Itinerary

I haven't had much of a chance to write about Costa Rica on my blog yet because everywhere we have stayed doesn't have internet. I'm getting used to coming into internet cafes to do homework.

What we have done so far:

The first day we got into San Jose and stayed at a little hotel called Villa Bonita in Alajuela. We got some meat pies from a little Quicky-Mart type place. They were baked fresh and were very good.

After that we drove to Arenal and stayed in a cabina at a place called Roca Negra at the base of the volcano. We stayed there for two nights and took a hike through the rainforest, going over a bunch of scary hanging bridges. We also went to a Butterfly Conservatory where we saw not only butterflies and frogs, but howler monkeys! They were very close to us and were barking at us like we were a rival gang. Of course I forgot my camera in the car, but that was a good thing because they wouldn't have been there if I had brought it.

The night after that we splurged a little and stayed at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, where we had a wonderful view of the volcano from our wall of windows. If you don't know, the Arenal volcano is very active, but not life-threatening. All through the night it was erupting, we could see red glows of lava and red-hot bus-sized boulders rolling down the side of the volcano. I didn't get very much sleep that night.

For a week we stayed in a wonderful little villa in Orosi. The owners were away, but there housekeeper, Ana, made us so welcome. She baked us homemade tortillas and some sort of pineapple bread. We made friends with the two rottweilers there, Lola and Maggie. They were absolutely wonderful! Poor Maggie had just gotten fixed and she was having trouble walking. She would sometimes whimper in pain, and that made us terribly upset. Those two were definitely the best friends we've made on this trip!
While we were in Orosi, we went over to a little town called Esperanza to drop off the supplies we had gathered for the Cabecar people. Ginnee Hancock, the woman who is doing so much to help these people, has some volunteers who are taking those supplies up to the village. The hike was 12 hours! Ginnee has a blog where you can find more information on the Cabecar people and what you can do to help: http://costaricamountain.blogspot.com/

We left the mountains and came to the coast. We're right off the Caribbean at Punta Uva, and our hotel, Cabinas Punta Uva, is right on the beach. In the mornings, supposedly there are monkeys that hang around in the trees. To be sure, you can hear them. And I got a glimpse of one this morning. But because I had my camera, we weren't able to see them well. I definitely love Puerto Viejo and Punta Uva. I think I would call it a tourist trap, though. Lots of people from all different countries; there is an English couple staying at the same place we are. I would hate to see how crowded this place would be during the tourist season.
There are a lot of Rasta people around here and the comida caribeno is excellent. I had a virgen pina colada at a place called Maxi's, which, of course, was very good, being all the fruit is incredibly fresh. Everyone speaks at least a little English, so no need for Spanish translation, although I would kind of like to again. We went on a little tour to see how chocolate was made. It was in a little house and there was an open fire and everything. It was actually very neat and we bought lots of organic chocolate. The operation wasn't industrialized at all; a family ran it on their farm with some help from Panama.

Costa Rica is amazing, but we have to go back home in a few days. Hopefully we'll come again soon!

Coffee

Beginning

We drove to D.C. last night/this morning. It's a good thing our flight doesn't leave till later in the morning, otherwise I wouldn't get any sleep. Our hotel room is actually pretty nice. We are staying at Homewood Suites. Check it out if you're coming this way.

I have a great view from my window. . . not really.

In a short while, I will be in Costa Rica!!! This is very exciting, even the not-getting-any-sleep part. Going through the airport is exciting, too, and I like flying. Although, I think I'm getting sick, and in that case the altitude change is going to be super painful. :( We'll see how that goes.

Surprise!

Only a week ago my parents decided we would go to Costa Rica for a trip. You can imagine how excited I was! We will be there for about two weeks. We don't have a lot of time to plan so we are really scrambling to get ready.
Yesterday we actually went out and bought lightweight clothes at Goodwill to wear in Costa Rica because in addition to being hot, it will be wet, too, and heavy clothes like jeans don't dry easily. Also on our list is bugspray and a first aid kit. They should come in handy, especially the bugspray.
In Costa Rica, we will be doing activities like zip-lining, hiking through the rainforest, and touring volcanoes. We'll be going all over the country, trying to do as much as possible. We don't have much of an itinerary planned out yet, but it's in progress.

I'll post more soon about our plans in Costa Rica.