Costa Rica

We left for vacation last Saturday morning at 5:30 am, taxied to the airport, I was searched by a woman who gave me the most disdainful look and shook her head at me because I had scotch tape in my bag, we flew to San Jose, taxied to the bus station, almost missed our bus, took the bus four hours to Liberia, and found a nice hostel for the night.

Since then we have been to Tamarindo, Playa del Grande, Samara, and Alajuela. We spent a ton of time on the beach, gone zip lining, seen a sea turtle lay eggs, saw baby sea turtles, saw alligators, went kayaking, and went snorkeling.

The zip lining through the forrest canopy was so much fun! As I stood on the first of 11 platforms I listened to the horrifying sound of the howler monkeys. Soaring high above the trees was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I have always wanted to fly, and that's the closest thing I've come to it. It was a very liberating feeling being so tiny and so far up in the air.

Sea turtles have been my favorite since I was about 8 years old. In fact, at a young age I researched them for a good portion of a summer just for fun. They are also the reason why I seriously considered being a marine biologist for a few years during middle school. The only sea turtle I have seen in real life was half eaten by a shark, so being able to see not only live sea turtles, but mothers laying eggs and the babies was also one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced in my life. Honestly, I blubbered like a little baby when I saw that mamma sea turtle and everything she went through to only hope that a fraction of her offspring will survive. She swims hundreds of miles to the beach where she was born, fins her way up onto the beach, digs a hole with her back fins, lays hundreds of eggs, covers the nest, and struggles back to the water. What a cool animal.

Yesterday we kayaked through the bay to a small island and reef. The paddling brought me back to the intensity of living in a canoe in the Florida Everglades and my sore arms continue that memory. We got to the island that was crazy with hermit crabs and iguanas. It started raining, so we hid in a cave until it passed. Luckily the water stayed clear enough for us to snorkel and see some amazing creatures. We saw brilliantly colored fish of all sizes and shapes, starfish, and eels.

All in all, this past week was a much needed break full of adventure and relaxation. Now I'm off to Nicaragua to study some Political Science and Women's History!