Fun in the Sun

Hello Friends!
It is a week late in coming, but I thought I would fill you in on my trip to the Caribbean last weekend. Friday was the last day in the term so we had off this past Monday. The girls and I decided to get away for awhile so we got in a bus headed to Puerto Viejo, a city on the southeast coast of Costa Rica.

Puerto Viejo is a laid back surf town filled with beach bums, tourists, and pot smokers. It is a beautiful place during the day, but when we stepped off the bus and 9: 00 at night we were quite taken aback. Of course it didn't help that a man who appeared homeless was trying to "help" us find our hotel by following us the whole way there and attempting to converse with us in a Spanish/English/Jamaican mixture. Creepy. However, we made it safely to the hotel where we were informed that this is a rather common occurance. We were also informed that we didn't have a reservation (even though I had an email confirmation) and they didn't have any openings until the next night. Apparently internet reservations are unreliable in Costa Rica. Lucky for us, though, the hotel owner's friend owned a hostel a couple blocks away. So there we trekked and were greet by a shirtless surfer rolling pot as he checked us in. It was an interesting first night.

The next morning, however, proved that Puerto Viejo is actually quite a charming beach town. We started the morning with breakfast at a nearby cafe- huge bowls of fruit and granola and glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice. Then we rented bikes (the beach cruiser type with baskets) and sent off down the coast. We stopped at a beach for awhile and enjoyed the warm sun and clear water. Then we continued exploring down the coast. In the evening we shopped at the artisan booths and markets- I got a great hammock! We had some dinner and dessert and then went back to the hotel (the original one we were supposed to be at).

The next day was picture perfect. More fruit and fresh pineapple juice for breakfast and then biking. This time we biked all the way down to Punta Uva were there is a coral reef. I snorkeled for the first time which was so fun even though it wasn't as great as I expected. From the beach we could hear gorillas in the distance. We hung out at the beach all day snorkeling and sunning. Then Kate and I ventured into the rainforest to explore. We found some trails leading to amazing lookout points (and some scary cliffs). It was incredible. Some of the other girls found a bike path through the rainforest so we tried it on the way back and discovered that it led us all the way back to Puerto Viejo. It was a gorgeous ride complete with a stop on a rope swing. That night we ate authentic Carribbean food to top it all off.

Our beach adventure ended with an early morning to watch the sun rise and then a breathtaking bus ride home through the mountains and the rainforests. God has made so many beautiful places and I am so thankful to be surrounded by so many of them here!