Puerto Viejo!

This weekend we went to Puerto Viejo, an afro-caribbean town that was a lot of fun! I have a picture of me here on the bus because I spend a lot of quality time on buses. And my hair was just so beautiful I couldn't resist. Fiesha and I are trying to have good attitudes about our hotel room where we could see through the walls, had screens instead of windows, and a cockroach in the bathroom. I guess the girls next door had it a little worse because they had a bat in the room...but I guess it is all a part of the adventure! Also part of the adventure was being offered "special brownies" on our way to go out dancing later that night. Let's just say there were some interesting sights and smells in this town...
I just finished getting a massage on the beach for only 10 dollars! And the sun was shining, and I was happy to be in Costa Rica. I was thinking about you Mom, in California and Dad hunting and me, sunbathing on a Carribean beach. And I decided that life is good.
Danny and I and a little beach jumping contest, and I think she won. The water was like pool water, the sand was soft, and the weather was so hot. The beach town was super fun, it felt like we were in Jamaica.
I think I am going to miss the palm trees.
After the time at the beach we Fiesha, Danny, Lupe and I rented bikes. We rode into town for dinner (definitely experienced Tico Time here, the meal took like an hour! But everyone is so relaxed that you can't really complain). Then we headed out in search of a different beach. Everyone was riding bikes, it was so fun! We weren't quite as fast as the locals since we weren't used to all the potholes and cars not exactly yeilding to bikes. But the ride was beautiful!
We got to the beach just in time for some sunset wave jumping. This beach was gorgeous. We were the only ones there, the waves were so fun, and the sand was soft and beautiful. None of my pictures could quite capture the beauty of the moment. Then we rode our bikes back, had some amazing chocolate cheesecake to celebrate Lupe's birthday, and headed back to the hotel, exhausted. Sunday we woke up to rain, which was a bummer, but the weather was still warm. We went snorkeling, and while it wasn't Hawaii, it was fun and I saw tons of fish. We also went to a beach with monkeys and they were bold! They tried to steal the coconuts and fruits from out of our hands and jumped all around us and up in the trees. They were cute, but I can say that is as close as I would like to be with a monkey. Then we came back, had one last meal in Puetro Viejo, and made the long journey home. It was such a great weekend and now I am exhausted! Good thing we don't have class tomorrow so I can sleep in! I am continuously amazed by the experiences and opportunities I have had here. I have made some amazing friends, seen beautiful examples of God's creativity in the nature and examples of His love through the people here. Sometimes I really miss home (like paved roads and clean sidewalks and starbucks and food that doesn't take an hour and of course all my family and friends) but I know it will be tough to leave in a few months. This has truly been incredible!