the classroom as I did in class!

Random Facts About (our trip in) Costa Rica

Lessons learned while spending a month in Costa Rica:

-No wonder they call the month of June the "rainy season:"

it is raining there every single day, especially in the late afternoon. And by raining, I don't mean a slight drizzle - it is always POURING down rain there. Thank goodness for umbrellas (Dana, my roommate, went through two during our trip) and waterproof, hooded jackets. I've never been so sick of rain in my life!

-Costa Rican McDonalds are awesome: 

Since McDonalds is an American corporation, when it appears in a third-world country such as Costa Rica, it is pretty upscale. When Dana and I went to McDonalds for lunch before class one day, we were so excited to have some American food.  The McDonalds was so much nicer than any one we had ever visited in the US.  While in line for the cash register, a women took our orders on a palm pilot and sent our orders to the back.  By the time we were at the register to pay, our food was ready! I was very impressed.  

Here, I learned how to say my favorite McDonalds fry dipping sauce in spanish: "salsa agridulce," or sweet-and-sour sauce.

Costa Rican McDonald's papas fritas and una hamburguesa... yum!

-For the most part, Costa Rican Margaritas taste like ocean water: 

We all tried margaritas at numerous bars and restaurants. Even if we requested no salt on the rim of our glass "no sal en el vaso, por favor," the margaritas have a TON of salt in the drink itself. I like salty things, and I could barely handle more than one sip of the Costa Rican margaritas.

salty margaritas... no, gracias!

-Costa Rican men go crazy over "Gringas": 

Cat-calling is the norm in Costa Rica, and it got very old during our month-long stay, especially during our long walks to and from school.  Because we look like American girls, Dana and I got a lot of rude attention on the streets.   One early morning walk to school, we were flashed by a man on the sidewalk.  Thankfully, this was our most eventful Tico interaction on the streets, but I still think I'm scarred for life.

-Internet Cafes are a nice alternative: 

Since most families do not have internet access, there are many internet cafes around town.  It is relatively cheap to use their computers, and there is a timer on each computer which monitors your activity.  These cafes also usually offer snacks.  Since we were trying to save our money for shopping and excursion activities, Dana and I would try to arrive at school a little early and use the computer lab of the Intercultura to e-mail our friends and families and update facebook.

-Bananas Fritas are the BEST: 

I find that the food I miss the most from Costa Rica has to be the fried bananas that were served with almost every meal, at restaurants AND in our homestay. "Me gusta mucho!"

fried bananas, or bananas fritas

-Pan e Vino is a MUST-VISIT restaurant: 

We ate there probably three times, and I would have been happy to return again. Pan e Vino (Bread and Wine) is a great italian restaurant which offers an array of great tasting wines, an array of specialty pizzas, pastas, and one of the BEST flaky calzones I have ever had. One visit to Pan e Vino was just for Calzones for our entire table! We had a great dessert to split between us all to finish.

Pan e Vino, one of my favorite restaurants in all of Costa Rica

-Costa Rican drivers are idiots: 

Upon returning from a lunch break of grabbing stamps at the post office, I was almost run over by a car. There are strange garages just placed between storefronts, and until one is directly in front of this garage, there is no telling that there is a car emerging. This is how I found myself half-sitting on a car hood without any idea of how I got there. Clearly, the driver had not been paying attention, and just pulled out without looking.

We learned that in Costa Rica, a citizen does not have to take a road or written test of any kind. This shows in the streets, too. It is extremely easy to have a close call in the streets of Heredia: drivers do NOT yield to pedestrians!