This is a blog post I have been meaning to write for the past 6 months but haven't gotten around to. What can I say? I could be a professional procrastinator. However, I would be kicking myself if I didn't share about my most recent international travel on my TRAVEL BLOG. (Especially considering it is one of the greatest highlights of my year, and one of my favorite places I have been to.) So, without further ado, let's get into it!
I always want to travel, experience different cultures and see more of this beautiful world we live in. Somehow, however, it had never even crossed my mind to consider traveling to Latin America. Maybe it's because I'm not fluent in Spanish and I didn't know who I would go with if I had wanted to go. So, it came as a bit of a surprise to me when I developed a sudden interest in the possibility of going to Costa Rica at the end of March. And it only took a few days of consideration before I decided to just book the trip. It was very spontaneous for me to do something like that, but every once in a while, I get a notion to jump and act on an opportunity when it is in front of me. I'm not a particularly impulsive person by nature, so this sort of thing is very new to me, but I'm grateful I have been courageous enough this year to do the things that scare me. (More on that in my yearly review.) I decided to go with EF Ultimate Break for this trip, so I could travel with a group and because the tour came with an adventurous itinerary full of activities and places that I might not have thought of or been able to find on my own. I actually had to change the dates of my travels to a week later than I had originally scheduled, but I'm actually really grateful for that because I cannot imagine having a better tour director or tour group than the one I had. <3
On June 18th my mom and grandma drove me to the airport. (I know it's scary to let your daughter/granddaughter go off on their own adventure, but I really appreciate their support in my endeavors and that they were there to send me off.) <3 My group was the last to arrive in San José. Our tour director met us at the airport, and we took a shuttle to the hotel. The first night we stayed at Hotel Auténtico. I had a room to myself, which was nice. (I think it was because I was added to this tour so late, and there was an uneven number of girls.) For dinner I had black bean soup and rice, and I was able to sit with a group of girls on my trip that had come together. I will say that I was actually really grateful to have a room to myself for the first night after having been on a plane for so many hours. I had the time and space to journal, listen to music and unwind from the day. And I knew I would have time to get to know the other people in my tour group during the day. :)
The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel. They served coffee, juice (both orange and sour guava), eggs, gallo pinto, fruit, as well as other foods. After breakfast, we gathered our belongings to put on the bus, and from San José we headed to La Fortuna, where we would be spending the next few days. :) For lunch we stopped at a sort of hidden restaurant called Selva Rustica, which translates to Rustic Jungle. The food was so tasty. I know that many of my peers tried their Casado, which is a very typical Costa Rican dish that traditionally consists of black beans, rice, salad, plantains, and your choice of protein. (Usually fish or chicken.) I knew I would have to try it at some point, but as I had eaten rice for lunch and dinner the day before as well as for breakfast that morning -beans and rice for dinner and breakfast, I decided to opt for pasta al pomodoro this time around. I know that is Italian, but it was delicious nonetheless! And when I say this restaurant was kind of hidden, I mean it was in a little pocket of paradise. I think it was at this point that I knew this trip was going to be something special. <3 Now our first real adventure: kayaking in Lake Arenal. I forgot to mention that La Fortuna is a special little town located at the base of Arenal Volcano. We were very lucky (or fortunate I should say) to be able to see the volcano so clearly during our time in La Fortuna as it is often covered up by the fog. On the day we left La Fortuna, Arenal was not visible, even though we knew it was there. ;) After our time at the lake, we went to our next hotel. We stayed at Las Colinas, and this time I shared a room two girls I had made friends with during the day's activities. :) This was also the night we had our welcome dinner. We ate at La Street Bistro. For dinner I ordered soup to start out with, and then had fish as my main course. Our meal also included two drinks, which I also enjoyed. I'm not really much a fish person, but I wanted to try something out of my comfort zone. I'm glad that I did because it was very good. I had also never tried capers up until this very meal, and I was able to understand why they pair so well with fish. I sat with my roommates, my kayaking buddy and her roommate, as well as a couple who was also in our tour group. :)
