Blogs from Quepos, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 3

Pura Vida, the pure life. Pura vida is the national saying/phrase/expression whatever you want to call it, of Costa Rica. And I have experienced it more here in Quepos/Manuel Antonio than anywhere else I have been so far. In my mind it is kind of like a “hang loose braw” surfer call, or a “keep it real man.” Except it has way more meaning than that. People will just throw it into the middle of a sentence, or it will be a sentence in itself. Last night I used it as we left the restaurant, after saying thanks to the waiter. It is also a way of life, and while I felt it in Tamarindo, I didn’t feel it much in Monteverde or San José, but I feel it a lot here. The people are more ... read more

Not sure what to make of my new situation. I will be taking classes in the afternoon as it is better suited to my level of Spanish. They tired to stick me in a class where I would be learning the past for the 3rd time, I was quick to squash that. Quepos is much more touristy than I expected, but it is also full of locals so I think it will be all right. I really like my family so far so that is good. I have internet at the school so all is not lost. However I don' know how often I will want to lug my laptop to school and back, especially if I go to the beach before class:) since I have until 1 PM every day to get to school. Below ... read more

Pics of the crabs in my shower and the cows in the field. That's all for the moment...... read more

We spent our first week volunteering at a conservation project for endangered sea turtles on the beautiful Matapalo Beach. It was situated in the heart of the traditional communities of the Tico people with only one small shop and certainly no tourists for miles. With very basic accomodation, no hot water, a diet of rice and beans and bans on alcohol we all knew straight off it was going to be a long week. We had arrived under the pretence that we may not even see a single turtle or egg, but in actual fact everyone in our group got to see what they came to see and probably much more. Our week consisted of nightly three hour patrols of the 6km beach, watching over the hatchery (where the eggs were kept), making nests for the ... read more

Greetings blog readers! Hope all is well in your corner of the globe, it's Pura Vida here So far the second week of school is going well. We got our teaching schedules and I am really excited about my lessons. My grammar points flow right along with things I think I'll be really good at teaching. Now to see if I'm right... first lesson is on Friday! On a much more AWESOME note: My classmate that lives here too has returned! I think I mentioned that she had a family emergency and was thinking she might have to leave school (if not, there, I just mentioned it). But everything has worked out well, she was only gone for a few days, and now she is back! I am really happy that things with her family are ... read more