Bocas Del Toro, Panama

Where do I even begin for this grand adventure??

Well,  we left last Saturday at 4 a.m. from San Jose, Costa Rica and arrived in Panama around 9 p.m. by the time we got through immigrations/customs, took a bus to the port, and then a boat to the island it was about 2 p.m.  By that time we were all exhausted.  Well, we settled into our room which had 6 people in it.  3 sets of bunk beds.... this room can hardly be classified as "nice."  The walls were covered with mold, the pillows had mold growing on them, and there were no toilet seats... needless to say, none of us girls were pleased with our living conditions but we decided we had to make the best of it.  Saturday evening we went to a bar called Aqua Lounge.  It was a $2 boat ride to get there and it cost a few bucks to get in but the drinks were free for girls.  This bar was the coolest bar I have ever been to!  It had a spot to jump into the ocean and it had swings that you could swing off of into the ocean!

The next day we went to a place called Starfish beach, all of the islands you had to take boats to.  This island was like something you would see in a movie.  It was the true definition of a tropical paradise :)  it had huge starfish everywhere (see below), the water was crystal clear, and we went snorkeling.  I saw stingrays and TONS of exotic looking fish.  We spent all day on this island soaking up the sun (a little too much on my back :/ ).  That evening when we arrived to the hostel, we all realized our backs were fried from snorkeling all day, it was quite painful.  That night we just relaxed and hung out at the hostel since we were in so much pain.  We also went to look at the stars as a group but ended up playing a game called "star-tripping" and playing red-rover :)  The child in me came out again:)

On Monday we rented beach cruisers (bikes) with cute little baskets in front and cruised around the Island all day.  It was me, my girl friends Faith, Marina, Anna, and Devon and our new guy friends John, Cody, and Nayoto.  We biked to the end of the island... it was a peaceful relaxing bike ride.  Some of the scenery reminded me of being in the South in the United States.  That evening we went to a bar called Iguana.  It also had a place where you could jump into the ocean but this time I refrained from doing so :)  It was a fun night as well.

On Tuesday, we had a dolphin tour and some more snorkeling at a different beach.  We saw a lot of dolphins, it was so pretty :)  I love God's wildlife.  We also went to Red Frog Beach.  The water here was the bluest water I have EVER seen and I have been to Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Jamaiica!  I just lounged on the beach all day and played in the waves.  Tuesday evening we all went to dinner at a little place that reminded me of a 50s diner, it was super cute.  Afterwards my friends and I played some card games and then went to the beach and played truth or dare on the beach at night, it was a fun time.  I love reliving childhood whenever I can :)

On Wednesday, some of us went to the beach actually on the island.  It was about a 45 minute walk.  The beaches on this island were filled with trash, it was quite sad.  I don't understand how people can ruin such beauty.  We eventually found a spot with a smaller amount of trash and hung out there for the day.  We played cards on the beach and I just lounged around (again) haha.   That evening I was exhausted so I stayed in the hostel and watched t.v. with some of my girlfriends while everyone else went back to Aqua Lounge. 

Thursday we headed back to Costa Rica and going through customs has NEVER made me more grateful for our amazing country, The United States.  We waited in line for HOURS, in the pouring rain with all of our luggage to get our passport stamped, the line was literally not moving and we still have no idea why.  Then we had to cross a bridge to get from Panama back to Costa Rica and this bridge went over a river... I already have a fear of bridges but this was THE WORST.  It was made with lumber and there were places where the lumber was literally rotted through, holes everywhere, boards missing and loose so I had to watch my footing (while carrying my bags) and could see below me the entire time.   Imagine an Indiana Jones-esque bridge and this is what that was.  Once we arrived back to the Costa Rica side we had to wait AGAIN to get our passports stamped to get back into Costa Rica.  We waited for 2 HOURS, not joking... we all were getting so impatient because some of the workers who were obviously corrupt would take bribes from people in line and take their passports up and do about 20-30 passports at a time while the rest of us waited in line... we all got so fed up we started chanting "fila, fila" which means line in Spanish.  We then started blocking the line so the corrupt workers could not get through and screw us all over.  Everyone started getting really riled up, haha it was quite an experience to say the least.

I finally made it back safely to San Jose last night and officially have a week until I am back to my country I love so much.  As much fun as I have had here, I am definitely ready to be with the people I love and care about.

