Hello, Caribbean!

This weekend was absolutely gorgeous! My friends and I spent it in Puerto Viejo, a little town in Southern Costa Rica right on the Caribbean Sea and almost in Panama. The weather was gorgeous, the people super laid-back and the food was delicious...

Corals on the beach!

Bananos for breakfast!

Gorgeous ocean, beach and palm trees!

Playa Negra!

Pretty much just enjoying life. :)

A place I now call home.

For the next 5 months I will be living with a host family in Heredia, Costa Rica. From day one they have welcomed me into their home with open arms and I know that once again I have been so lucky to be living with a wonderful and caring local family in a strange but gorgeous place!

Flying through the clouds!

Our last Saturday in Monteverde we went zip lining through the world famous cloud forest of Costa Rica. It was such a blast and definitely an unforgettable experience!

When we first got to the top of the mountain we were all freezing from the cold and wind (and admittedly, we were also pretty scared), but the further down we swung the warmer and the more fun it got!

Coffee, coffee, and more coffee!

   

In Monteverde we went to a coffee farm to learn all about the popular drink that most Costa Ricans (and pretty much every second person around the world) couldn't live without. There is so much to learn about coffee picking, roasting, and brewing but at least I feel a little more informed than before. Apparently the best kind of coffee is 100% arabica, from the high lands, and dried naturally for at least  6 hours! Also, light brew is usually of better quality than dark brew because the flavor as well as the caffeine are at its fullest. The darker the brew the longer the coffee bean was roasted, meaning it gets more flavorful but it loses its caffeine and can be of poorer quality because after a while the bean is just very burnt. Who knew!

Monteverde Paradise!

At the airport I met the other two wonderful girls from Wheaton and after a short night at the gorgeous Bougainvillea Hotel in Heredia we took the bus to Monteverde to start our first week of orientation.

Above you can see the first gorgeous sunset I witnessed in Costa Rica. During out first week we did all kinds of things including Spanish, square dance, arts & craft classes, talks on CR culture and people, visits to natural reserves, farms, and the tiny touristy town Santa Elena.  

And so my Costa Rica adventure begins...

"You can never cross the ocean, unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore"

Once again I'm taking another step away from the familiar and into the unknown. It definitely isn't easy to go beyond one's limits but I'm convinced that in the end it will be worth it. :)