Our next situation was when we stopped for a bathroom break. The guy pulled over to the side of the road. Apparently there was a giant ditch there that all the people in front could see, but somehow the driver still almost drove us into it. Wonderful.
Our final exciting moment of the drive was when we arrived in Quepos, the town just next to Manuel Antonio. We managed to get lost. I swear this guy had never driven the route before and had no clue what he was doing. He asked for directions and we turned around to find our turn. We finally found it and got dropped off at our hostel, Backpackers.
It was surprisingly nice. Many of us were in a giant dorm room with 18 beds. It was clean, had breakfast, sitting areas, pool, and hot showers all for $12 a night. Here is a picture of the dorm which I hijacked from Backpacker's website. It's taken from close to the door and there is another bunk to the left, 2 bunks hidden in the back right, and then the wall with the "window" on the right is the bathroom.
So Friday night we went out to eat at a pizza place. It was our whole shuttle van group which was lots of fun. Service was pretty horrible, but we were having a blast. We finally finished and headed back to our hostel to go out. I was going to go out to a club, but decided to hang around the hostel with friends. We wanted some beer so we went to the market to get some. It was about 10:02. The store closed at 10. We ended up going to a bar and paying double for a 6 pack. $2 per can. Not a good deal.
We went to the hostel and played an intense game of Uno. We weren't able to finish because it hit 11:00 which was quiet time. Several of us ended up going to the club anyways, Republik, over in Quepos. It was a 3 thousand cover, about $6, but we got a drink ticket which was ok. The place wasn't very busy so we didn't stay long. The music was quite loud and some of the locals were a bit sketch. Not to mention the strongest drinks I have ever had.
We finally went back to our hostel and got to bed around 1 or so. Being the prompt person I am, I woke up bright and early at 6 and laid in bed until others started waking up. We all had some pancakes for breakfast and prepped to go to the beach.
We took the bus to the national park which seemed to be at the other side of town. The road wound up and then down a large hill. We got off at the end and I was able to see the public beach. It was beautiful. Nice and sandy and there were large rock formations way out in the water. (btw, I did not bring my phone for fear of damage, so I will have to hijack pictures from others). We walked towards the park and of course there was a long row of stands selling dresses, towels, and other trinkets.
We made it to the park and paid our $10 entrance fee. The walk through the park towards the beach and the paths was lengthy and we ended up breaking into small groups. Mine walked on some of the paths and we came across a sloth way up in the trees. We watched him eat for awhile, but he was slow and rather boring. We continued on and came to a lookout point. We were able to see out into the ocean and it was beautiful. Better yet was a small stop just before the lookout which had a view of the coast to the South with cliffs zigzagging in and out of the water.
We backtracked and took another trail. We ended up at a small, secluded beach. But first, we had to cross a stream. First off, there was some sort of palm tree with spikes all over it. One of the girls grabbed the tree and stuck herself. There were several rocks and a narrow log to cross on. I managed to make it, but once on the other side I wanted off the log ASAP so I just jumped for it. I landed in some nice squishy mud, burying half of my right shoe. The beach was nice and we stayed for a short while and then went back.
We went to the main beach and went in the water. It felt great, especially after all the humid hiking. The only problem was there were giant rocks on the bottom. I tried to stand on them, but the waves would push and pull me and I couldn't stay. I ended up slamming my toe into one of them, but it was ok. Later, the other 3 went in again and what I thought was a timed dive was actually all 3 of them tripping over the same giant rock at the same time. It was ridiculous.
Finally, what we had all been waiting for happened. We saw monkeys! There was a group of about 5 capuchins that were playing near the beach. We watched for awhile and took pictures. They were adorable. One was just chilling on a branch while the others ran around. A raccoon type creature had stolen someone's chips earlier, so the monkeys had shown up to eat them.
We then returned to the small beach and this time when I crossed the river I got my other shoe covered 3/4 in mud. Excellent. We watched the crabs on the beach and chased around some that were super speedy.
Here are some beach pictures I've permanently borrowed.
Went back to the hostel, showered, and headed out to a taco place to eat. This was a little Mexican restaurant in Costa Rica and the owner was American. Quite a combination. I had some steak tacos and chips and salsa which were pretty good.
That night started with cheap rum and cheap pineapple juice. Not a good combination. Everyone was busy playing different games, Uno, dominoes, cards, and it was a lot of fun. Later we went out to a local bar (actually the one that had ripped us off on take away beer the other night) and hung out there for awhile. Afterwards, back at the hostel a group of us went down to the pool and chatted. I finally went to bed around 3a.
Here are some pictures from the weekend.
Kelsy, nursing student from OK.
This fine chap is James. He is absolutely nuts.
A view of the pool at Backpacker's standing up on the deck near the dorms.
Lana, another Minnesotan.
Dean, me and Nathan.
Sagui, my housemate, and I.
Me and Nathan.
Me and Brittany.
I didn't do much on Sunday, just hung around at the pool. I left Manuel Antonio around 4 and luckily had a different driver. I made it home in one piece and promptly showered and went to bed.
Skipping back to last week, I believe I mentioned the cupcake place. Here are a couple pictures from then. And my cupcake milkshake!
And onto last night, Monday night, I went to the Jazz Cafe for reggae night. It was excellent. There were only two bands, but the music went on for several hours. Each band had about 10 people; it was crazy. So, I'm not a person who dances, in fact, I pretty much never dance. But I loved the music and was almost tempted to get out on the dance floor. I never did, but at least I branched out and thought it.
The last two days at my placement have been pretty much the same. Blood pressures, insulin, feeding lunch. And bingo today! My lunch guys are pretty cool. I help Rafael eat. He's the one who likes to talk about the weather and COSTA RICA! I also sit with Augusto who likes to laugh at how tall Katie is, and Ernesto who told me yesterday that he goes to the bars for beer. I'm hoping to get some pictures later this week.
Right now I'm in shock that I'm heading home in just a few days. Before my trip I thought 6 weeks was going to be so long and I even thought that I might end up canceling it. But now, I wish I had more time. I've had such a great experience, have met amazing people, and just don't want it to end. I feel like I'm going to have a hard time moving past this summer, but I'm so glad to have done what I've done.
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