Manuel Antonio

First weekend trip was a success! Friday we headed out to Manuel Antonio and the National Park there. It ended up being about a 3-3.5 hour drive from Heredia to Manuel Antonio and our Hostel. Once we arrived the first thing we all wanted to do was go to the beach. I had never seen the ocean before and was really excited (which is an understatement). The ocean was absolutely beautiful. After jumping in the water for a bit it started to rain and though we were all already soaked we ended up getting even more wet if that's possible. We were all huddled under a tree near the beach when a man walked up to us (this will be a reoccuring event through out this post) and brought us to a restaurant with the catch line of "10% off". This restaurant, El Sol, ended up being our go-to restaurant the rest of the trip and we ended up getting to know the people who worked there pretty well. After eating lunch/dinner in the restaurant only wearing swim suits and shoes we headed back to the hostel for the night. Since we've all gotten into the rhythm of waking up around 6, we were all pretty tired and headed to bed around 10 so we would be well rested to wake up early and head to the National Park.

None of us had stayed in a Hostel before and we soon realized there are a few things that are a bit different. Such as: though the hostel might say the have hot water, they're lying, it's cold. Though you might have your own room, the rooms are connected by mesh netting and the walls are thin so you will: 1) feel the person who's bed is in the other room opposite the wall to yours every movement throughout the night, 2) you will hear ever single thing that makes noise in the room next door, especially when the people decide to come back in the middle of the night. You better be able to sleep on just about anything because though you might be sleeping in a bunk bed, the "mattress" you're sleeping on is actually a slab of cement. And finally, you better be okay with changing in front of everyone or else you're definitely going to have some problems...All those lessons being learned, the hostel was worth the $12 a night we paid and nothing more. We survived, and it really wasn't that bad.

The worst part of the whole trip: I got eaten ALIVE by mosquitos and am currently COVERED in bug bites. My ankles and feet gotten bitten so much that they have been swollen and hurt and the bug bites on them have turned purple because of all the blood rushing to them. Other than that I'd say the trip was very successful....

Saturday came very quickly for those of us who have the pleasure of being light sleepers and with it came the rain. We all woke to the sound of the storm outside and with a sigh we got ready to head to the national park in the rain. We were all determined to have a blast no matter what the weather was like and we ended up doing just that. We explored the park for about 3 hours and once the rain finally stopped we all headed to the beach in the park to enjoy the sunshine while it lasted. While some of us sat out by our stuff so the monkeys and or ticos wouldn't take our stuff, the rest of us enjoyed the waves. I really love the ocean but I have to admit that it's pretty scary as well. I ended up being swept under by a wave even though I was only in the water up to my belly button. I'm very happy that I've swam in Lake Michigan all my life and know how to swim or else I think I would have freaked out more than I did.

Anyways, after enjoying the park and getting our $10 entrance fee's worth of experience and swimming we headed back to the hostel to change and head to the other public beach. We spent the rest of the afternoon either on the beach or enjoying our friends at El Sol. By the early evening we all decided to head back to the hostel again and rinse off before we headed out for the night to celebrate Carley's 21st birthday! We headed back to El Sol for drinks and dinner and the Heredia vs. Cartago soccer game. We had a blast drinking, eating, watching the game, and celebrating Carley's birthday! And another plus! Heredia won the final after overtime and penalty kicks! :) I think after leaving Costa Rica my day is going to feel incomplete without watching soccer after dinner! So weird!

On the way back home we also got the privilege of seeing a sloth crossing the power line! So cool! It was actually moving a lot faster than I expected too which was really cool. Sunday, we all woke up early again and spent the day on the beach soaking in the rays, swimming, exploring the shops, and getting asked if we wanted to buy pottery or whistles or drinks or have surf lessons multiple times by the locals selling their stuff along the beach. By the third time being asked by the same person it gets a bit bothersome...After returning and packing up we headed back to Heredia for another week of classes!

I really had a wonderful time this weekend and I know there are a million hilarious stories that I'm forgetting to write down right now. I'll just have to add them in to my next posts as I remember them. I'm so glad I was able to spend some time getting to know everyone with my program and soak in the culture and sun with them.

If only we weren't going to school here and just got to take fun trips the whole six weeks! Oh well, back to the grind I guess. I should probably start thinking about the midterm I already have on Wednesday anyways...

Until next time...
♥SEJ