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.