#1month

As you can see from the title..I have one month left in the beautiful country of Costa Rica! With this fact comes some super bittersweet feelings. I'm sad to be able to count down my time without using months as a reference point. It's weird that this place that I've called home for three months and the friends I have.made be so far away. But it's exciting that I get to go home to my family, my friends, my school, and my teams that I have missed for so long.
I find myself getting caught up in emotions and becoming introspective a lot of the time.
How will I feel when I get home? Will I be completely ok? Will I miss everything here? Will I carry these feelings of hyperawareness with me?
I am doing everything I can do BE HERE..but it's a struggle when I get so excited knowing that I'm in the homestretch! One thing I do know though...this experience has changed my life. And it is shaping me every single day. From the thoughts I have during the day, the people I encounter, the relationships I have, to the experiences and adventures I still have yet to take on...everything is making me answer the questions I have.
Who am I..truly?
What do I want to do with my life and do I want out of it?
Most importantly..How is my relationship with God? How can I live out His will for me? What plans does He have for me?
This last month I feel will be great because I have time for once. But it will also dictate how I function when I get back...because I am making myself be productive and organized yet "tranquila."

Although this isn't much about explaining my awesome adventures here, I felt like sharing some of my thoughts/struggles/feelings. Time away from home really makes me introspective!! Maybe too much ;)

Olive juice amor, xo :)

Allie

...Post...

...Continued from Manuel Antonio...
Finally! On the last leg of this post! This one is a combination of Volcan Arenal and Playa Tamarindo.
The reason I combined them is because I don't have many pictures of either (I will be grabbing from my friends who took pics!) As you know from my previous post, my camera was in the backpack that was stolen from me...and my phone is broken. Allie, for the win!
Another reason I don't have many pictures is I didn't do much at either place.
I need you all to not freak out, but I got assaulted again the night before going to Volcan Arenal. It was traumatic and I'm working the best I can to recover..but I am still kicking people! I'm a fighter and I'm brave. And I have many stories to tell..good ones of course :)
Here goes!
Volcan Arenal was beautiful. We stayed at Hotel Los Lagos..and again, major gringo fest! The hotel was very spread out and had like 5 different pools..some normal..and some very, VERY warm! Hot springs!! I spent about 90% of my time there..and eating at the buffet! All I needed was right there!

We also visited La Fortuna waterfall. It was incredible! It was kinda cold and rainy but that didn't stop us..we swam! After walking down over 400 steps, it was necessary.

I apologize for the lack of pictures...it was gorgeous I swear! Guess it's just something I'll get to remember in my mind ;)

NEXT UP: Tamarindo!

And with this one I apologize as well for the lack of pictures. Tamarindo was beautiful and probably the most relaxing time I have had here. I literally did nothing all weekend. Well, besides eat, sleep, swim, and hang out with my friend Kalina. Honestly, it was incredible! Our hotel was right on the ocean and had three pools. Heaven (have I said that before?) 

Sometimes I have moments where I wish I would have explored more. But I enjoyed the time that I spent in both places and I get to keep those memories for life. So no regrets :)

Thanks for putting up with my three posts today!

I will be better at keeping you updated!

Olive juice amor, xo :)

Allie

...Long...

...Continued from Panama...
Two in one day!? I know, it's crazy. But there are some things that have been revealed lately. One being, I need to just do things and put in the time to do them right. Sometimes in my life I have these great aspirations but I give up half-way or don't put in the work to get a project to be excellent. Well, I'm done with that. Starting with being more dedicated to by blog and in turn, to exploring with the little time I have left in Costa Rica!
Because, people, I have less than 2 months left! AH!
But to get to the point...here are some pictures to describe my amazing trip to Manuel Antonio! This was the first ISA excursion we took...with all 100 gringo students. To say we took over the hotel is an understatement!
Hotel San Bada was flooded with crazy gringos all weekend...it was beautiful. NO! Not the flooded with gringos, the hotel itself...look at this 4 star hotel:

Not to mention the pool on the 6th floor..which I don't have a good pic of :(
Or the view of the sunset..

In Manuel Antonio I had the chance to eat in an airplane, ride horse to a sweet waterfall, sleep in a wonderful bed, play volleyball on the beach, spend the whole day in my bathing suit, view scenery I didn't even know existed, see howler monkeys (right outside out balcony). Que mas? I may think of some later...Manuel Antonio was a marvelous way to kick off our ISA Trips!

Check out this sweet pic of the water fall...or me jumping from it :)

Just jump!

Yeah, this trip rocks :P

....To be continued...

One...

Hoooooolaaaaa mis amigos!

I realized the other day that I have not posted in about a month. And I do apologize! I have nothing more to say for myself besides that I was either busy...or completely and utterly lazy.
Let's see..since the last time I posted, I have been to:
-Bocas del Toro, Panama
-Manuel Antonio
-Volcan Arenal
and
-Playa Tamarindo

There were 4 weekends in a row where I had trips planned and was on the go! Then this weekend, I was as lazy as they come! Besides visiting Hard Rock Cafe with Ale and Fercho (one of my tica sisters and her friend), as well as attending a church service where my tica family goes to church! Oh and of course, chilling with Kalina all day Saturday, watching a movie and discussing her wedding plans! She definitely made me want to find the love of my life and marry him already!
Monday though, was tough as well as most of the week. I had been feeling so homesick it wasn't even funny..but that's for a later post!
This is about my amazing adventures in some totally amazing places!
First- Bocas del Toro, Panama! Most of this is going to be pictures..since those are worth a thousand words. However, I will say..everything there was so cheap! And they use dollars, little different than the colones I was used to for a month! (This trip was at the end of September) Also, Bocas is so relaxed and absolutely beautiful.
Now for the pictures! I apologize they are a little out of order..but what's life without a little chaos?

Being a model at the beach-Estrella del Mar...

...instead of ice cream everyday- here it is a treat..a DELICIOUS one...

...all we wanted was patacones and fish..we got it..

...the sunrise was gorgeous if I do say so myself...

...and the tourists there, even more beautiful...

...especially when they snorkel...

...wasn't lying about the prices, people..food for dayssss...

...poor Carolina couldn't get Pina Coladas with us...

...something about the colors just got to be...

...just so beautiful...

...and fun, because you have to take water taxis all over..

...but the bridge though..totally SKETCH...

...all I can say for myself is I'm a gringa, leave me be (referring to peanut butter)!

So that was my trip to Panama in a nutshell...and I have to say-things may have gotten a little crazy the first night we were there. Two words...aqua lounge. They not only had pools to jump into the ocean, they had swings. I thought I was in heaven. Too.Much.Fun. 

Also want to thank my friend Hilary for being the photographer all weekend! 

...To be continued...

Head in the Clouds...Literally

Hola everyone! So after my not so fun post about real life yesterday...I want to remind everyone (myself included) that with life not only comes learning lessons and scary parts, it comes with some really wonderful adventures and experiences. Obviously my whole time spent in Costa Rica is one big adventure, but within my trip there are many chances to explore the country. I did so with my friends last weekend in MONTEVERDE!
Today was a day when I just felt nervous about everything. Some friends of mine were kind enough to walk me home and we passed some guys just sitting by a house. On the outside I was calm, but on the inside I was freaking out. I wanted to go do something today but I decided to take the day to just chill. I need to stop stressing but I will wait until I'm a little more recovered! In lieu of that, I decided to think happy thoughts and post about The Cloud Forest (hence the title!)

Honestly, I just wanted to go to Monteverde because of zip-lining. I had never done anything like that and was in a major hurry to go! Since that was not one of the excursions included with ISA, my friends Jo, Hilary, Ragha, and I decided to plan our trip (with the help of Jason from Tico Tours) and venture on our own.
Well, I think we did a pretty FREAKING good job :) We all had a wonderful time and plan to go back!

This is just a sample of the craziness during the weekend, this was the Friday night...girl time!

