Excursion Numero Uno!

Sorry I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday. I was so tired when I got home last night from all of this weekend's festivities.



It started on Friday morning. I woke up and finished packing for my weekend trip to Arenal & Monteverde. I went to class and then afterwards we left for Arenal at 1pm. It was about a super long and bumpy drive to Arenal. It definitely reminded me of driving around in Guatemala! After the long drive, we arrived in Arenal at our hotel. Of course, I experienced my second piece of luck on this trip when I got the biggest room in the hotel. I was sharing it with one other person and I had 2 full size beds, 1 king size bed, a private balcony, and 2 bathrooms! After getting settled in the hotel we left for Baldi Hot Springs. The Hot Springs was basically like an outdoor water resort. It had about 3 different pools at different temperatures. It was awesome to finally get a chance to get in the water and get away from school for the weekend! After swimming around for a bit, we had a buffet dinner in Hot Springs, which was very delicious. But, I keep forgetting to take pictures of all the great food I eat! After dinner, we went back to the hotel and my group of friends got ready to go out. We went to two different bars and afterwards we hung out in the hotel's casino for a few hours dancing, listening to music, and just hanging out. For the first night away, it was actually pretty fun!

 

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to go to La Fortuna Waterfall. Our hotel was only about 20 minutes. Once we arrived, we had to hike down to actually get to the waterfall. The hike down was pretty decent and was definitely worth it once we saw how beautiful the waterfall was! We took lots of pictures and some people even got in the water.  I'm not the type of girl who likes to get my hair wet or who likes super cold water, so I didn't get in the water at all. But, it was still nice to take lots of pictures. Afterwards, we had a nice long hike up which definitely was not fun! In fact, that was probably the worst part of the day! We went back to the hotel and got ready to check out. We weren't leaving for Monteverde until 2 but, since it is a 5 hour drive from Arenal to Monteverde, our bags left before us and we were going to take a boat ride that would take far less time than 5 hours! In between the time we left we left for Monteverde, we had a chance to stop and get lunch. We went to a place called Some Good Food and I have been craving American food! I thought that getting a Bacon Cheeseburger would be a great choice, however it wasn't! I definitely learned my lesson and I'll just wait to get my American food in the airport in Miami on my way back home in April! We left the restaurant, went back to the hotel, and left on a shuttle to catch the boat. I was able to take a 20 minute siesta (nap) on the way to the river because I was so tired! The boat ride was sooooo beautiful! I took lots and lots of pictures and I was also able to see the Arenal Volcano! Definitely beautiful! Once we got off the boat, we still had an hour drive to get to Monteverde and check in at our hotel. We went out to dinner and after the bad lunch I had, I decided to just stick to Costa Rican food. I had the best dinner since I have been in Costa Rica. It was very delicious and of course I forgot to take a picture of it again! After dinner, we went to a bar/restaurant called Tree House where I had the most delicious Strawberry Daiquiri! It was so delicious! We then went to a bar/discoteca where we stayed for a few hours! The group spent a lot of time dancing and enjoying each others company! There were lost of Ticos there and even another big group of Americans! It was a very fun night as well. Probably the best night since I have been in Costa Rica!

 

 

Sunday morning I woke up again bright and early for breakfast and we left for the Canopy Tour in the Monteverde Cloud Forest. It is basically just zip lining and it was so much fun! I was super scared though because of how high up I was, but it was still pretty fun and I was able to do something that I have never done before. At the end of the zip lining, there was a Tarzan Swing which was similar to bungee jumping. Somehow, I got talked into doing it, whcih in the end, I was really happy becuase I was able to do something that I have never done before. I was super scared, but at the end of the day, it was a great experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything! After the canopy tour, we returned back to the hotel and checked out. We got lunch before heading back on our super long drive back to San Jose. I finally returned home around 6 and I was super exhausted and starving and I still had so much homework to do! I ate dinner with my Mama Tica and my roommate Katherine and I actually got a chance to speak a little bit of Spanish to her. I think it is slowly getting a little bit better with being confident with my Spanish. 

Overall, I had an awesome weekend! The only part that really sucked is that I now have 12 mosquito bites on my right arm. Yep, 12! I didn't think it was that possible to have that many only on one arm. Nevertheless, I finally have my little group of friends established, and I was able to enjoy myself without feeling super stressed out with school or anything. Its crazy to think that I am leaving here in almost 11 weeks, but I am still enjoying the time I have here and trying to learn as much as I can! I'll write more tonight after dinner about what I did today!