Spring Break!

            Once again, I am sorry I’ve been slacking so much. We came back from spring break to have our last week of classes, and then went off on another trip Thursday. I haven’t had much time to sit down and write at all. Spring break was a phenomenal week, and I had a great time.

            The break started off on a bit of a rocky start. A good majority of us happened to all be going down to Puerto Viejo, which is in the Limon Province on the other side of the country. We decided to charter a bus down there, because we figured it would be faster and cheaper. We left pretty early for the four hour long bus ride awaiting us. It was a pretty ride with beautiful scenery and Ice Age 4 playing in the background. All was well until about three hours into the bus ride.  I had fallen asleep, but was awoken when we stopped for a bathroom break by someone telling me that I had to get off because the bus was on fire. It turned out to only be a minor fire, and the bus was not seriously damaged. It turned out that a piece of trash got stuck in one of the front wheels, and got so hot it ignited. But the fire was quickly extinguished and we were soon on our way.

            We stayed at Rockin J’s, which was a really neat hostel right next to the beach. This was the coolest place I have ever stayed. I can’t even begin to describe it. They had music playing all day and night, with large outdoor areas to hang out with people.You had the option of sleeping outside in hammocks or tents, or inside in their dorms. The group I was travelling with decided to stay in the dorms, which was just a room filled with bunkbeds. There were other people staying in the room with us- we met a couple of kids from Germany, West Virginia and Canada. We met people from all over the world staying at Rockin J’s. We made two good friends there- a girl from the States and another from Canada. They hung out with us for the remainder of the time we were in Puerto Viejo, and then Sarai (the girl from Canada) decided to come with us to San Jose.

A panoramic of one part of Rockin J's. This picture doesn't do it justice.

My friend Sarah and I on the beach the first night. Right next to us was a bar that had live music, which was really nice.

Sarah and Sarah enjoying the water and a Jamaican ginger beer.

            Puerto Viejo was stunningly beautiful. I loved every minute of it. We didn’t do much during the days we spent there except explore the town, hang out on the beach, and eat delicious food. So much good food. It was one of the first times in Costa Rica where we had more than two options for what kinds of food we wanted. And it was all delicious.

Some of the tidepools we got to explore. There were lots of brilliantly colored tropical fish swimming around!

Some delicious yogurt parfait.

A sign pointing towards Rockin J's.

            Eventually, it was time to leave this beautiful place, and travel to San Jose. We originally planned to spend a night in San Jose and then travel up to La Fortuna. But as we drove into the city, we noticed that pretty much everything was closed, which we thought was odd. When we hailed a taxi to take us to the hostel, they told us that we should get out of the city as soon as possible. Since it was Holy Week, everything closed down during the last part of the week. If we stayed there overnight, we would be trapped with no food and no way to get out. We hired the taxi to take us to a nearby town and caught the last bus out to La Fortuna. We didn’t arrive in La Fortuna until about eight at night, and almost didn’t get a room. Apparently it was a really popular night to be there, and there were no hostels with any beds, let alone enough for six people. Luckily we finally found one that had just enough rooms for us. It wasn’t the nicest place to stay, but at that point we were just happy to be off the streets and out of the rain.

            We spent the next day recuperating from the long day of travel (we were in a bus or taxi from nine in the morning to 8 at night) and exploring. La Fortuna was incredibly touristy, but overall a nice place to stay. The next day was a lot more fun. Five of us decided to go zip lining (the other girl wanted to go horseback riding). We zip lined down the volcano on fifteen zip lines and a tarzan swing. It was a really cool experience to go zooming down through the rainforest canopy and seeing the gorgeous views at high speeds. I think the guy who tied my harness did it a little too tight though, because I felt like my circulation was being cut off a bit and I have bruises on my legs from the straps. But it was fun nonetheless. My favorite part was the tarzan swing. You walk up to this ledge with a huge drop (probably about 80 feet or so) and a rope dangling down. The men working the swing usher you to the very edge, where nothing but a tiny swinging gate keeps you from falling off the edge. They grab you by the harness, attach you to the rope, and then swing open the gate. You either chose to jump yourself, or they “help” you off the edge. It’s a straight drop down, and then you soar out over a large gap in the forest. Since they are paying attention, they pull the rope enough so that you don’t hit the GIANT tree that you’re heading right for. You swing for a bit, and then once your momentum slows, they grab you by the feet and take you off the harness. It was awesome. There were a lot of people doing it, ranging from probably six to a gentleman in his sixties. Costa Rica is definitely one of the best places to go zip lining!

            The day after, we went to the Baldi Hot Springs. It’s a natural set of springs heated by the volcano. There were fifteen different pools to choose from, ranging from about sixty degrees to 130 degrees. There was a sauna (heated by boiling pools of water), a spa, waterslides, restaurants, bars, and a garden. I haven’t been on a waterslide in years, and I forgot how much fun they are. There was one slide that made you go forty-five kilometers per hour, and had these insane loops. It was a lovely end to our wonderful vacation.

Puerto Viejo sunset.