Puerto Veijo

On Thursday June 5th our group left for the La Selva Biological Reserach Station. When we arrived I could tell that I was in a totally different climate. I beleive we were in the lowlands of Costa Rica where it was extremely humid. After we arrived the enitre group went on a nature hike. There wasn't too much to see besides monkeys. For dinner that evening we had porkchops and rice and beans. That night a group of nine of us went on a nature walk with no tour guide. We didnt see too much but it was one of the most fun tours we have taken.

The next morning we took another tour with one of the most boring tour guides of the trip. We couldnt make it ten feet before he had to introduce another plant species. After breakfast we took off to Chiquita where they gave us their speal on how they are becoming more sustainable, and we also got to see where the bananas are sorted and shipped. For more info on Chiquita see my other blog. After the banana visit we left for Puerto Veijo. We did a little shopping on the strip of the beach and then we had dinner. That night we went to karaokee at the bar next to our hotel. And then we went to another bar that had music that we could dance to. And around midnight the bar sponsered a lingerie show which was pretty amazing to the say the least.

The next morning (7th) we took off for a hotel that was right on the beach and it by far the best place we have stayed at. This was also the first time for me being in the Caribean. During the day we played some beach volleyball and did some swimming.

The next morning 8th I took a nature hike to a beautiful spot on the ocean with about twelve other students. The best part was when Marty and I swam out to this huge rock out in the ocean, and this was after our professors said it probably wasnt a good idea. I lost my sandals along the way so I came back with a lot of cuts and sea earchant spines in my feet and hands. That night was a night of drinking and we made a bon fire on the beach.

The next morning we settled up our tabs and left and went back to Puerto Viejo for some souvenier shopping. Nothing much has happened since besides school work. I am starting to get excited for the trip home. But I have loved every minute of it.

OSA Peninsula

On Sunday we travled to the Osa Peninsula which took about 10 hours to go a few hundred miles. We left arounf 6 am and the roads were terrible. Unfortanelty a road was blocked due to the tropical storm and we were forced to turn around. The bus ended up getting stuck as it was backing up and we had to push it. The roads that we took as a back up were on some kind of plantation and didn't look like it was big enough for a huge touist bus. After a really long bus ride we reached a boat dock on the Sierpe River. On the way there I noticed the tree cover was amazing and it looked like a scene from Jurasic Park. We reached the eco-camp around 4 o'clock and we played cards for the rest of the evening. Our group was actullay the first to stay at this resort.

On Monday we went to the Corcovada National Park by boat. We took a nature hike where we saw monkeys, Costa Rica's national bird the McCaw, and a lot of insects and lizards. We also took a second nature walk to a waterfall where we able to jump off from the top.



Tuesday was dedicated to snorkle off the coast of an island called Isla Del Cano which was a few miles from the Osa. We were able to a few schools of fish anlong with the coral reef. It was defineltly like nothing I have never done before.

The hospitality of the resort was excellent. We had a different dish of food for every meal so we were never burnt out on one thing. We had either steak, fish, or chicken in the evenings with a bowl of soup. And we always had some kind of tropical drink.

Wedensday we headed back to San Jose. Also, on Wednesday I figured out that I was accepted to the business school, so I was pretty pumped.

White Water Rafting

Due to the tropical storm plans were changed and we went white water rafting on Saturday (31st) on the Pacaure River. It was an excellent day to go rafting because of the water level and it was sunny all day. We left San Jose a little after 6:30 and returned are 6:00 that night. The Pacaure River is the most famous river in Costa Rica and the part of the river we rafted on had class 3 and 4 rapids. Our group rafted for 18 miles which took most of the day because we had to stop for lunch. Lunch was brought on the rafts and we had fresh watermelon and pineapple and wraps. I had 6 people on my raft Marty, Rob, Diane, Chase, Glenn, and our raft instructor Roberto. Our instructor let us swim through rapids towards the end which was really fun. Nobody in our group fell out, but it was fun to watch the other boats when people fell out. The best part was when we watched two rafts flip over because they were sucked up the bank and the people on board were forced to evacuate. We finished our trip back at the station where we purchased t-shirts and got dressed.

Overall I would say that rafting has been one of the most enjoyable trips this summer. I highly recommend anyone trying it at least once and I would definitely pay money to do it again. Our group went with a company called Exploradores Outdoors, but there were many other companies that we saw that would do the same job.