June 20th. I thought it was a fluke, but this was the second day in a row I had woken up at 5:00 am. (This is a trend that followed me my entire trip lol.) You might be thinking, hey, maybe Alexandria was just jetlagged, but I experienced no time change. Costa Rica is in the same time zone as where I live, so I don't know what was up with that. Maybe I was just so excited to be in Costa Rica that I couldn't help but wake up super early. Also, I apparently screamed in my sleep that night, so I felt sorry for my roommates since I forgot to mention that I get night terrors from time to time. :| I just never know if or when it's going to happen! Anyway, being up early I ventured outside of our room by myself to take in the view of the volcano. It was so serene. I love hearing the birds chirping as everything slowly wakens up. In the morning we had the option of going on a pineapple tour. :) It was very cool, and I feel like I learned a lot about pineapples. (I also now have insider secrets to choosing the best tasting pineapples at the grocery store!) We saw the fields where they are grown, we got to eat some pineapple, and we had pina coladas at 9:00 am. What more could you possibly want? :D Now that afternoon, most of my tour group had signed up for whitewater rafting. As I have been whitewater rafting before, I decided it wasn't something dire I needed to do as fun it may sound. As fate would have it, one of my roommates was also one of the people who wasn't going to this activity, but our tour director was able to help set us up to go on another sort of adventure, so we had something fun to do. We were able to go to the Mistico Hanging Bridges Park, and I wouldn't trade that for the world. It was so cool! We had a tour guide to ourselves showing us around the rainforest where we learned about the ecosystem and how it all works together. Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse places on our planet. This country takes up only 0.03% of the Earth's surface yet has over 500,000 species of animals. It was amazing to see so much wildlife. Our tour guide was very well versed in the types of plants that we saw as well. I was so excited to finally see some animals in the wild. We saw leafcutter ants, strawberry poison dart frogs, different types of snakes including an eyelash pit viper, caterpillars, spiders, a bat, birds... We saw a sloth, heard some monkeys swinging and jumping from tree to tree. There was so much to take in on our hike; it almost felt unreal! The bridges were a little scary at first & we had many to cross, but you really can't beat that kind of view! We got to see a waterfall. It was super cool, and I can't believe I had the opportunity to experience something so wonderful. We live on a beautiful, vast, incredibly detailed planet. What a blessing it is to be alive! That evening we all got back together to go to Baldi Hot Springs Resort Hotel and Spa to relax for the night, and then we ate dinner in town.
June 21st. This was our last day in La Fortuna. In the morning we put on our swimsuits and headed to La Fortuna Waterfall. I was really excited about this stop on our trip, and it was breathtakingly beautiful. Literally. It takes 500 steps to get to the base of the waterfall. Despite the guard rails, the texture of the steps, and having shoes with very good traction, the rain had made it a bit slippery, and I realized that falling down a huge flight of stairs to my death in a jungle is a fear that I have. Thankfully that didn't happen, haha, but my heart was definitely racing! And then there was the waterfall itself. What a powerful force of nature! I can't say I wasn't intimidated by the deafening sound of its rushing ice-cold waters. The rocks were slippery, and the water was freezing. It was beautiful, but I couldn't have prepared myself for the fear and awe it instilled in me. Near the waterfall was a river where I spent the rest of my time swimming with the fishes. Remember when I said I wasn't really a fish person? That applies to live fish as well. So, I really faced a lot of my fears that day, and I was finally able to relax. Afterwards we had the option to go on a chocolate tour, and let me tell you, that was not only a highlight of this trip for me, but one of my favorite life experiences ever. We learned so much of the history of chocolate, got to taste it in all of its forms -from the fruit, to roasted cacao beans, to ~chocolate~ chocolate. We tried cacao wine, the drink of the gods, and a more modern-day version of hot chocolate that we know today. We made our own chocolate, and at the end Don Juan brought out a bottle of moonshine for everyone to share. It didn't even matter that I had to pee the whole time; I was having such a blast. I was in chocolate heaven. It was incredible. I had so much chocolate that I thought I would never to be able to eat any ever again. I couldn't even think about chocolate without feeling sick for the next week. :( Thankfully I have recovered and can enjoy chocolate once more! :) We picked up the others who hadn't done the chocolate tour from the hotel and headed on our way to Monteverde. We stayed at Hotel el Atardecer, and once again I had my own room. While the rest of my tour group went on another excursion, I took a little extra time to settle in and explored the town a bit. By the time I left my hotel, the fog had really rolled in, but I was able to find my way! I visited the grocery store and got some more water, and I also found a convenient store where I picked up some snacks, my favorite being sour cream and onion yuca chips. I met up with the rest of my group for dinner and then we all walked back to the hotel together.