Our weekend plan was to zip-line, do the walking bridges, and then do something on Sunday before we left. Hilary and Ragha wanted to bungee jump, but Jo and I were going to do a chocolate tour instead! Keep reading to find out exactly what we did ;)

Friday:
We left San Jose on a bus toward Monteverde at 2:30p...a 5 hour bus ride. Ugh! It honestly wasn't bad..actually quite beautiful! That is until it got dark and we made our way up the mountain. I definitely had a stomach ache going up a bumpy, dirt road for an hour. But we finally got there a little before 8pm.
A little story for you too...Jo and I are both from Minnesota and we actually met a guy from Olivia, MN while on our trip! We ended up seeing him and his girlfriend (from Norway) all three days! He actually knows someone who goes to BLC..how small is the world!?
So, the hostel we stayed had amazing service. The name is Camino Verde and I would recommend it to anyone who was going to Monteverde. We were picked up and were shown (sort of-it was dark and cloudy ha) downtown and where some of the best places to eat were. But let me tell you, when we got to Camino Verde...all of us were in awe. This place is beautiful! I would put up the pictures that I took (like 500 literally) but oh, some thugs decided to be cool and take my camera including my pics..so I will be showing ones my friends took! Don't worry-they're just as good as mine! But seriously, we all squealed with joy because we were practically in heaven! I want to take everyone there! It may have helped that we were "on cloud nine" ha. Not only did, Jose our host for lack of a better term, pick us up, he booked our tours and bought our bus tickets for us. Camino Verde also had free coffee all day..I don't think it gets better than that!
The rest of Friday night we spent by going to a local soda..the food was amazing...and having girl time just chilling, talking, and maybe having a bottle or two of wine! We live the life!

Saturday:
Breakfast was included during our stay and we woke up to eat (I got pancakes and fruit...and coffee!) before our activities for the day. I was SO pumped to FINALLY go zip-lining! First up though was the hanging bridge tour of the forest. And gosh...it was one of the most beautiful, serene, green places I've ever seen.
And at this time I am going to direct you to Jo Dobrowski's flickr for pictures of our weekend!

Pura Vida!

We booked with 100% Aventura but there were many other companies to go through..that's what made some of the planning stressful! But after the forest was..you guessed it...ZIP-LINING! AHHHH! 
All I can say about it-SO.MUCH.FUN. Wow! When we did the longest part of the zip line I was surprised I wasn't scared! I was so high above the ground! And everything under me was green and gorgeous! When on the line, you get going so fast it's kind of a cool rush! Not to mention-we did the superman! It's the longest one in Monteverde I believe..and super high! This poor girl in front of us was freaking out. Going superman that high, and for a minute and a half...holy amazeballs. Plus, the clouds were rolling in so it was like just a line into nowhere. Very sweet! And at the end you think you're going to run headfirst into a tree! But thankfully, they stop you from coming in too hot :P
Some pics of the forest/zipline:

I definitely want to do zip-lining again. It did not let me down! Especially because we did the tarzan swing afterwards! I can't describe it very well but the first two seconds...I felt like I was in a free fall! They strap you in, make you grab the ropes, have you bend your knees, open the gate, and AHHHHHHH! Basically. It was so much fun but I was trembling afterwards.

When we got back to Camino Verde we were tired, but refueled by drinking coffee and hanging out before our next tour. We went on a night tour in the forest and it was interesting to say the least! I was hoping to see more animals but we mostly saw insects and birds. Jo's flickr has pictures of some of the wildlife we saw! 

Coming back from the tour, we decided that we wanted to have a chill day the next day and go on a coffee, chocolate, and sugar cane tour in place of bungee jumping. We needed a day to just chill instead of be thrill-seekers. Besides, going back to Monteverde is definitely happening ;)

Sunday:

Woke up. Ate breakfast..today for me was pancakes and eggs! Then we loaded up for our tour with Don Juan Coffee, Chocolate, and Sugar Cane! I will use mostly pictures to explain but wow...the sugar consumption was insane! We got to see coffee at every stage of production..along with cocoa and sugar cane. The processes for each are very interesting..and tasty! We got to taste test at almost every stage as well, hence the sugar consumption. There just really isn't anything like making your own hot cocoa, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, sugar shots, and coffee all in the same day! 

 Those are some pictures of the chocolate part of the tour..I have yet to get my hands on the sugar shots picture...but I will..and when I do..I'll make sure to post them for ya! 

Unfortunately, shortly after our tour we had to pack up and leave :( Our bus left heaven at 2:30p to get us back around 6:15..much faster than when we went to Monteverde! And the drive home was gorgeous..seeing the mountain with all the clouds and scenery was an indescribable beauty. So green and fresco! All of us felt pangs of sadness but knew that in the future..we would once again have our head in the clouds :)

 Thanks for reading! Now it's time to pack for Bocas del Toro, Panama! 

Olive juice amor, xo :)

Allie