By Katie P., Guestblogger from Coronado, Costa Rica Independent Teen program
The
weekend trip to Manuel Antonio was surprisingly very successful! We were told
it would be near impossible to get bus tickets the day of and definitely not
seated. Some of us were skeptical but others, myself included, were ready to
just wing it, go with the flow and hope for the best. With this optimistic
mentality seven others and myself fruitfully purchased 8 tickets with seats for
a 6pm bus. WOOHOO! We had just 4hours to kill in San Jose and then a 4.5 hour
bus ride and then we would embark on a hopeful quest to find a hostel with 8
available spaces at 10:30pm.
Luck would
have it that the bus let us off right at a ‘Backpacker’s Hostel.’ Trusting my
Spanish skills, my friends pushed me in front to talk to the owners and figure
this all out. Well the first thing they said was, “Estamos llena.” (We are
full) But then they explained that two woman had made reservations for two
rooms at the hostel and still they had not arrived… and so, in just 15 minutes
time we were all proudly moving into our new rooms. To our delight the owner
informed us of a generous discount of just $12/person per night, since we were
squeezing four into a room, as well as the lovely pool, internet and breakfast
that was to be included in our stay. Also we were introduced to our neighbor, a
sloth, hanging around a tree right outside the balcony!
In the
morning we awoke early and piled onto the local bus. After dripping in sweat
and conversing with other English-speaking tourists for about 15 minutes we
finally arrived at the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. I don’t know how
I can go back to the Jersey Shore after these vast, white landscapes and
crystal, turquoise waves of Costa Rica. The beach was unbelievably beautiful
and the water equally magnificent. All day long we were in and out of the
water, sunbathing until the heat was unbearable and then running back into the
refreshing water.
We also
had the company of a Tico family next to us. They knew how to live it up: pull
out table, picnic supplies, cooler, lawn chairs, rockin sound system blasting
Bob Marley, Hendrix, and Santana from the car, entire family and the dog. They
even had it all set up under the perfect tree, providing branches for wet
towels and clothes. We played with the golden retriever and the Tico kids as
they had brought the soccer ball (futbol) and of course my American pals had to
bring an American football as well. It was only about 3pm, and I was thinking I
would like to stay until night fall, but In one split second, high tide rose really
high and was met with screams and curses as everybody on the shoreline grabbed
at all their soaking wet belongings. Seemingly my good luck kept consistent
that weekend, as I had seen the tide coming out of the corner of my eye, and
beat the wave to all my possessions. Knarrllyyy.
Click for more information on AmeriSpan’s Independent Teen program in Coronado, Costa Rica.
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