LA PLAYA!

Well I suppose it's time for another update from the world of la Pura Vida. This past weekend (10-12) I traveled to Manuel Antonio, in the province of Puntarenas, with two of the students, Rachel Brown and Lauren Drake. I had never been there before, so it was a new experience for all of us, which was exciting to share! Trevor (one of the staff members here) drew me what came to be called "The Magic Trevor Map" which was basically one of the most detailed, well-drawn maps I've ever seen. Haha. But seriously! He told us lots of good places to stay, good beaches to go to, and good places to eat. And boy, was he right! We basically just followed the map around for all the things we wanted to do. It was a life saver, because none of us knew anything about Manuel Antonio before we arrived!

Saturday morning we left early from San Jose, for the 4 hour bus ride. Once we got to Manuel Antonio/Quepos area, we began the 2 hours of walking around looking for somewhere to stay. The first place we walked in offered us $60 a night, but we had no view, so we thought we could find something better. Thus, we wandered up and down this road for a while, finding places from $85-185 a night (and this is the low travel season). Eventually we were hot, tired, and wanted to be at the beach. So we wandered back to the first place, who then told us they now had a room with a view available (it was always available, they just weren't going to give it to us in the first place unless we haggled a little). We took it, done deal, with a pool and breakfast included. Awesome. So we wandered around after dropping off our stuff, and spent most of the afternoon at this very secluded beach called Playa Biesanz, which was nice. That night we hit up a Tapas bar called Salsipuedes, then headed back to relax in the AC of our room. Awesome.
Sunday we got up early for a delicious breakfast, then headed to el Parque de Manuel Antonio, which basically is jungle/beach area all in one. The first beach we got to was awwweeesome (see picture) and we stayed there most of the day before heading to the other side of the peninsula to the other beach, where we had fun exploring on the rocks. Then we hit up this place called Barba Roja (Red Beard's) for a yummy supper and dessert. Loved it.

Our last morning (Monday) we got up, ate breakfast, then spent an hour in the pool, since we had to check out early and head back to Quepos to catch a bus to San Jose. We just had a great time wandering all around and getting to know the place. It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend, and I finally worked on my tan a little. :) It's nice to break up the monotony of life once in a while with these trips! :)

Yesterday (Friday) was the students' last day at ICADS (spanish classes) and so we went over in the afternoon for their graduation, which was fun! :) Then I went out with Trevor and Laura for a little snack time and relaxation after a crazy couple of weeks.

I also have been going to the gym now, which is awesome! I just signed up on the 9th, it's a brand new gym just a little up the hill from LASP, so I usually walk there from work most days. It has been great to work out, and since I paid for it, I really make myself go all the time. I am liking it, and looking forward to see how my "training plan" will help me out! :)

Basically, life is going really well here! I am truly feeling comfortable now, and really enjoying what I am doing and especially the people that I am working with! The only cruddy part is that I know I'm only here until May..and so now I've got to start applying to different things I may want to do after this experience..but I really have no clue at all what I would like to do. Bah. Asi es life, right? We'll see how that goes in the coming weeks. :)

Well, I love you all and miss you like crazy! I can't wait to hear from you!!!
Peace.