God Bless!

part of the group, minus the guys!

starfish!

moldy room :(

boat ride to the beach!

crystal clear water!

dolphins!

Red Frog Beach

Montezuma :)

This past weekend I had yet another great adventure.  My friends and I left Friday after class to embark on our adventure to Montezuma.  In total, we took 3 separate buses and a ferry to arrive to this special place in Costa Rica.  The ferry ride was gorgeous because we rode the ferry at sunset :) We stayed in a nice hostel (well, nice compared to what I have stayed in).  We met a girl who was working at our hostel for a work-study program who was from Minnesota so it was a pleasant surprise to speak english to make our reservations :)  That night my friends and I ate dinner and I made the big mistake of drinking 4 cups of free coffee offered by the hostel.  It was so good, I could not stop drinking it!  Unfortunately, that night I got zero hours of sleep... and by zero, I mean ZERO.  It was awful, I was up all night just thinking and thinking and could not get to sleep.  On the bright side, God spoke to me about something I have struggled with for the past 3 years (for those of you who know me well, I am sure you know what this is).... anyways it was as if he finally delivered me from this struggle of mine and honestly I have not felt this happy in ages.  Everything has come together, just as God said it would.

Saturday, we left for the cliffs and waterfalls.  We hiked to the waterfalls.  There were various waterfalls you could jump off of, I did the smallest one haha.  I did not want to take a chance on getting hurt and my dad had previously lectured me so I decided to listen :) There was also a rope swing we could swing off of into the water, that made my whole weekend! It has been something i've always wanted to do :)

After hiking back to the beach town, we layed out on the beach for a couple hours and just soaked in the sun.  The stars that night were the most incredible stars i've ever seen, the sky was just covered in them and you could really see soo many.  It was beautiful.  I am reminded of God's majesty SO much here.

As far as life in San Jose, it is going great!  Just been busy with my advanced spanish class, it is very hard.  I have a 15 minute presentation Thursday with NO notecards, yikes!  I've got about 24 days to go, I am starting the countdown!  It is hard not to be excited to see my family so SOON.

I am looking for a job when I return to, I really hope something comes through.  If you don't mind praying for me that God will provide me with a job that fits my schedule this summer that would be awesome.

God bless, miss you all!

ROPE SWING TIME

Manuel Antonio

This past weekend my friends and I went to Manuel Antonio.  By far the prettiest of all the beaches i've been to!  It started on Friday, we arrived to Manuel Antonio and the bus was going to drop us off at our hostel... only problem being we did not know which hostel was ours or where it was located.  We past one called "Pura Vida" which was the name of ours so we took a shot in the dark and told the bus to stop. We had to walk about 5 minutes downhill to get to it and while walking my friend Michelle's plastic bag ripped and her jelly, in a glass jar, splattered and cut her foot open.  Also, while on the bus I sat my bag on the ground only to realize that I sat it in something that looked like puke
:( very unfortuante night!  Once we got to our hostel we went to our room which was $10/night so we should not have expected much... this room was the size of my bedroom at home with 3 bunkbeds and no bathroom... and no air.  It was probably 90 degrees that night so we asked the lady if we could upgrade to an air conditioned room which we did! Praise the Lord!  After the room fiasco, we set off to town to get our friend's some dinner... we arrive to a convenience store and it starts to downpour!  My friends get some food and then we walk the mile back to the hostel, by the time we arrive we are all drenched with water!  We finished the night off with some card games in the hostel room :)

The next day we went to the National Park beach which was gorgeous (see pictures below) we then went to a restaurant that overlooked the water, it was very pretty.  The beaches had a ton of wild monkeys, it was so cool!  Unfortunately, on Saturday night the only room available was the non-air conditioned one... at one point I felt like I would have an anxiety attack because the room was so hott and small.  Only a fan!  My friend Brittany and I were on the bottom bunk and we decided to pester our friend, Katie, on the top bunk.  It was so much fun haha we all had a good time!

I survived the 100 degree room thankfully!  We went to the beach for a few hours the next day and relaxed in the sun and then got on the bus back to San Jose!  It was a successful weekend :)

Hope everyone is doing well!

Our "prison-cell"

The beautiful beach!

Monos!

More beach!

God Bless!