Punta Leona

The entire Grupo de Kansas group took a trip to Punta Leona this past weekend. We left for the beach around 2 pm in a private bus. On the way there we passed over Costa Rica's most contaminated river: Tárcoles River. Surprisingly the marshes and banks of the river are home to a fair amount of American Crocodiles. Apparently they enjoy living in polluted water. We were able to look at the crocodiles from the bridge that had just a short railing separating us from being safe and being lunch. 

Crocodiles

The resort we stayed in at Punta Leona beach was very nice. It was an all inclusive resort with a private beach. It was two people per a room and everyone had their own bed. 

One of the beaches. It was recommended that we don't swim in this beach because there are jellyfish (we later found out that the other beach has them, too). We still had fun walking, laying, and building sand castles in the sand. The other beach was a short walk away. 

Our first night there, a group of us signed up to go on a nature walk early the next morning. To our surprise at 6 am the next morning we found out we had actually signed up for a bird watching tour around the hotel property (part of the property is a transitional forest reserve). With a bird expert named Alex as our guide, we set out in search of some cool birds. The whole trip ended up being really neat. We saw some awesome birds including macaws, Fly Catchers, a toucan, vultures,  a humming bird, and a Pygmy Owl. 

Two macaws 

(this picture was taken looking through the lens of a telescope)

Toucan

This was a really cool bird. They don't really walk; they just hop around.

On the hotel property we also saw monkeys. Luckily they didn't steal anything from me this time... I think the stole some bananas from the hotel restaurant though. Monkey crime is obviously holding steady. 

Baby Monkey

(Check out the baby monkey on the mom's back)

Banana War

Banana Love 

In addition to monkeys and birds, there were also a lot of Coatimundis running around everywhere. Coatimundis are relatives of the raccoon. At the hotel restaurant they would try to steal food from people's places after they got up to get more food from the buffet. They must have learned that from the monkeys...

A group of coatimundis 

The morning before we left, we all wanted to swim around in the ocean one last time before we had to leave. It was a lot of fun... even though I was stung by a jellyfish. 

All of the sudden while I was swimming a felt a fiery pain in my arm. And it hurt!  I went in to flight or fight mode and started to swim away as fast as I could. Once I was far enough away from danger I looked at my arm. My forearm had a bright red marks on it. Somehow during the frenzy of me freaking out/ being in pain it was decided that someone needed to pee on my arm (that's supposedly a remedy for jellyfish stings). Being as awesome as she is, Gabrielle willing peed in a cup for me. I'm sure you can figure out what happened next... 

After a while I was exhausted from the amount of toxin that my body had been exposed to (your body releases a lot of histamines after a jellyfish sting). My arm hurt and felt weird for the rest of the day. Its better now though. I'm just really glad I started swimming away when I did. The whole event was pretty comical (minus the pain) and I'm pretty sure everyone got a good laugh out of it.

Saprissa Fútbol Game

The 25th of July is a national holiday in Costa Rica. It is to celebrate Costa Rica's annexation of the Nicaraguan province, Guanacaste, in 1824. Nobody works, most of the stores close, and everyone enjoys themselves for the holiday. Lucky for me, this meant that I didn't have my class.
To take advantage of our free day, Tor, Jess, Julia, Julia's host sister and brother, and I went to a professional soccer game. The game was at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa (I get the impression that the Ticos are very proud of the stadium). The two teams playing were both Costa Rican. Saprissa, the home team, is a very popular team. Soli is a huge Saprissa fan; therefore, by default, I too am a Saprissa fan. Their colors were purple and white, but after a change in team ownership this past year, the colors were changed to maroon and white. The mascot is a maroon monster/dragon. The opposing team was Pérez Zeledón. Their colors are blue and white.
Saprissa won the game 3-1.
The crowd was indescribable. Aside from the usual clapping, yelling, and cheering of sports fans, I had no idea what to expect. I've seen enthusiastic soccer fans on T.V. before, but experiencing the excitement of crazy soccer fans in real life is a completely different story. I can honestly say I don't think I've ever heard "son of a b****" yelled so much in my life. Even the 12 year olds were participating. When the fan weren't yelling profanities, they were chanting or singing the Saprissa team song. At one point after Saprissa scored at goal from a penalty kick, the fans behind the goal rushed toward the field; many of them climbed the tall fence separating the fans from the field.
The game was a great cultural experience. The excitement of the game was intense. It almost rivals that of a KU basketball game. And that says A LOT.

Old Saprissa

New Saprissa

Saprissa Mascot 

La Fortuna Waterfall/ Arenal Volcano

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I am currently taking a class that requires us to write a thirty page group paper so I've been a little busy with that. I will write more about my class in a later post. 