June 22nd was the day we went hiking in the Santa Elena Cloud Forest. It was really fascinating to learn about what makes cloud forests so special -they make up just 1% of all the forests in the world. The ecosystem of a cloud forest is very delicate and relies heavily on the climate. It was also great to listen to our tour director's knowledge on the types of vegetation and species that are unique to cloud forests. <3 Later on we went ziplining which was an adventure in itself! We definitely got in a lot of exercise with the hike and the amount of stairs we had to climb to get to each platform. Let me tell you, the last hill we had to climb was intense!! Anyway, after a vigorous morning full of activity, the rest of the day was more laid back. We ate lunch back in town -some of us had empanadas. :) They were pretty tasty! Back at our hotel we had the opportunity to take some dancing lessons and then we had dinner in town. A few of us stopped to get some snacks for the bus ride the next day as this was our last night in Monteverde. I think I accidentally locked myself out of my room at some point, but thankfully I was able to get back in!
June 23rd. In the morning after breakfast, we left Monteverde and traveled to Puntarenas, where we would spend the rest of our tour. I was sad that we were on the last leg of our trip, but I was pretty excited about where we were going and what we had in store. :) You could feel the change in the air as we drove from the foggy mountains to sea level. Our first stop when we got to Puntarenas was going on a crocodile boat tour in the Tárcoles River. :) It was REALLY COOL. We got to see many crocodiles as well as some really awesome birds. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip! Next we headed to our hotel, or should I say resort. We stayed at Punta Leona which is almost more like a private community than an ordinary hotel. It has its own beaches, pools, restaurants, a grocery store... It even has its own Pops! (Pops is a popular Costa Rican ice cream shop.) When we got there, we headed to the beach so we could go paddleboarding. There was quite a bit of driftwood as it had rained pretty recently, and you had to be careful of the ocean waves stabbing you with branches and logs as they washed up on the shore. There's nothing quite as abrasive as being knocked over by waves and dragged across the ocean floor. Oh, the sand! -And when you get cuts or scrapes at the beach you can feel it. The sand and the salt water will let you know. Anyway, this was my first time paddleboarding, and I wouldn't consider myself to be the strongest swimmer, so this was another activity that definitely put me outside of my comfort zone. After teaching us the basic instructions on safety and how to use the board, they helped us put on our ankle straps and brought us out into the water. I am so not used to the ocean, but it was exciting to be out there. It takes quite a bit of body strength, particularly from your thighs and arms, so I have a lot of respect for people who regularly participate in water sports. I will also say that it was during this activity that I've come to realize how screwed I would be if I were stranded in the ocean. Lol. I was pretty happy when I got back to shore. We were split into two groups, so those of us who had gone paddleboarding in the first group went to get some lunch while the others were out in the ocean. Later on, we all went to the part of the resort where our rooms were. It was a really nice area and once again I had my own room. The view was amazing! I also had two queen size beds to choose from. Being so surrounded by nature, a couple of little critters had made their way into my room. -The first being a fuzzy caterpillar that I was really counting on not being poisonous, lol. I picked it up and carried it outside where he belonged. :) I also took a shower as soon as I could to get rid of the sand that had found its way into every crevice of my body. (There was a LOT of sand!) We had time to do what we wanted before dinner, so some of us took a shuttle to the main resort and we played volleyball. It started raining pretty hard, but we kept playing. By the time the rain stopped there weren't that many people around anymore, so we kind of had the place to ourselves & we went swimming. It was really fun! I did have to take another shower once I got back to my room since I was covered in sand once more. (In a way I took three showers since I had been out in the pouring rain.) It was a fun night!
