Carrillo again!

Hello!

This past weekend we went to Playa Carrillo with our Costa Rican family! It was an amazing weekend - SO beautiful, and really, I couldn't have made it more perfect. People that I love, one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been, and some adventures too - we were so worn out at the end of each day, but it was definitely worth it!

On Saturday night, we all wanted to watch the sunset, but not just from anywhere - so, we asked permission from the owner of this mango plantation to walk up to some hilltops that Andres knew about. The owner said we could go on his property, so we walked through the plantation until we got to these hills ~ it was the most incredible sunset I've ever seen.

Such conquerors.

This place didn't have just one hilltop - it had three. So, what did we do?

...

Let's go!! :D

Yeah, it was pretty cool. Once we got to the third hill, of course, we saw at least ten - closer to twenty - howler monkeys in the trees. I can't say that howler monkeys are the most attractive animals I've ever seen, but it was awesome seeing them when I wasn't on a tour or at the zoo.

On Sunday, we walked to another beach that was completely different - it was a rocky coast and the tide was out, so of course, we climbed.

That was a long, hot walk, but so worth it. On the way back to the house, we were all pouring sweat and basically dying - the only thing we could all think about was jumping in the water once we were back! Let me tell you - I have never felt anything so amazing than jumping into that water after walking so far in the heat. Que rico!!

After recovering from our hike, we went to Samara, the closest town, and went to the beach there as the sun was setting. That time in the surf was one of the happiest times I have ever spent... and the sunset was beautiful. Margie and Meagan didn't want to get wet, so they sat on the beach while Andres and I tackled the waves. When we came back, Margie said, "Um Courtney, some lady just threw beer at us." Yep. A less-than-sober lady walking by decided to toss her beer at Margie and Meagan. It was so strange. Margie really wanted to go tackle her, but we decided against it. After drying off, we all just took a walk around Samara for a little while, went into this really cool art gallery, and then took a taxi back to Carrillo where we played cards until we fell asleep! Good times.

When it was finally Monday morning, departure time, we were pretty laid back - a little too much - because we missed the 9am bus to Nicoya where we would have taken a bus back to San Jose. But, we just hung out until 10:30 for the next bus. Then, about an hour later, we got off at Nicoya where we bought bus tickets to San Jose - but, everything was full until 5pm! So, we decided to get some lunch, (SO delicious), and then we just hung out and people-watched in a park for a few hours.

Watching people is so fascinating. And the park was really nice! The four hours went by fast.

Margs and Andres just chillin.

Did you know that dogs can smile?

;)

~*~

We finally got back in San Jose around 10pm... and now, back to the normal running in the morning and school during the day! I'm not sure what we're doing this weekend, possibly another adventure, but I guess we'll see!

~*~

"I thank God whenever I remember you." -Philippians 1:3

love,

Courtney

(World Traveler in Training)