Caribbean Coastin'

After getting back from the Osa we immediately turned around and headed to the Caribbean coast for five days.

Thursday afternoon we headed to the La Selva Research Station. La Selva is the premier ecology research station in Costa Rica, and one of the most important worldwide. Located in the northeastern lowlands, La Selva includes a nature reserve that protects about 15 square kilometers of primary tropical rainforest. We hiked down one of its numerous trails were we saw tons of poison dart frogs (aka blue jean frogs) and a couple of monkeys. That night was spent at Cabina Tortuga, one of the many lodgings offered at the station for its visitors that come all over the world. This is where I was able to finish my leasure book of Bringing Down the House, the story of a MIT card-counting team and the basis behind the movie 21 (which I really want to see now) We were up nice and early for a morning hike down a different path, but saw generally the same plants, animals, and insects. We eventually checked out and headed to a Chiquita banana plantation. At the plantation we were presented with a history of the company and how they have made strides in sustainable banana production. After that we were off to Puerto Viejo.

It was around a five hour drive to PV, but time passed quickly as we finished up the Jason Bourne trilogy (which was awesome to watch again). We made it to PV and checked into the Hotel Maritza, which ironically is the name of my house mother. PV as I describe it is a Jamaica Jr. with its large rastafarian influence. My hotel room had a Bates motel feel and lingered of cigarette and weed smoke, but it did have AC. We then began our night in Big Jon, JP, and Peter's two bedroom, two bath, full kitchen penthouse suite aka Party room. Eventually we moseyed over to the hotel bar were we sang some karaoke for a bit, but decided we would follow the bass we kept hearing in the distance that lead us to uber club of Standfords. This club was pretty awesome we were hearing the bass from blocks away and found it to be located on the beach. There was a lot of good music, lights, smoke machines, and reasonably priced drinks. After working up a sweat dancing (at one point being molested by a Tica via dance) and being offered cocaine a couple times (not taking the offer for any doubters), I decided to walk out to the beach with friends to cool down. A little time passed and then I was pleasantly told I there was a lingerie fashion show about to start. My friends and I were fortunate enough to witness the show which lasted around a half hour displaying 6 of CR finest. By the time the show ended it was getting late and we headed home for the night.

Up early again the next day we feasted on a variety of croissants for breakfast before heading to Cahuita for more snorkeling. We did not have a guide this time, but I enjoyed myself more this time around. There was a lot more to see including a bunch of coral reef and the "blue-sparkly" fish that I wish I had a waterproof camera to take pictures of. We ended up at the Cahuita national park were I got to cross off the list of animals I wanted to see: snakes, sloths, and the white-faced monkey (who kept trying to steal food and valuables from the group). We then headed to Manzanillo. I was not positive on what we were going to do there except visit beaches. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that we would be staying at a resort, an actual vacation destination, and we had the whole weekend off. Most of us, with our swimsuits still on, headed straight for the beach and ocean. Peter brought his frisbee and we just literally soaked our surroundings in. I also played some beach volleyball and headed to the pool were I found out I can do backflips off of people's shoulders. It was eventually dinner time, which was a great feast. I especially enjoyed their tuna salad, which was the best I ever had. That night we took in more of what the resort had to offer in the pool, beach, and AC. On the first day I was allowed to sleep, I only made it to 9:30 and quickly made it to the pool were I was able to finish Cradle to Cradle (actually in the pool, since the book is waterproof). I was at the pool til lunch where I had more tuna salad and a pretty good bacon cheeseburger (even though they didn't have mustard). It was cloudy and looked like rain after lunch, so I took a fabulous nap for a couple hours. I woke later to watch Peter gather firewood for the bonfire later that night at the point of beach where waves where criss-crossing each other. It was time for dinner with a nice chicken dish and even more tuna salad (my mercury levels had to of rose this weekend). A couple of us digested by watching some of the strangest movie we ever saw. The only reason we kept watching was twofold: 1. we wanted to figure out what was going on 2. Gretchen Wieners from Mean Girls and Bubba from Forest Gump were in it. After that it was the bar, bonfire, and pool to close out the night.

Yesterday we regrettably had to check out of the hotel. We drove back to PV and were given two hours of free time to do whatever and grab lunch. After a little souvenir shopping Bob, Paul, Peter and myself came across a scooter rental store directly across from Standfords and jumped at the opportunity to do a little scootin' for an hour. The ruff ryders and myself tore up the streets in our scooters honking at group members and Ticas. After going down every street in the town, we decided to grab a quick lunch at Peace & Love Pizzeria. I had one of the best pizzas I ever had, consisting of lettuce, prosciutto, extra cheese, and their amazing crust. Our alloted rental time was nearing the end, so we went on our victory lap and returned the scooters all in one piece. It was an amazing two hour span spent at PV, but we had to make it back to SJ. Now we need to finish up class/project/final, visit Poas volcano/waterfall, finish souvenir shopping, bungie jump, last nights out, pack, and head back to the states.