The Beach

Tuesday and Wednesday were our free days so we took a five hour bus ride to Manuel Antonio which was right on the beach. On the way there we stopped at a bridge and we saw about 15-20 crocodiles in the river. It looked like something you would see on the discovery channel. At Manuel Antonio we stayed at Coco Beach Resort which had an amazing view of the ocean. The whole town was very touristy, but it still had the Costa Rica feel to it. The first thing we did was hit up a place to eat. I had the snapper and it was excellent, and the cool thing was that it still had the head and fins attached. After the restaurant we hit the beach. The waves were really powerful in some spots. The sad thing was that we didn’t get a ray of sun the two days we were there, but I did see my first monkey in the trees. After the beach we dried off and went to happy hour at another restaurant. I had a pina colida, rum and coke, daiquiri, and a margarita and they were all really good. For dinner I had a quesadilla which was alright. That night we took a bus to a discoteca where we danced for a little while, and then we took cabs back to the hotel.

The next morning (28th) we had breakfast at the hotel and I had the biggest pancake in my life. After breakfast I did some reading while taking in the beautiful view. We took off at 12:00. We stopped for lunch at a place that normally doesn’t seat a lot of people, so we were there for two hours. I ordered a cuban with fries. We got back into San Jose around 7:00. When I got back to my host families house they were very excited because her boyfriend just won a new car. I don’t really know how but they were pretty excited.

Getting Settled In

The next morning we met our maid, who makes us breakfast and does our laundry every Monday. We had pancakes and water w/ berries. That morning we had our first business class meeting to go over expectations. After lunch at the University we traveled to CINDE, which is explained in another blog. I cant quite remember everything that happened, too much is happening everyday. For dinner I believe we had pot roast but it was pork instead of beef with lemonade. That night paul and i went out to the bar and met our other classmates at Piscantos. It was a very small bar and we certainly outnumbered the Costa Ricans. Since we bought so much beer they started to hand out free shots and the bar tender even did some with us..haha.. I believe it was a family owned bar which in most cases are common in costa rica. I believe we got back in at 12 and went straight to bed

Tuesday the 20th we had Coco Crispies and Manga. I think the Manga has been the first thing that I have not liked since I have been here. We were suppose to have a Spanish survival lesson but our instructor was in a car accident. So we went over some of the reading material and it was a slight introduction. It rained most of that evening so we decided not go out. We had dinner with both Edgar and Viviana. She made spagetti and garlic bread. Later she let us try a weird fruit that I had to crack open and almost looked like a small guard. The fruit resembled fish-eggs and it was very gooey and definitely a different taste. We watched Identity w/ spanish subtitles. I hit the bed at 10:00 so I would be well rested for the trip to the coffee plantation.

The first couple of Days

We arrived in Costa Rica late on Saturday night. We took a bus into San Jose where we met our host families. Our first night was very enjoyable and surprisingly there was no rain. Our host mother (Viviana) is a 26 year old pre-school teacher and luckily for me she is fairly fluent in English. The first night she took us out to Subway in her extremely small car. The one thing that Ive noticed is that Costa Ricans are terrible drivers. Our host mother said costa rica is known for their many car crashes and fender benders. They have a weird habbit of beeping their horn before going into an intersection to warn traffic coming the other. The streets are very narrow and some are impossible to have two lanes. There are a lot of one way streets and rarely the streets are labeled. I think our street is street 35?

After Subway she took us to a bar to meet her boyfriend (Edgar, who is a graphic designer who studied at the same school that we are studying at) and some of their friends. Costa Ricas national beer is Imperial and Pilsen which have grown on me since Ive been here. Everyone here is very polite and welcoming of Americans especially the ones that speak English. I think I have got in a bad habbit of just pointing to stuff because I dont know any Spanish, well at least enough to have a conversation.

The next morning (18th) she made us gallo pinto, bacon, and scrambled eggs with milk blended with fresh berries. We then got on a bus with a tour guide who showed us San Jose. We drove by the Presidents house and the old main arby hub of Costa Rica. For lunch I had sea bass, plantalones, with some unknown vegaetables. The drink was very very fruity and it was made out of recycled rice water and squeezed pineapples. That night our housekeeper took us to a mall outside of San Jose to eat. The funny thing was that Paul and I both ordered Costa Rican Food and her and her boyfriend both ordered American food (KFC). They said that they prefer American food because it is very quick to make. We came back to San Jose in hopes of going to the bar, but it closes early on Sunday. We met her mother Juillette ( I dont know here she was the first day?) And they also have a pet dog and rabbit.