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Well my last week is almost done with...Today I went snorkeling with Snorkel Express. It was amazing! I held a puffer fish, saw an octopus and a blow fish! BTW, I didn't even know there was a difference between a puffer and a blow fish, hehe. Snorkeling is Awesome! I've done so many things here that I've never done and can't imagine not doing again. I'm so happy that I came here. I've realized that traveling is a big part of who I am, and I plan to do much more of it. So I realize that I haven't written anything in awhile, it's probably because I haven't done anything that adventurous lately. This last weekend I've just been hanging out in Tamarindo and enjoying the beach. Focusing on catching some waves (I'm still not ... read more

Let's see, this was probably the most culturally shocking adventure that I've ever had (not in a bad way at all)... So I'm not sure "shocking" is the right word, but it was definitely different from anything I've ever done, including my whole Istanbul experience... So we got to the border in our transportation where the driver let us out of the van. There was a crowd of guys surrounding the door before we even got out of the van. It was okay though, they aren't aggressive here, you just have to say "no gracias"...Anyway, we walked through the border, paid our taxes to get out of Costa Rica and into Nicaragua, got our stamps, and everything...There was a "no man's land" of about 300meters that we had to walk through. I was a little nervous ... read more

Today is...Wed...Ok, I tried surfing again yesterday. It's just a really active sport. More so than wakeboarding and snowboarding. You're constantly out there fighting against the wave and swimming...Well, I have a few more weeks here. Maybe I'll get the hang of it, maybe not. At least I tried(: In the meantime I've been enjoying laying on the beach in the mornings. I was one of the first people out there today. It's so beautiful and relaxing it makes me want to move to San Diego or something. I mean why do people give this up? I guess this is my California side coming out(: I don't know...Anyway, I was waiting until 10am so I could visit the pharmacy. I seem to have a sore throat that isn't going away): (as usual, I'm always sick on ... read more

So we went on this Extreme Adventure on Saturday. That was the name of the tour(: I think it was in Recon. We started out Ziplining, wait...First I have to say that I had gone out the night before and didn't get to bed until 330AM so...I got about 3hours of sleep for this day(: It really sucked. But it's Costa Rica! Gotta live it up(: Okay, so we started out Ziplining...I had no idea how intense this was going to be! Hanging from a cord, going across rivers and through canyons and jungles. It was Awesome! We even went upside down. But the biggest challenge during this part was the rock climbing. I'm kind of afraid of heights and to climb this 20ft side of a cliff was pretty intense for me, especially with the ... read more

Today I went shopping in town, got some cool stuff and then it started to rain. I stopped for a drink thinking it would clear in a bit, which it did, so I continued on....The rain came harder(: Today happened to be the first day that I didn't pack my raincoat, figures, LOL... And unless you've been to a place like this you can only imagine the rushing water through the dirt (now muddy) street. Me, in my shorts and flojos, hehe... I've come to realize that in Costa Rica you constantly have a layer of bug repellent and mud on the backs of your legs, and I'm ok with it(: Also, tonight I had my first yoga lesson at the school. If you have seen the movie The Beach it's like the room that they ... read more

Our ride from San Jose to Playa Tamarindo was fairly comfortable. Luckily we paid a little more for the "interbus" to assure a more secure and comfortable ride. When we got pretty close to the town, the paved road disappeared and the roads were filled with pot holes. Not to worry, we arrived in the small beach town of Playa Tamarindo (one of the most expensive towns in Costa Rica). I imagine this place will be up to par with Puerto Vallarta in the next 15years or so, there's a ton of construction everywhere. No paved roads yet, and the street lighting is non existent here. So my first day here, I spent the morning in my Spanish Classes, and the next four hours I spent surfing. It was my first time ever. I actually did ... read more

I unfortunately forgot to pack the cord to connect the memory card reader to download pics....Story of my life.... I woke up at 545am, boo to that. Surprisingly in a really nice Hostel for the students of the Spanish Learning program, they are very friendly here...So I hopped in the tour van with 2 fellow Spanish learners and ventured out into the unknown. It was actually a very good tour. I highly reccommend it, the Ecoscape Nature tour. We spent all day, roughly 10hours driving around about 3 different provences in the San Jose area. Started the day at a coffee plantation, the coffee here is excellent! I don´t know what I´d do without my ¨Joe¨. Headed to see Poás Volcano, it´s an acidic volcano here. It was pretty cool, it´s the first volcano I´ve ever ... read more