The Extreme Weekend

It occurred to me the other day that I passed the halfway mark from when I arrived in Costa Rica and when I'll be leaving to go back home. It's kind of a strange feeling. As cliché as it is, time really flies when you're having fun. I feel like every time I blinked I ended up somewhere new in the country. Home stay will be over in a few short days, but we still have three more sites to go to, not including our vacations that start this Saturday.  But Costa Rica still has plenty to offer, and this past weekend definitely proved that to me. 

My weekend started off with some rock climbing after school. The guys who work at the gym have started to recognize us and seem to really enjoy having us there, probably because we give them an opportunity to work on their English. Also as our Spanish has gotten better, we're starting to understand what they've been trying to tell us climbing wise. There was definitely a learning curve to translate the climbing lingo in English to climbing lingo in Spanish and vice versa. But we were definitely able to crack a few jokes with them on Thursday, so that's a good sign.

The next day (really freaking early) we all hopped on a bus to Manuel Antonio, which is known for great beaches and its National Park. We didn't really have time or the funds to go to the Park (although I plan to go within my vacation), so we spent most of the time on the beach. I had a great time on the beach, and the views were fantastic.

Yep. Could get really used to this.

The only drawback to the beach was that it was a little touristy (and therefore a little more expensive than elsewhere) and the fact that my gringa skin was not used to tropical sun on beaches. I may or may not have gotten slightly burned despite my constant slathering of sunscreen (SPF 50, so don't even talk to me). Nevertheless, the fact that I was able to actually be at a beach out ruled any negatives I had about Manuel Antonio. My friends can attest, I was not unlike an overexcited dog when we finally got in the water. 

Saturday night I ended up returning to San Jose slightly earlier than my friends. This was so I could catch a bus to Pursical in the morning to take me to the countryside where I was finally able to go horseback riding. For five glorious hours, I went on a trail ride that took us through tiny towns and the normally unseen countryside. The scenery was beautiful, and it also was just great to be back on a horse again. The whole experience was a blast, and I also got some pretty good pizza out of it too. 

One of my favorite views.

The only picture I managed to take because I was terrified of dropping my phone in the dirt.

Needless to say, I'm still trying to recover from this weekend, but overall it was a fantastic experience. My only regret about the whole weekend was the fact that I kind of left a presentation to the wayside that was due on Monday. However, the presentation actually went rather well, so I'm interpreting that as a sign that my Spanish has improved. 

Just a few more days of Spanish class remain and then I'll be free on my vacation! I'm really excited to finally actually have a break and to just enjoy what Costa Rica has to offer. Updates about my break will come soon!