January 27:
Today we left Liberia and headed to Las Tortugas Hotel in Playa Grande. It was a leisurely day as we weren’t in a hurry to get anywhere or do anything—except study. Yes, our final exam is TOMORROW. A 2-hour essay exam at the beach? Is that even legal?
Playa Grande is on the Pacific side of Costa Rica and the beach is excellent! There are surfers and hammocks and tan people and dogs and ballsy monkeys that like to get REAL close to humans everywhere. Is this real life?
and I'm supposed to be studying.....?
After dinner we went to the Playa Grande National Park building in hope of seeing some leatherback turtles lay eggs on the beach. Everyone who comes to see these turtles waits outside of the protected beach area until one of the coast guards spots a turtle (or 2, or 3, or 4….) and gives 15 (or 30, or 60…) tourists the OK to come see the turtles. We were all excited to possibly have the opportunity to see some of these turtles; however, our chances were slim due to the fact that only 32 turtles were sighted in the past year (compared to 1,500 that were sighted in 1997!) Unfortunately, statistics got the best of us and we saw nothing but our study guides.
If you were a leatherback turtle would you come anywhere near us?? I don’t think so…. But let’s be honest, who really cares if you see a leatherback turtle laying eggs on the beach if you can just google it??
January 28:
We took our exam at 10 AM. Not bad, not bad at all. I am excited to note that we all got A's!!
After that it was a day at the beach! We swam, sunned, surfed, & shell-hunted. It was fantastic!!
Later we had dinner at a long table (that fit everyone!) and saluded our professor & our time together.
The next morning we had a long trip to San Jose to spend the night and then to the airport the next day! I am happy to report that our travels were smooth sailing!
To wrap up the blog, I asked for a "closing statement" (very open-ended) to sum up the trip for everyone. Here is a list of what I received!
Don't let the bullet ants bite!
So much here simply cannot be caught on camera.
Laugh, learn, consume responsibly, and apply enough sunscreen!
I'm going to miss the gallo pinto!
I'm a coffee drinker now! I feel so fortunate to have gone on this trip!
We all tried new things and made new friends!
Did we all just wake up from a beautiful, 25-day, shared dream? It was filled with mountains, cacao, inspiration, plantains, bliss, craziness, and yes, rice and beans. And I'm forever changed.
I'm moving back to the beach to guard the turtles! I could handle that kind of life.
Thank god for mild diuretics. I love coffee.
Strange country, strange food, strange company. Sounds like an adventure!
Sometimes you just need a shot in the ass...
When in doubt, say yes to late-night nature walks (and early-morning nature walks!)
El sol brillante,
Costa Rica ¡Que Vida!
Nos Regresamos.
(Haiku)
You can never go wrong with rice and beans.
I'm pretty sure I had the biggest suitcase on the trip. OUr bus dier made fun of me every time he lifted it off the top of our bus. He doesn't know much English, but he does know the word for "woman."
Ask the questions you need to have answered in order to know how to create a better world.
Things I am taking away from this trip:
Wanderlust (n): the strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.
An even deeper appreciation for farmers that like to develop a healthy relationship with the land and with nature.
Pura vida.
Hahahahhahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah (laughing yoga)
Numinous experience:
Overwhelming awe, sense of littleness, joy in being so much alive, dumbfounded wonder, mystery of beauty, reverence, self-abasement, exhilaration, bewilderment.
There's nothing like taking a final exam in your swimsuit.
Thanks for reading. Pura vida baby, pura vida.
Love,
Rae
