SPRING BREAK!

We packed up our things and headed to Santa Rosa National Park in the very hot and dry province of Guanacaste. We spent the first two nights camping in the park which is made up entirely of dry forest. It's a completely different ecosystem (and climate) than we're used to at the top of the mountain. There are lots of monkeys and iguanas lounging about. I saw spider monkeys and capuchins throughout the days, and in the mornings we woke to the sound of howler monkeys at dawn. Given the amount of noise they make, I couldn't believe it when I saw how small they are. I also saw an anteater sleeping in a tree. I didn't realized they slept in trees or that they were so cute. Camping was great fun, except that many of us didn't really have sleeping bags, and I got a cold from the drastic change in temperature and weather conditions.

The sleeping anteater:



A posing spider monkey:



The following two nights were spent camping on the soft sands of Junquillal Beach in the fishing town of Cuajiniquil. It was BEAUTIFUL and much more comfortable. Nobody else was camping there, so our group had our own private outlet to Pacific ocean.



Lunch visitor:




We spent the first day setting up camp and lounging on the beach. When we woke up the next day, we went snorkeling. Yes, I went snorkeling. In the water. Of the ocean. Where the water was over my head. I still have to get the pictures from my professor's underwater camera, but BELIEVE IT. It was great fun until I scraped my knee on coral, panicked thinking I would attract sharks, started kicking frantically, and was impaled by a sea urchin. I didn't realize that like car mirrors, the goggles had an Objects are Closer (and hurt a lot more) Than They Appear-effect, and I had made my way to a pretty shallow area. I quickly got back into the boat, and hid my bleeding legs under my towel. I was with some pretty serious ocean-hugging coral lovers, so I really convinced myself that I should keep quiet rather than potentially get scolded for the damage I'd caused during my panic-induced coral kickfest.


OH AND WE SAW A HUMPBACK WHALE ABOUT 100 METERS AWAY. I know I'm a huge baby about being in the water, but it was a very humbling experience to think I was swimming in the same pool as a humpback whale.


The next morning, we woke up bright and early, packed up our tents, and got ready for our trip to Nicaragua. The trip to Nicaragua was mostly just to get us out of Costa Rica because we're here as tourists and none of us have visas, so by leaving the country and re-entering, we can stay for another 90 days, but we were all excited to have a couple days without impromptu ecology lessons. The city of Granada is beautiful. I loved loved loved the colonial architecture and markets and bright colors. It reminded me a lot of Antigua, Guatemala.
Wandering around the market:



The first night we went out to a club, and somehow I was convinced that karaoke would be a good idea. Cally and I sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," and later, "I Will Survive." Both were crowd favorites.


The next night was Allison's birthday, so we went out to dinner where I proceeded to get VERY sick. (I really have to remember to quit my ice-eating habit while I'm in developing countries.) The group went out dancing and I spent the night curled up at the hotel. The following morning was Friday the 11th, and while we were eating breakfast and getting ready to think about packing for the beach, we received the devastating news about Japan, and found out that the entire Pacific coast was under a tsunami warning. Not the best time to head for the Pacific coast. It was a nice two days in Nicaragua, but it was time for me to return. One scary ocean experience was enough for one trip for me. It was sad to go, and even though the tsunami didn't amount to much here, I still think coming home was the right decision. Nicaragua was insanely cheap in comparison to Monteverde, and I came home loaded with souvenirs.

Quite silly: