Tuesday, February 4, 2014

After waking up and having my first experience with the shower at the homestay, I had a breakfast that consisted of watermelon, rice and beans, and pan.  The watermelon and juice was delicious, but I am still getting used to having rice being a main staple of my diet.  After waiting around for a little bit and helping Lilliana sweep the leaves, Di arrived from the hotel with the car and we were off to Manuel Antonio.  Manuel Antonio is a national park on the Pacific side of Costa Rica.  Upon arrival, Di bought a Pipas Fritas which is essentially a coconut that you drink the water out of and then scrape the white guts out of to eat.  I got to taste it and it was delicious!  Afterwards, we entered the rain-forest-y part of the park.  In this section, we walked through a path that was approximately 10 feet wide that cut through the trees.  We looked for and found a couple of sloths as we were in the forest and as we got to the end of the forest part, we saw several monkeys.  The monkeys were right up next to us and offered the opportunity for some photos if they would ever keep still and not have their backs to us.  After having our share of monkey fun, we changed into our bathing suits and checked out the beach.  The beach was beautiful and the water was even better.  It was a fantastic 80 something degrees and allowed us to just float and ride the waves as they came in.  This lasted until we were ready to rinse off, change, and find something to eat.  We ended up choosing this restaurant that cooked their pizzas over an open fire.  The three students had a different kind of 12 inch pizza, while Di had a hamburger.  We ended up sharing food.  In addition, I had my first chance to try a Costa Rican beer.  I had an Imperial Cerveza and found it to be quite tasty.  It reminded me of something like a Budweiser.  Also, the chairs at the table were rocking chairs, adding to the relaxing and laid-back atmosphere.  iEs la Pura Vida!  We finished up and hit the road back to Santa Ana.  On the way, we stopped at a bridge overlooking a river.  In the river, there were 10-15 fully grown crocodiles that we had a bird’s eye view to see; cool pictures followed.  Finally, we made it back.  I was still full, so I did not eat, but I did sit with Zoey and Lilliana while they ate and got to listen to and interject when I could the many different stories that Lilliana had to tell.  She’s very sweet and reminds me of one of my Spanish professors at OSU with her expressions and stories.  Exhausted, I started this journal and went to bed.