Jaco with Alexis, Colin, Nick, and James.
After class on Thursday a few classmates and I decided to venture to
Jaco which is a beach about an hour and a half away from Puntarenas. My
first Costa Rican bus ride was executed flawlessly for about 1 mil (2
dollars), and we gained a very inaccurate depiction of how traveling
works here. The bus didn’t have many people on it at all, we could sit
and not stand, the seats were comfy, AND it was on time. Honestly weird
circumstances for this country.
Watching the changing landscape in such a
short amount of time was absolutely incredible: from oceans to
mountains to farms and back again over and over again. The vibrant
colors and the breeze through the open windows made for an honestly
breathtaking travel experience. When we arrived, it was straight to the
beach. The waves in Jaco were much stronger, the sand lighter, and the
ocean clearer than Puntarenas. Alexis and I spent awhile talking while
Nick tried (unsuccessfully) to teach the guys how to surf. We all
realized that we were starving and headed into town to grab a bite.
The
restaurant we found ended up playing music videos from Shaggy, Rihanna,
and old country music stars. It was thoroughly confusing and thoroughly
entertaining. I had the freshest Strawberry smoothie I can imagine while
we danced in our seats to throwbacks. Afterwards it was back to the
beach where James and I decided to race to catch the sunset from giant
rocks in the middle of the ocean. We got there just in time, and were
the only people there to see it. It was absolutely the most incredible
and rewarding sunset of my life.
I know I keep saying that everything is
“the most,” and, “the best,” this and that, but it’s just the truth.
My shoes were wet and slipping off the rocks as we lept and trudged to
get there in time. To our left was the ocean that looked like it went on
forever and then dropped, never to be seen again. Directly in front of
us was the sun, huge over the ocean and changing from yellow to pink to
orange and creating a bridge of light through the ocean. To our right
were mountains covered in thick layers of greenery and forest. Behind us
the beach and sand extended back to our friends. Below us the tide came
in as waves crashed onto the rocks beneath our feet and exploded into
the air when they made contact. It was a moment in my life that I want
to etch into my memory and never forget for as long as I live. We
returned to Puntarenas in the night where I was greeted by my extended
family (this is everyday) and got to tell them all about my adventure
for the day. I kept saying, “I just can’t believe this is a Thursday.”
Here’s to many more Thursdays to come.
San Jose with USAC.
4:30 in the morning rolled up a little too early and with not enough
food. We had to be at USAC at 5:15, and it was a few hours on a bus
before we arrived in San Jose and had sandwiches for breakfast. Once I
got some food in my belly, I was all set to sit in immigration to be
fingerprinted and complete some paperwork to obtain my visa in 8 weeks.
This place felt a lot like a Costa Rican version of a DMV, but the
process moved a lot faster, and the people were a lot nicer. While we
waited I was arguably a little too entertained by some gummies that were
shaped like teeth…that I then proceeded to stuff my mouth with like
teeth. Afterwards, a few of us wandered around the city for a beat.
We
passed beautiful graffiti on walls all over the city and found trees
that you can peel the bark off of to reveal stripes of red, green, and
yellow. They looked like someone had taken a paint brush to them, and we
were quite entertained until we realized that we needed to be back at
the immigration office to catch a bus and none of us had been paying
attention to where we were going. We lucked out and got there with time
to spare so, naturally, Colin decided to climb a tree.
We took the bus
to The Costa Rican Art Museum where a giant
group of us proceeded to revert back to childhood and began to recreate
the statues and paintings around the grounds. We were all laughing
hysterically and even got a few of the guides laughing with us. After
being 8, I learned that this museum had one of the most incredible works
of art I've seen. There was an entire room in which the walls were
carved from wood, stained gold. You began at one corner of the room and
made your way around while the walls told you the entire history of
Costa Rica up to the present. Breathtaking is too light of a word to
describe the awe that the unexpected detail and beauty instilled in
me.
Afterwards, we ventured to the mall. I am proud to say that in the
presence of Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and KFC, every single one of us
instantly decided to go to the classic Costa Rican food booth. While we
were at the mall, a very important decision was made. Why would we wake
up at 4 again to catch the ferry to Montezuma when we could return home
by 4 p.m. after San Jose, repack, and turn around to catch the 5:30 p.m.
ferry to Montezuma, be there by 10, and stay in an Air BnB for the
night? After some, “Can we pull this off?” and, “How do we find an Air
Bnb for 11 people?” an Air Bnb was booked and our host families were
contacted. The bus ride was spent getting excited for our first
overnight trip whichhhhh WAS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE. But you can’t hear
about it yet because I need a cliffhanger. Adios!
--
Read more from Caroline at: http://carolinegeorge95.wix.com/puntarenas
For more information on the USAC Costa Rica: Spanish
Language, Ecological, and Latin American Studies in Puntarenas program, visit: http://usac.unr.edu/study-abroad-programs/costa-rica/puntarenas
