Saturday, May 2, 2009

I love friends.

April was a crazy month, but in a great way. This past week I had yet another break and even more visitors. Cory (a friend from Cedarville) flew down here last Thursday after spending a few weeks in Guatemala doing intensive Spanish courses. She will be here through June and is living down the street. Alyssa (another CU friend) flew in last Saturday to spend a much needed vacation with us at the beach. On Sunday we hopped on the bus for the long trek down the Pacific Coast to a little town called Uvita.

Uvita is a small town which is home to Parque Nacional Marino Ballena, a national park that is home to various species of turtles, whales, and dolphins (we didn't see any of those...it's not the season). After a 7 hour bus ride in the heat (miserable) we made it there, checked in at the hostel, and left for the beach as soon as possible. We spent the rest of the day at Playa Uvita.
On Monday we went in the national park and took a long walk down a beautiful beach to get to the "whale's tail." When the tide is low you can walk down a sand bar to a rocky point where the water is clearer and the wildlife spotting is supposed to be better. There are also great views of the mainland from there- beaches lined with jungles and backed by mountains. It is called the "whale's tail" because the aerial view of the rocky point and the sandbar looks just like the tail of a humpback whale (which is ironic because it is one of the few places in the world where these whales mate). Pretty cool. Anyways, we walked out to the point, swam around, explored, and enjoyed the sun. Then we walked back to the hotel to drop off our stuff and headed up the mountain to a little waterfall and swimming hole. After a whole day of being in the sun it was nice to swim in the shade!

On Tuesday we took a bus to Dominical, a bigger beach town about 20 minutes away. We checked out the shops and then relaxed on the beach for a bit. Then we took another bus another 10 minutes north to Hacienda Baru, a rainforest preserve that is known for its great wildlife spotting. We spent the day walking through the trails. Unfortunately, we didn't see any monkeys or sloths (that was our main goal), but we did have a few run- ins with coatis (huge, scary raccoon- like animals) and toucans. The rainforest was beautiful! One of the trails led us up the mountain to an incredible lookout...it was well worth the exhausting climb!
On Wednesday we decided to spend a little money and do something out of the ordinary- we took a horse tour to some more waterfalls! With a group of about 15 people and 3 guides we ventured into the mountains with our horses. My horse, Osa, loved to trot and gallop. Alyssa's horse, Frijolito was a jerk (he actually kicked someone and the guy had to go get stitches), and Cory's horse, Ballena, was a slowpoke. It was quite the experience! We rode for awhile and then stopped at a house to be served breakfast. Then we continued to the Nauyaca Falls, a beautiful place where 3 waterfalls come together. It was absolutely gorgeous! We were able to swim in the falls and then the guides climbed up them and hooked up a rope so others could jump of the falls into the water below. I am terrified of heights so I said no way, but Alyssa and Cory were brave enough to do it. It was crazy! We were also able to climb up to the higher one to check it out. After spending awhile relaxing in the falls we mounted the horses again and rode back. Along the way we stopped again to eat lunch. It was such a fun day!

On Thursday, unfortunately, we had to come back to San Jose. Luckily, though, we had the morning to explore some more. We took a bus to Playa Ventana, a gorgeous beach with caves that look like little windows. At low tide you can walk all the way through them to the ocean. The beach was backed by mountains and nearly deserted. It was a great way to spend the last few hours of vacation!

Yesterday (Friday) we spent the whole day with Alyssa's cousin, Seth, who is also teaching near San Jose. We hung out in the city for awhile and then saw his school and church and house. This morning Cory and I took Alyssa to the airport to saw our goodbyes. It has definitely been a long, fun week, but it was so good to be around good friends. God has definitely provided amazing people in my life here in Costa Rica, but nothing beats quality time with old friends. It was truly a blessing!!

1 comment:

Gloria said...

Kim,
how will you adjust to living in BG after having been surrounded by Gods beautiful creation all around?
Isn't it amazing! I'm glad you've been able to enjoy.

(Making memories for old age)