El Caribe!

What an amazing weekend. I am getting so spoiled with these amazing weekends. It is so nice to get out of a long week of classes with a trip to look forward to on the weekend! Friday was my last day of my first Spanish class and I am happy to report I received a 95 in the class, so an A overall! Yay! Only one more Intensive Spanish class that will go through November 20th and then my two electives the whole time I'm here. So after class got out on Friday I met up with four of my friends at school where we caught a taxi to the bus station. Two of our friends left on an early morning bus so we were meeting them at our hostel. We had to take two taxis to the bus station, mine was perfectly smooth and we got there and got our bus tickets to Puerto Viejo, but our friends in the other taxi weren't showing up, and they weren't showing up... So we started to get panicked thinking of all the things that could have gone wrong. What a way to start the weekend! Luckily we had planned in a lot of extra time so eventually they came walking up saying that their taxi driver dropped them at the wrong bus station and they couldn't find the one we were supposed to be at. In the end it was a little hiccup, nothing too bad! Though they did get their tickets so late that their tickets were standing room only... So they ended up sitting in the aisle of the bus for the four hour ride. But we got to Puerto Viejo, a small beach town on the south Caribbean coast of the country. Our hostel was called Rocking J's and it was really big! It had every type of option, private rooms, dorm style, tents, and even hammocks!! I opted for the tent, which was only $8 for the night and had a small mattress on the floor of the tent. It was super hot in the tent, but besides that it was fine! So it was already dark when we got to our hostel, but the 6 of us went to a restaurant called Hot Rocks. The food was pretty good, but they also had karaoke, pool, and swings inside the restaurant! So that was really fun and we ended up spending the rest of the night there! And yes, I did participate in karaoke, only once and with another friend. But it was fun! 

Saturday we were up at 5 am! We opted to get a private shuttle to Panama instead of having to navigate the public buses across the border ourselves. It  ended up being just barely more expensive for the private van, and it was so worth it! The border was so confusing. We had to go to four different buildings with no signs in order to get into Panama. Also we had to leave our first van, walk across the border, and then into a different van for the rest of the way. Also we had to pay the CR exit fee, then fill out the Customs form, then get our passport stamped, and then pay the Panama entrance fee! All of these buildings were in different spots with no indications of where to go or in what order. So we all made it just fine, and were on our way to Bocas del Toro, Panama. The bus dropped us at our "water taxi" and we had to take this boat out to the island we were staying on! Bocas del Toro is very hot and humid, but it is really cute! Our hostel was very nice and we had a private room and bathroom. So we dropped our things off, and found a place for lunch. Then we rented bikes and rode out to Bluff beach! It was a pretty good distance and about half of it was unpaved and rocky. Needless to say my butt was a little bit sore the next day! But we made it to the beach and we were the only ones there! The waves were huge so we just stayed at the edge of the water. But it was really nice after such a hot bike ride. Once we dropped the bikes back off we showered and changed and I looked through TripAdvisor for a place for dinner. We chose a Caribbean place called "Capitan Caribe" with really good views. The reviews were spot on... I had the best burrito of my life!! It was amazing! It was called the "Tropical Burrito" and it had Coconut Rice, Pineapple and Tomato Chutney, Sour Cream, and Curry Chicken. 5/6 of us got it and were all in love. I probably sound ridiculous, but it was justified. The other girl got a Fish Burger which was apparently just as amazing.

The bridge into Panama

The amazing burrito!

Sunday we spent exploring the town more and buying some souvenirs (I bought a Panama patch), also had a delicious breakfast before leaving. At noon we caught the water taxi back to the mainland and crossed back over into Costa Rica! So it was a quick stop in Panama but I loved it! Being on an island surrounded by a bunch of smaller islands was beautiful! Plus I love to ride bikes, so that made the short stop that much more fun! Back at our same hostel in Costa Rica we went to another beach called Cocles Beach. I've never spent so much time in the ocean in my life! But that's the nature of Costa Rica I suppose! I'm not a big fan of sand, but the swimming and sitting on the beach is great. It was yet another beautiful beach and a very relaxing afternoon! Sunday night we found a restaurant close to the hostel and again, it was delicious! Most notably, we all split three desserts. A caramel crepe with ice cream, and two of this Argentinian dessert called Alfajor with ice cream. The waiter recommended the Alfajor and it was a good recommendation! We loved them! 
Then this morning I was again up early to catch the public bus back to San Jose! I got back about 30 minutes before my afternoon class. I didn't have Spanish this morning because my new class starts tomorrow so that's how I was able to stay through Monday in Puerto Viejo. 

The Alfajor

I was a little bit nervous going into this weekend just because it was our first weekend on our own and we were going across the border. But everything went so smoothly and it was a great experience! Luckily I was traveling with a great group of girls that made it that much easier.
Thanks for keeping up with my adventures to those of you reading! Jeremiah is recovering very well and getting more used to the inconveniences of school and everyday life. I am missing him a ton lately! But only 8 more weeks until I see him and the rest of my family again! Meanwhile I am treasuring all of these opportunities and adventures God is giving me here is Costa Rica!

Some pictures from last week:

Pura Vida!