Last Wednesday the entire Kansas group took a day trip to the La Fortuna Waterfall and the volcano at Arenal. It took about three hours by bus from San Jose to get to our first destination: the waterfall. We hiked for about ten minutes to reach the waterfall. It was amazing. The water was a clear teal-blue and the nature surrounding the waterfall was vibrantly green. The water was cool but it was still comfortable to swim in. I think everyone had fun playing in the water and swimming around. There was also a nearby pool that had fresh water fish and a small river with rocks that we climbed around on.  It was a really neat place. 

After the waterfall we got back in the bus to drive to the volcano. We at lunch at a very nice hotel. I had a steak; it was the first steak I've have in Costa Rica and it was delicious! At the hotel there are a series of hot springs that have been changed into man-made pools. Some of the pools had a temperature of 104 degrees. They were too hot to stay in very long. Another cool thing was the water slide. With much experimentation we figured out that going down head first was the best way.

Even though the hot springs were really nice, my favorite part was the volcano. Volcán Arenal is an active volcano, but it has not had an eruption since 2010.  Usually the dense clouds around the volcano make it impossible to see the crater (the top). Many people who travel to the area never get to see the volcano in it's entirety. However during our visit, the clouds cleared up and we were able to have a great view of the rarely seen volcano top. We got pretty lucky. 

On the way home, exhausted from our day of fun, most of us fell asleep in the van.

La Fortuna Waterfall 

Volcán Arenal 1

Volcán Arenal 2

Montezuma

This is the last post about my vacation...

Malpaís was great, but due to the lack of things to do there, we packed up our stuff and went to a beach town named Montezuma. The hostel we stayed in was nice and had a great view to the ocean. They also had monkeys! When we first arrived there were monkeys in the trees right next to the hostel. The monkeys went away for awhile, but after we put our bags in the room they came back. I was putting sunscreen on the second story porch of the hostel when the monkeys came back. I set my sunscreen down quickly so I could grab my camera. While we were taking pictures the monkeys kept getting closer and closer to us (there was a roof leading from the trees to the second story porch). I couldn't believe it! I think people may have fed them people food before because it looked as if they were expecting a treat from the humans. Regardless, one of the monkeys ran over to my sunscreen that was on the ledge of the railing. The bad monkey grabbed my sunscreen, looked at me and ran away into a tree like a little thief! He dropped it later, but I never found my beloved sunscreen again.

Aside from having things stolen by primates, we were planning on hiking to some nearby waterfalls. Unfortunately the recent rain had flooded the river we needed to cross making it impossible to get to the waterfalls.  Instead we went and played on the beach. The ocean wasn't safe to swim here, so we played frisbee and beach ping pong. Later that night we all made dinner as usual and then packed our bags to return home. 

 

A map of Montezuma

Criminal Monkeys 1

(These are White-faced Capuchin monkeys. We also saw and heard a lot of Howler monkeys in Montezuma. They sound like barking dogs.)

Criminal Monkeys 2

(The one standing up snatched my sunscreen) 

Banana Spider and mate 

(This spider is by far the scariest spider I have ever seen. The larger spider in the picture is the female; the smaller one is the male. I did some research about this impressive arachnid and found that they look scarier than they actually are. Their bite feels like a bee sting and their venom will cause local pain, redness, and blisters, however they usually disappear in 24 hours. It won't kill you, but I still wouldn't want to mess with this spider... or any spider for that matter.)

This spider is also known a Golden Silk Orb-Weaver, Wood Spider, or Writing Spider

Malpaís

Back to my vacation...
From Santa Elena we set out for Malpaís/ Santa Teresa (the two places are separated by a five minute walk). We took multiple buses and a ferry to get there, but ultimately we made it. We stayed in a big hostel and met some cool people. Malpaís is known for it's good surfing and rocky beaches. During the time we were there, the waves were huge. The tidal pull of the moon was causing the waves to be much larger than usual. Consequently it was not advisable to swim in the ocean, even for strong swimmers and surfers. Regardless, the beach was still pretty and I had fun walking along the shore looking for shells and playing with hermit crabs.
To celebrate The 4th of July we headed down to the beach to watch the sunset over the ocean. Obviously the 4th of July isn't celebrated in Costa Rica. It was strange thinking about where I was and what I was doing in comparison to what I would have been doing if I had been in the states. Instead of shooting off fireworks, we all went out to a local bar with some of the people from the hostel and danced the night away to celebrate. Happy 4th of July to us!

The beach 

The sunset

(it was almost too cloudy)

My new friend 

Grupo Picnic

On Sunday the entire Kansas group, families included, got together for a picnic in the park. Unfortunately my family was out of town so they couldn't join me, but they were there in spirit. I really enjoyed meeting the other families and playing games with everyone's host moms. It was especially cool that we all played together and just had a good time: pure fun. We played frisbee and tug-of-war until lunch was ready (well, actually until the rope snapped). The food was prepared by a catering company, but we all sat on the ground picnic style. After lunch we played a pick up game of soccer. I haven't played soccer in roughly five years, but I had a blast. By no means was I a superstar; that didn't matter though. The picnic couldn't have better.

