Volcan Irazu y Iglesias

This week went well. Friday we finally had ceramics and our reforestation class. In the reforestation class we go up to Jorge’s mountain house and sift through horse poop and clean the area to plant trees. But what is cool is that since I am a biology major, another girl and I get to do a different project. We are taking photos of all the trees and plants in the area as well as insects or any other animals and we have to identify them. We have to find their scientific names from our pictures and the characteristics that we have noted. Then at the end of the semester we are going to present all of the information and catalog the plants in the area. Friday night we went out to some bars in Santa Ana as well which was fun.




Saturday we went to Volcano Irazu. We left at 7am for the volcano and arrived around 9. This volcano last erupted in 1963, the day JFK arrived in Costa Rica. We could look down and see the greenish lagoon in the crater principal, seen in the picture. It was really pretty because we were literally in the clouds. It was a pretty cloudy day but on a clear day you can see the Caribbean and Pacific ocean from Volcano Irazu.

We were also able to see another volcano in Costa Rica that just erupted a few weeks ago; Volcano Turrialba. It was really neat because you could see all the smoke coming from the volcano!



After the volcanoes, we went to ruins in Cartago and the Basillica of Our Lady of Angels in Cartago as well. It was really beautiful. We learned a lot about the Basilica and the story behind why it was built. The story is basically a girl from the village found a statue of the Virgin Mary on a rock and took it home. The next day, the statue was missing and the girl found it back on the rock on which she found it the day previous. So the little girl took it again, and again, the next day the statue was back on the rock to where she found it originally. The church was then built around this statue.

At the Basilica, the orinigal statue on the rock is kept in a glass area and people come to pray. Many people come to ask for miracles from la Reina de los Angeles and when their miracle is granted they bring gifts according to their miracle. (Like if people asked for a miracle involving their leg or something like that, people would bring a charm of a leg)

We then went to other ruins of a Church in Cartago as well and another church in Orosi. We had a huge lunch around 4pm and headed back to Santa Ana afterwards. I had a nice and relaxing evening last night with Jess. We got food and watched a few episodes of Friends and The Office. It was a very American night. Then we both went to bed by 10pm.

Today we went to Spanish mass in Santa Ana, walked through the markets, because every Sunday there is a market, similar to the Farmer’s market and spent the day doing homework and catching up with friends. We are going rafting tomorrow, and leaving at 6am! It will be an adventure. Til next time!

Week 2. I forgot that when you study abroad, you actually have to go to class and do homework. That’s too bad. So this was my first official week of classes. Monday, we never have class. Tuesday, 2 classes (one is dance though..). Wednesday, 3 classes. Culture, Ecology and Literature. It’s our busiest day. Thursdays, only dance class. Friday, reforestation, sometimes…when we don’t go on an excursion.

This past weekend we adventured to Manuel Antonio National Park. We left at 6am on Friday morning. Part way through the bus ride we stopped at a restaurant for huevos and gallo pinto and café. The café there was the best I have tasted yet. After that we stopped at the Tarcoles river, where we saw many cocodrillos (crocodiles). About an hour after we got back on the bus, we arrived at Manuel Antonio National Park. We went on a few hour hike through the park. Along the way we saw howler monkeys (very far away), white-faced monkeys, iguanas and many hermit crabs and trees. After the hike, we arrived at a white, sandy beach. We were so so sweaty after the hike because it was incredibly hot that day. Cooling off in the ocean felt good. At the beach, we saw about…20 or so white-faced monkeys. We saw them inches away from our faces. I saw one sneak into someone’s bag and steal a whole package of cookies. Then another stole an entire package of crackers. It was absolutely hilarious.


After our relaxation on the beach we hiked back to the entrance of the park where we saw a few Squirrel monkeys. After we had a great lunch and went back on the bus to Punta Leona, a almost resort spread out over a few miles in the forest. We had dinner there and went to bed afterwards, being exhausted from the day. The rooms were so nice and cool. The place itself is very very beautiful, being in the middle of Costa Rica’s forests along with the wildlife. While we ate breakfast the next morning there were several monkeys in the eating area. They would be on the roofs ready to snatch food when people were not looking. We saw several steal packets of sugar off the tables. There were also pizotes that were around along with the monkeys. They look almost like a mix between a raccoon and an ant eater. Very cute.



We spent the day at Playa Blanca, a beautiful white sandy beach. We took a long walk around the beach as well which was great. We discovered a great area with huge rocks and a cave. It was gorgeous. After spending the day at the beach, the group took another hike through the forest. We had dinner that night, watched some salsa dancing and then I went to bed early. I had to get up early the next morning for bird watching. Sunday morning we went bird watching at 6am and saw several birds. The best sightings were the Scarlet Macaws that we saw. They are so majestic!!


We got back to Santa Ana on Sunday around 6pm. That night, 3 girls and myself went to a pizza place which was amazing! I was in bed by 9pm! It was wonderful. I’m off to dinner now. I’ll update again soon.

My first week in Costa Rica!

I have been in Costa Rica for officially one week!! It’s been great so far. First of all, the flights into Costa Rica were so easy. We had no delays or long periods of waiting at all. It was great. The flights in total were about 5 hours. So great. When we got there, our program director Jorge took us all out for ice cream at POPS. We drove to Santa Ana from the airport and then met our host families. Jess and I live together with our host mom, Elieth. She is really nice, she speaks no English and she is pretty easy to communicate with in Spanish. She is an amazing cook! AMAZING. So far I have enjoyed every meal, I always come away from meals feeling very full but so satisfied. The food here is incredible. For breakfast we have different fruits, either papaya, banana, pineapple, strawberry and usually toast and of course, café. The coffee is so great here, I love it. I feel so spoiled with all this fruit!

Like I said, I live with Jess in Elieth’s house. Our rooms are right across the hall from one another. This is a picture of me in my room. Elieth does our laundry every day! Again, sooo spoiled! We don’t have any wireless at my house but I’ll be on every few days because other people have wireless at their host houses.

Anyway, last week we hiked in the mountains for a day. We saw several bugs and unique flowers. When we were driving back down from the mountains we saw a Boa Constrictor on the side of the road. It was awesome! The hike was really fun too. We were literally walking down the side of the mountain, climbing under barbed wire and making up our own paths in the forest. We spent the afternoon at Don Jorge’s other house, the one in the mountains. We had lunch there, which was of course wonderful. And coffee. The view from the mountains was amazing as well.

I’m enjoying my group a lot. There are eleven of us, 9 girls and 2 boys. We went to a bar in Santa Ana last week, Bar Amigos! That was really fun.

Friday through Sunday was spent at the Double Tree resort in Puntarenas. It was amazing, like paradise. The resort was our way to relax, enjoy the sun, the beach and just have fun. It was all inclusive, so room, food and drinks. We swam a lot through the days, in the ocean and the pool. One pool at the resort had a swim up bar, which was really neat. At night we went dancing after dinner which was super fun. I got slightly burnt this weekend, but it’s turned into a tan by now.

In Puntareanas, we also had our first taste of a Costa Rican specialty, a Churchil. It’s a dessert, like a combination between icecream and a snowcone. It’s very sweet, but so good.

Yesterday, a group of us went to San Jose to explore. We had lunch there and walked around, shopping and exploring. Went to some parks and figured out how to work the bus system.

This is our first full week of classes. I had a advanced conversation class today, that is only with 2 other students. I also had the Latin dance class, which is a blast. This weekend we are going to Manuel Antonio National Park. Pura Vida mis amigos!