I'm still waiting for the catch... Tortugero

This past weekend I went to Tortuguero.  It was absolutely beautiful!  We left on Friday afternoon and I took my first public bus to get to Cariari which is the first stop you make before you get to the Island.  Let me back up, I planned this trip for my friends and I, which was a pain in the butt in itself.  Anyways, I used a tour guide that my friends recommended and he helped me get a hotel for Friday night as well as helping us figure out transportation to and from Tortuguero, and in return we were going on a canoe tour Saturday morning with him for $20/person.  There were only four of us, we were a bit skeptical as to why he was so willing to help us.  Anyways... we stay in Cariari on Friday night and get settled into our sketchy hotel rooms, more like hostel rooms.  Haha.  My friend Katie's infamous line that night was the joke of the whole trip, as we were in our room talking about this man's sketchiness she says "I'm still waiting for the catch."  Hence, my blog title.  It was a had to be there moment haha.  My bed sheets on Friday night were hospital sheets (see below) and we only got one paper thin sheet to sleep with, we woke up freezing in the middle of the night so we had to turn the air off.

The next morning we leave for Tortuguero, we took a 2 hour ferry ride through the canal to get there.  It was spectacular and beautiful... as we were leaving the port at Pavona for Tortugero, a man and a camera crew approach our ferry.  We then proceed to find out that his name is "El Galan" and he is a famous TV star in Costa Rica... we were soon to find out how famous.  My friend Katie was interviewed by him for her show and I was in the background with my other friends, Brittany and Devon.  What a story!  As we approach the island of Tortugero, we see that the entire town has congregated near the port to welcome this man.  The kids were playing music, photos were being taken, the whole nine yards.  It was so neat.  Definitely a great experience.

After, we took a canoe ride through the National Park where we saw monkeys, birds, lizards, caiman, and crocodiles!! Then I went hiking throughout the national Park with my friends (minus Brittany).  We had to buy rubber boots to wear for $1 then return them, the darn things cut my legs up so bad.  It was not fun.  We stayed in a hostel on the ocean for $15/night it was such a good deal!!  Saturday night we went out to dinner, I got a quesadilla that was so good!  After, we went to a local bar and I just looked at the river.  The island was surrounded by the caribbean ocean on one side and a river on the other.  A creepy, Costa Rican man asked me about 5 times and my friends as well to dance with him, he would not leave us alone!  We then got stuck in the rain (the first rain i've experienced since i've been here)... needless to say we started walking home in it and honestly it was so much fun.  It was a warm rain so I felt like a kid again playing in the rain.  Sometimes it is good to just stop and smell the roses and experience the little things in life all over again, such as playing in the rain : )

That night my friends and I shared some laughs and played cards.  We had to leave the next morning for San Jose.  It was a fabulous weekend, probably my favorite yet just because of all the laughs and inside jokes my friends and I had between meeting a famous Costa Rican TV star to being chauffered by a skeptical man haha


On a sad note, my mama tica's mother died on Sunday night so that has been hard for her.  My roommate and I feel bad being here because we feel like we are intruding in her time of grieving.  Also, one of my friends from ISU that came on this trip got mugged at gun point last night when he was walking home.  He lost a lot of valuables.  Instances like that just make me so grateful for the United States and so ready to return to my home!  Other than that, I am doing great :)  Also, any prayers right now for my knee would be great, it has been hurting me really bad lately and I do not have good medical service here so I am hoping/praying it gets better!

Gracias

God Bless

Our hostel :)

Hospital bed sheets!

Tortugero Island

Crocodile!

Ferry Ride!

The effects of Costa Rica :)

I decided to blog about how Costa Rica has changed me thus far, for anyone who knows me, you know these are BIG changes :)

1) I wake up now at 7 a.m. usually every morning, even when I get the rare chance to sleep in until 8, my body now wakes up at 7:30.  So hopefully once I return to the States, I can keep this great habit up :)  I have always been a night owl so this is different.

2) I have become content with having a MUCH less busy/hectic lifestyle.  At college, I was constantly doing something or always busy and I loved it... here I have a ton more downtime.  At first, I hated it because I wasn't sure what to do with myself during the weeks, but I am starting to enjoy it and appreciate it while it lasts.  The weekends here are crazy busy but that is all fun stuff :)

3) I have probably eaten more meat here in the past month and a half than I have the past 5 YEARS combined!  Crazy right? 

4) As far as sweets go, I have not eaten much of those here because my host family NEVER has them so if I wanted something sweet, i'd have to go by it.  It is not like home where I can eat what I want pretty much whenever.  Therefore, I decided to give up sweets for lent.  I am not Catholic, but I thought it would be good to give something up for God.  We will see if I can do this, 2 days down and I am already dying haha

Well, those are the biggest changes I have noticed so far :)

Also, my friends and I hiked up a HUGE mountain today! Literally took us about 4 hours to get to the top. There were 3 huge crosses along the way, it was very neat. Some of our friends had to turn back because it was such an exhausting hike.

The second cross we encountered

The girls who made it to the top :)

The first cross we encountered :)

The last cross, how beautiful!

A view along the way!