Santa Elena: Cloud Forest Reserve/ Ficus Tree

Cloud forrest reserve:

In Santa Elena I visited the cloud forest reserve. Jess and I set out in the morning to go to the reserve. We hiked around a total of 5 miles on the trails that run through the forest. I was amazed again at the beauty of the nature. There was literally something growing every where: plants grow on other plants, on dead trees, and alive trees. It's amazing. Also, it was incredibly humid in the forest. Toward the end of our hike we were startled when fruit from at tree above fell right in front of us. With suspicion we looked up at the tree tops. We saw a total of 6 spider monkeys in the trees that day. Unfortunately my camera had died moments before we saw the monkeys. But they were very cool to watch. I especially liked how they swing from tree to tree using their tail. 

A Big Cloud Forest tree

A flower growing on a tree 

A Centipede 

Ficus tree:

After our hike in the cloud forest, a staff member from the hostel guided us to a really cool, old ficus tree. It was a bit of a hike to the tree, but it was worth it. The ficus tree is basically a hollow tree. It starts by growing on another tree and eventually kills it. In many years time, the inner tree rots away leaving a hollow ficus tree. We climbed to the top of the tree. I would estimate that it was over 100 feet high. The way the tree shaped made it very easy to climb. It was awesome. I had so much fun seeing and climbing the tree. 

Everything I did was incredibly cool. I'm really glad I was able to have these experiences. 

The Ficus Tree looking up from the ground

Looking down the center of the tree from inside

Me and Jess in the ficus tree

Santa Elena: Waterfalls of San Luis

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I haven't been feeling that great; I went to the doctor and found out I had ear and tonsil infections. I've taken the prescribed antibiotics and I feel much better now. 

Back to my vacation...

We made it to Monteverde. Well actually, we stayed in a nearby town called Santa Elena because it usually has fewer tourists. We stayed in a really cool hostel that was staffed by guys who made the stay worthwhile. They guided us around Santa Elena and showed us unique things that otherwise might have been hard to get to. Plus, they taught us some new card games and were fun to be around. 

Both Santa Elena and Monteverde are known for their lush cloud forests. A cloud forest is a forest that has persistent cloud coverage. The moisture from the clouds makes the environment extremely moist and humid: perfect for plant and moss growth. Thus, the forest is incredibly green and full of life. I visited the cloud forest twice during our time in Santa Elena. The first time was a hike through the cloud forest to get to the San Luis Waterfall (I'll write about the second time in my next post). 

We hiked for about an hour and a half to reach the waterfall. With Esteban (a staff member from the hostel) as our guide, all four of us set out to find the waterfall. Hiking through the forest of tall, old trees on a dirt path was an incredible experience. Everything was so green and beautiful! 

Finally we reached the waterfall. The waterfall was so impressive; I feel like a picture below doesn't even do the size and beauty of the waterfall justice. At 330 ft, the waterfall is nothing less than inspiring. The best part was that we could climb to a ledge at the side of the waterfall and jump into the pool below (it was only about a 10-15 foot jump). The water was so cold, but it was worth it! I had a lot of fun. 

The Trail Through The Forest 

The waterfall 

(I'm the second person waiting in line to jump into the pool)

The Group 

(Tor, Jess, Me, Frank)

Isla Tortuga

I'm back! I explored a few different places in CR over the past nine days. I did and saw so many amazing things; it would be impossible to fit my entire vacation into one post so I have decided to break up the various places and activities in separate posts. 

My first destination was Isla Tortuga. Grupo de Kansas (the study abroad group) had arranged a trip for  everyone in the group to visit Isla Tortuga. It was an all-inclusive trip organized by a company. To start the day we took a bus to Paquera and enjoyed a traditional breakfast provided by the company and afterward we go on board a yacht and set sail for Isla Tortuga. It took about an hour and a half to get to the island but the scenery and atmosphere made the ride enjoyable and fun. 

Isla Tortuga is beautiful. With it's white sand and tall palm trees the island proves that the pictures on postcards actually exist. Shortly after arriving we got ready to go snorkeling. A small boat took us to a near by rock. We plopped into the water and the snorkeling began. The water was a little murky (not unusual for the rainy season), but I still saw some pretty cool fish. 

After returning from snorkeling we ate a lunch that was prepared by the crew. Fue muy rico (it was delicious). We threw a frisbee on the beach and played some intense sand volleyball until it was time to get back on the boat. 

On the way back we ran into a storm. Watching the rain fall into the ocean while seeing lightning and hearing loud thunder was quite the experience. Ultimately we made it back to shore safely. Jess, Tor, Frank, and I headed to our next destination... Monteverde.

A view of Isla Tortuga from the boat

On the boat

The beach front