A taste of South America

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I finally left San Juan Del Sur after a week of loving it there. Made my way back to Costa Rica. I spent a day and nite in Liberia, which is just a city and not all that worth it, but it was a good day of rest. From there I bused to Playa Del Coco where I was hoping to meet a friend of a good friend of mine, Valentina from Chile.
I got a hotel and went straight to the beach, which wasn´t as nice as San Juan Del Sur as far as swimming and laying out goes, but it worked just fine. Then I walked around a bit looking for the resteruant Valentina told me her friend Paula owned. I couldn´t find it and I asked a few people who told me they thought it was closed now. I wasn´t sure how I would find Paula. Later that nite at happy hour I met some people who took me to the coolest bar ever!! I think you can kinda tell by the pictures, but I tell you, I have never seen a bar like this, it was so different and you often had people coming up to you ordering a drink from you because it looks so much like the real bar... it was just really a great idea of which I told the owner I might just steal... not sure how it would work for my circle bar though... guess there will have to be two.
While there, I was introduced to Lesile. The guy who introduced me happened to mentioned that I had lived in Chile, to which Leslie, who has lived in Costa Rica for 33 years, told me that she had a friend here from Chile. I asked if it was Paula, and it was! So, that's how I found Paula. Small, small, world. Lesile called Paula and we all met up at another bar. She brought her adorable little girl and husband and another Chilean friend. We all had the best time talking about Chile and all the little differences. It was just a perfect nite and made me miss Chile so much!! But it was so great to remember it. Paula also reminded me so much of Valentina.
The next day I went diving! My first dive in the Pacific, I wasn´t sure what to expect. The visibilty sucked and it was much colder but we saw some pretty cool things. I saw four white tip reef sharks!! I didn't know how I would react when I saw them but I was perfectly calm and just awed by them, so big and so... sharky. Also saw a huge spotted eagle ray, a morey eel, tons of puffer fish and jelly fish and really long trumpet fish. All in all they were some good dives, the sharks really did it for me. Still think the Caribbean is better but it was nice to see some new things.
That nite I had planned to meet my dive buddy´s for drinks but I got stuck at my hotel drinking Caprininha with some really awesome Brazilians. They are a theater group and have been living in Tegucigalpa for the past few months! They are traveling around now and had the room next to mine. They were so friendly and fun I stayed there the whole nite. Another older gringo who lives here came and joined us and played us a few songs, as did Morcos. They made an awesome Brazilian fish for dinner as well. it was just a really great nite and now when I go to Brazil I have some great friends to show me around.
I am leaving Coco today, it is too expensive here, plus I will spend my last 2 weeks here with Karen. So I am heading to Panama City tonite, about a 20 hour bus ride... I´ll write from there.

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Photos

Playa Del Coco
Another beautiful beach

Paula and Kari
It was so good to reminise about Chile, we had such a good time!!

Emilia and Andrés
Paula's daughter and husband

The coolest bar ever!!
Not sure you can really get the idea from the picture, but what looks like the bar when you first enter is actually a long table on which you sit on both sides, then within that is the actual bar

Concert
Marcos, Mike and Adrianna, enjoying the evening at our hotel (2 of the Brazilans)