Wow – I’m back from Costa Rica.. what a trip!
To recap: The LD House (minus Tyler), Chad, Matty, Haffey, Rob, Ashley, and Erica all traveled south to Jaco Beach, Costa Rica for Spring Break. 8 of us stayed at the Club Del Sol, while Seth Beau Rob and Luke stayed at the Arenal Pacifico.
The weather was gorgeous – always 85+ degrees and mostly sunny. Our trip started off perfectly with a fun cab ride from San Jose to Jaco. It’s a gorgeous (but rough) 2 hour drive through the mountains to the beach. The place we stayed in was amazing – it’s not a hotel, but privatley owned condos that they rent out. It’s only 2 months old, and very very nice.
Our days consisted mainly of surfing (big waves), laying out, hanging out at the pool, reading, and just relaxing. The weather was phenominal compared to Virginia weather.. it was just nice to wear shorts and sandals! Our nights consisted of heading out to random bars, restaurants, casinos, and just hanging out. Nothing too wild, nothing too crazy, just fun.
A few things to note: One of our guides who drove us from the airport to the beach was a soccer player, and he invited us to go play with him and a bunch of Ticos (The locals). So one day, Luke Beau Chad Tessier and I went to a field with him and played a game of 20v20 soccer. It was a great experience. The players ranged from young teenagers to 40/50 year old men. They were pretty serious, but unfortunately not all that good. Tessier managed to score a goal, while Luke managed to dribble too much and get drilled..
One day, Jay Ashley and I went on an excursion to the rain forest. We woke up at 7:30 AM and took an hour drive south of Jaco to the rainforest. We took an hour horseback ride up the mountains, which was amazing. Who knew horses could carry you up and down steep mountains like that? After we got high enough, we went Canopy Touring. For those who don’t know, Canopies are set up all throughout the jungles in Costa Rica. They are tree stands high up with thick cables in between. They attach a harness to you, give you a handbrake, then attach you to the cable. You swing fast from one side to the other. Our canopy tour was over 450 feet over the ground, and was quite breathtaking. Flying through the rainforest is pretty incredible. After the canopy tour, we went to a local house and had a great typical Costa Rican lunch (beans, rice, chicken, salad, coffee) and then walked down to some natural springs. It was a side pool on the river warmed by a Volcano nearby. The hot springs felt just like a hot tub. We even got a mud bath while we were in there. We then rode our horses back to where our car was and drove home.
Needless to say, I’m upset to be back in Virginia. We all had a blast while we were there. It’s even sadder we’re returning to snowy weather and tons of work to do.. (I have a huge assignment due this week, as well as a midterm and a few job interviews). I’m currently working on compiling all the video and pictures taken.. they will definitely be up here by next weekend. I took over 2 and a half hours of video, and our group had to have taken hundreds of pictures.
I hope everyone had a great spring break, and now back to reality..