White Water Rafting

Haha, well today was interesting to say the least.  I got up at 5:30 a.m. to go white water rafting on one of the TOP 5 prettiest rivers in the world, according to National Geographic Magazine.  So that was a plus :)  We had a buffet breakfast which was great.  Then, we headed to the river.  I swear the white water rafting guides are the cutest guys ever, every time i've ever been, they are extremely attractive haha.  Anyways, we had two guides.  One named Oso (bear in espanol) and the other Manuel.  Both were GREAT.  There was another guide in a different boat who was so attractive.  We all had a crush on him.

I went with four other friends in our boat.  We did not have the best of luck but it made for the best experience.  Within the first five minutes, we slam into a rock and then the boat turns sideways and we get stuck on this rock.  Meanwhile, the boat starts sinking in the water and we literally are standing on the boat and sinking in the water.  The guides hurried up and pulled us all onto the rock.  It was so hilarious.   I about peed my pants from laughing so hard.  It was one of those you had to be there moments.  There were many of those on this trip.   Then, about 20-30 other times we got stuck on rocks in the river.  Haha.  We literally were the last group always.  However, this is what made it so much fun.  We got to swim in the water as well which was beautiful.  I honestly loved today and had so much fun.  It was the hardest i've laughed in a while.  Our guides were so funny and made us all laugh numerous times. 

On the bus ride home, we played catch phrase with some friends we made.  They spoke both english and spanish so we played in English first, then spanish :)  I can honestly tell that my Spanish is starting to improve.  I am hearing more now and understanding a lot more.  Not anywhere close to where I want to be, but I hope by the time I return I have a good enough grasp where I can talk with my Aunt who is fluent and other friends :)

I am asking for prayers if anyone is willing.  I just am worried about my credits not transferring over at a high enough level and if they do not, then it just means I am taking these classes for nothing, because I already have the credits from back home.  So, if you're willing, please pray that I will get the credits I need to fulfill my Spanish Major :)

Muchas Gracias

God Bless :)

Monteverde, Volcan Arenal, and La Fortuna

This past weekend was crazy, I did so MANY things, but let me start from the beginning.

Friday we left San Jose and arrived at Baldi Hot Springs that evening.  We stayed in the hot springs for a few hours.  The Hot Springs are literally just that, hot springs.  They have natural minerals in them and the water is completely pure.  Some of the springs were scorching hot, others luke warm, others cold, etc.  They also had two water slides which were awesome to go down.  After the hot springs, we had a buffet dinner.  I may or may not have eaten my body weight in food.  We all stuffed ourselves.  It was such a good dinner.  After that, I stayed up with my friends and looked at the stars then talked to one of my friends about our faith in God.  It was so great.  At one point in the conversation, I had goosebumps.  She told me stories of her mom, who is a very religious lady, it was so neat.

The next day, we got up at 7 a.m. once again :( and then ate breakfast and headed to La Fortuna waterfall (see below).  I have officially gotten to check 3 things off my bucket list since being here, and swimming in waterfalls was the third.  The water was freezing but well worth it.  After this, we got to see Volcan Arenal which was spectacular.  Then, we headed off to our boat tour.  The boat took us from Volcan Arenal to Monteverde, another part of Costa Rica.  The boat tour was spectacular.  We literally were on a lake that was formed between so many mountains.  I honestly missed home at this point of my trip because it was so beautiful and I wanted to share it with my family.  The weather and lake just reminded of home in the summer, it was a bittersweet feeling.  The boat trip lasted maybe an hour, and then we arrived in Monteverde.  From there, we took a bus through the mountains, literally on rocky, bumpy roads.  However, this was one of the highlights of the trip for me, and probably everyone else.  It was a spectacular view.  Just imagine driving through mountains with rolling hills and the hills had cows and wild horses just grazing.  It was soo spectacular.  There were rivers running through the mountains as well.  It was like something you would have seen in a movie.  Breathtaking.  After, we arrived in our hotel.  We stayed in a hotel in the Cloud Forest.  We also saw 3 rainbows on the way in, which just reminded me of how God is always with me. 

Today, Sunday, we went ziplining.  That was SUCH an awesome experience.  I have been ziplining in West Virginia, but this was unreal.  I was literally probably 50 feet ABOVE the trees at one point, just looking down.  We went from mountain-top to mountain-top.  I am not going to lie, at one point I was terrified.  It was so high up.  At the end of the ziplining tour, we did a Tarzan Swing to get down (see below).  Pretty much, you walk across this bridge out to this platform.  The two men hook you up to cables then you jump off and fall 120 feet and the roap catches and you swing back and forth until you come to the ground.  It was a blast! I loved it.  I am all for adrenaline rushes, and this was definitely one!

I had such a great weekend, it was well worth the money I spent.  This place is truly picturesque.  God's creation is so gorgeous.  After coming here, I really do not understand how people do not believe in God.  Nature is just too magnificent not to. 

I hope everyone is going well :)

Also, I found out on Thursday that my grandfather on my mom's side had a stroke.  I am asking for prayers for him that he will have a full recovery and not ever experience that again.  I hate being here and being away from my family, especially when that happens.

Thanks everyone.

God Bless!