The next day (June 24th) we went to Manuel Antonio National Park. :) During our hike we were able to see some sloths! We spent the majority of the day at the beach. <3 This was one of my favorite days on the trip. It was beautiful and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to visit such a gorgeous place! You do need to watch your belongings, however, as the monkeys like to steal and play around with whatever they can find! (That's one of the reasons you are not allowed to bring food in the park.) It was exciting to see them in their natural habitat! There was a point when I wanted to just spread out my beach towel and lay down in the warm sun. I had found a really great spot and was perfectly content for a while, but I opened my eyes to see everyone running up the shore. I didn't have the time to move out of the way of the waves before they came crashing down on me and my towel. Some of my friends told me, "You looked so peaceful!" haha. And I was. My towel didn't really dry completely after that, though, lol. Later we went to Quepos to eat lunch. I did have casado this time around! Then after lunch we went to Pops to get some ice cream. I ordered a cone with a scoop of caramelo (caramel) and coco (coconut.) It was delicious, but I nearly dropped it twice! (While I was in the shop and once I got outside.) It also melted VERY quickly, and it dripped all over me while I was trying to eat it. I was kind of a mess that day (as you could probably tell), but I was still having a great time! Even after doing my best to rinse off the sand while I was still at Manuel Antonio, I took another shower when I got back to my room at the resort. We had some more free time that afternoon and evening, so I stayed in my room for a bit and organized my suitcase, then took a shuttle to go play volleyball again with everyone else. This time we had enough people to make actual teams! And this time it didn't rain! ;)
June 25th. Speaking of the rain... In the morning after breakfast, we went to the marina in Quepos where we would take a catamaran cruise. There was a pretty heavy downpour, so the cruise was delayed for a couple of hours. Thankfully, though the weather cleared up and we were still able to go. In the meantime, we were able to look around the shops and restaurants. My spirits were very high that day. I just remember feeling very happy. At Emilio's Cafe I had a vanilla latte and a slice of passionfruit pie. <3 I actually didn't originally sign up for the catamaran cruise when I first booked my trip, but I am so glad I did. We each got a wristband that was good for 4 free drinks. There was dancing, we ate lunch, and I made some new friends with one of the families that was on the cruise with us. There was also the opportunity to jump into the ocean or go down the water slide. I decided to take it easy and stay on board, but I know those who were brave enough to participate had a great time! We spent our evening in Jaco. I saw the sunset at the beach & had empanadas for dinner. I also bought a couple of bracelets from a shop I found.
June 26th. This was our last day on our tour, but a good one, nonetheless. We grabbed our breakfast to go so we could make our way back to San José. The first stop was to get a C-19 test that we each needed to get back into the United States. I'm grateful to say that all of our test results came back negative! That was relieving. After we got that out of the way, we went to the Doka Estate where we ate lunch and went on a coffee tour. For lunch we had casado (I got the fish this time) and this was my favorite out of every one I tried! We had a little time in between lunch and the tour to explore their butterfly garden. Since I was the last person in line to get my food for lunch, I only had about 5 minutes to look around before the tour started. As I was heading in the butterfly garden, mostly everyone had started to leave. I really had no time, but I really wanted to see the butterflies and maybe get a couple of pictures of them if I could. I was explaining to one of my friends that it was so difficult to capture them because of how they fly around so quickly. We were now the only two left in the garden as the tour was starting in a couple of minutes. I think he was trying to get some good butterfly photos as well, but just as I said that and was starting to head toward the exit, a large blue butterfly landed on me. It was such a lovely, magical moment that I'm so grateful I got to experience. <3 At first, I was very still to not disturb the butterfly, thinking it would fly away the moment I moved, but even as I started walking the butterfly stayed with me. Haha! Anyway, at the start of the coffee tour they gave us a sample to try, and it was delicious! We learned about how the berries grow and are harvested. Harvesting season is usually between October and February, but we still got to walk around the factory and learn about the whole process. It was really neat! At the end of the tour, I bought a couple of bags of ground coffee. (They sold the whole beans as well as ground coffee.) The two that I chose were both medium blends, one with a honey sort of flavor, and the breakfast blend which has a more chocolatey taste. :) It was also raining pretty hard at the end of the tour, and I had already packed my jacket in my suitcase. Lol, what can you do? We stayed at the same hotel as the first night, and we had our farewell dinner at El Cuartel. It was hard to believe this was our last night in Costa Rica!
June 27th. I was in the first group of us that had to be at the airport. I spent all night reorganizing my suitcase and getting my stuff together. I took a shower. I only slept for about an hour as we had to get going at 3 am. I didn't even sleep in the covers as I was too nervous that I would get super comfy and not wake up in time to leave! I figured I could sleep on the plane. Two of the friends I had made on this trip were also on my flight to Denver, so we stayed together while we waited to board. I did forget my suitcase at the other end of the airport and realized right before I went through security, so I had to go back and get it. One of the security guards was giving me a hard time letting me through once I got back even though I already had my stamp, but I didn't run into any problems after that! I was home by the afternoon, and just like that my trip to Costa Rica had come to an end. What an amazing trip, though! I got to visit some of the most beautiful places in the world, make a whole bunch of new friends, face fears I didn't know I had, and do things I never even dreamt of doing. Going on this trip was one of the best spontaneous decisions I have ever made, and I'm so grateful to have had this experience. ¡Pura Vida! <3 And if you have made it to the end of this blog post, thanks for reading! :)
-Allie Maria <3
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