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| By |
| Linnea
Westerlind |
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| Last
spring I traveled to Costa Rica with a small group from my Spanish
class at Juanita High School in Kirkland, Washington. My Spanish
teacher, Senora, and her friend were our chaperones and guides.
This is our story.... |
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| Day
1- |
Today
we left for our adventure in Costa Rica. I know we will have
a lot of fun. We will be there until next Saturday.
The plane ride was long and boring, until landing in San Jose.
The air was so moist. As soon as we got off the plane we had
to go through customs. One of the guys we were with had to pay
the man at customs $20 to get into the country. The man said
his passport was invalid, because the expiration date was up
already. In reality, it was just a mix-up because the US is
the only place (?) where we write the month first and then the
date.
We drove to the hotel. The drive was interesting. The town is
a little run-down but it has charm. We are staying at the Hotel
Europa. The rooms are large and nice, with hot showers. It is
a little deserted, however, and the street noise makes sleeping
a little difficult. |
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Day 2- |
We
all got up, dressed and went out sightseeing. We saw the museum
and the university. There were lots of interesting things to
take pictures of and the street venders were fun to bargain
with for cheap jewelry and crafts.
The hotel provided a simple lunch and then we went back out
into the market. It was a little scary because I had to hang
on to my camera really tight. Some of the girls in our group
didn't understand how much we are targets.I wish they did.
After dinner we walked around San Jose. We didn't really know
where we were going and eventually we ran into two Americans
who gave us some advice. They told us that if we had kept wandering
down that street, we probably would have been mugged. It is
dangerous to not know the city. |
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| Day
3- |
Here
we go on to Monteverde. First we drove to the Poas volcano,
which was so cool. It was a nice view and a pleasant walk. There
was a small lake in view just off the trail. It reminded me
of Jurassic Park. Just spectacular. Then we drove to a market
where we bought some souvenirs (real touristy).
On the bus, I was in such a good mood because the view was so
interesting. I just sat and listened to my walkman and looked
out the window. I could have sat there forever. I loved it.
We checked into our hotel, the Helicoia (spelling?). What a
cute hotel in the middle of nowhere. The dinner was delicious,
rice, chicken, a typical meal. The power went out that night,
so no water.
We went to bed at 8:30. The beds were a little uncomfortable.
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| Day
4- |
Today
we woke up with no hot water, so we had no showers again. I
felt really dirty. After breakfast we went in the bus to the
cloud forest. It was a fun walk. We walked on the continental
divide which is the highest point in a country where when it
rains, the water can run either way, to the Pacific or Atlantic
ocean. We saw some interesting plants and animals. We walked
for about an hour and a half.
Then we came back to the hotel and walked to the butterfly gardens.
(Jardin de mariposas) At first I thought the butterflies were
beautiful, but in the last room, the huge ones that looked like
moths when their wings were closed, and brilliant blue when
open, chased us. We ended up running out of the room at top
speed.
Then all the girls walked to the local restaurant Pizzaria.
It was good. Then we went horse back riding. My horse's name
was Caratcha (cockroach!). What I remember most about Costa
Rica was this ride. We had a cute little guide, named Emilio
who spoke little English. He took us on trails through fields,
in valleys, all around the area. The scenery was out of this
world.
We passed small cottages and the children called out at us.
Three children were in a tree, watching us. My friend called
out, "Esta en un arbole". Which must have sounded ridiculous
to them, "You are in a tree!" But it was fun. We waved at all
the people in their casas pequenas.
After dinner we went on a night walk in the forest. Our guide
was not as nice as Rosita, our regular tour guide. Rosita was
eight months pregnant and walked through the forest barefoot.
She is a wonderful, warm tica. Anyway, this temporary guide
persuaded us to walk through the pitch black forest. I love
walking through the forest at night, but there were some whiners
in the group. We saw racoons, glowworms, bugs and a mama tarantula!
The tarantula was a little scary, but exciting.
Going to bed felt nice after such an active day. |
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| Day
5- |
On
we go, "Vamos a la playa". We were so excited to go to Jaco
Beach, but first we had quite a drive. Jaco is located on a
point on the Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica. We drove down
from Monteverde to the main road. That was a nice drive. It
was so pretty and the people on the road always smiled and waved
at us.
Before Jaco Beach, we had two stops. The first one was on the
side of the road where we stopped to look at alligators. That
was cool. We even saw a bunch of baby alligators on its mother's
back in the swamp. The highway ran right over the swamp. Then,
we went on another rain forest walk. It was fun, but we were
anxious to get to the beach.
We arrived at a tropical paradise resort. It was so pretty.
The hotel was completely outside with just a roof and plants
growing everywhere. Our room was nice and the showers had hot
water. As soon as we put our stuff down we went out to the beach.
We had fun swimming in the hot water in the ocean. After an
hour or so, we got hungry and went to eat and walk around. there
were a lot of cute stores and restaurants. I bought some more
jewelry from a little stand on the road.
Dinner was in the hotel and the restaurant was fun. It took
us an hour to get our food, so we had pina coladas. We went
swimming after dinner and then to bed. |
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| Day
6- |
Today
we went to the best beach. After a delicious buffet breakfast
with every fresh fruit imaginable, we got on the bus for a two
hour drive. It was definitely worth it because the beach was
incredible. It is called Manuel Antonio, it is a world famous
beach, because of the way it is shaped. There are actually three
beaches, all facing different directions. We went swimming and
tanned for a long time. Then we walked back to the little town
for lunch. The rice and chicken was fantastic and the fruit
smoothies were delicious. We sat and watched the surfers before
heading back to the hotel.
Tonight we decided to go to the local discoteca. It was fun,
although the local guys are a little persistent and quite drunk.
They did teach us some more traditional dancing though.
We walked back in the dark, warm night and went to bed.
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| Day
7- |
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How
sad. Our last full day of vacation. None of us wanted to leave
Jaco Beach. We went swimming in the pool before we packed
up.
It was hot and humid as we drove back to San Jose for one
more night at the Hotel Europa. We all decided to go shopping
at the Mercado again. I bought t-shirts for five bucks and
jewelry for less than a dollar. You could even pay in American
dollars. The venders didn't care, they just wanted to sell.
The traffic and the air pollution was a little un-pleasant
today.
After
we changed back at the hotel, the whole group headed out for
dinner and entertainment. We went to a little restaurant that
had authentic song and dance entertainment. They were young
kids, from 5 to 17, who showed us their dances and then pulled
us up on stage to participate. I danced the salsa with a little
boy. He had such great rhythm, that it made me look horrible!
Oh well, it was fun. We went to sleep, knowing that we would
be home at that time tomorrow.
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| Day
8- |
| This
morning we woke up at 4:45am and left for the airport at 5:00am.
It was a beautiful view out the window of the plane as we took
off. Goodbye Costa Rica. Hasta luego! |
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| Linnea
Westerlind, Kirkland. |
| Got
a story or a question about Costa Rica? We want to hear from
you. Drop us a note.
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