Manuel Antonio

This past weekend, I and 8 other people from the program went to Manuel Antonio National Park. We stayed at a hostel called Vista Serena for 10 bucks a night... how perfect is that?! The view from the hostel was absolutely beautiful and the rooms were not too shabby (not perfect though). We took a direct bus from San Jose to Manuel Antonio on Friday afternoon, after classes, and got to the hostel around 6 pm. We hung out around the hostel and got to know the other people who were staying there. We also visited a local bar inside a resort... it was a great night! The next day we all woke up very early, ate breakfast and went to the national park. It was soooo incredibly beautiful. The beach water was pristine and blue and the surrounding forest was really cool. We completed a few hikes and saw monkeys, sloths, large lizards, etc. The hikes tired me out and we were all dripping sweat by the end, but no worries because we just ran right in the ocean right after each hike! We left the park around 3, got home showered and walked around Manuel Antonio a bit. We didn't end up going to a local bar or anything like that because the buses weren't favoring us and we kind of all just wanted to hang out with each other anyways. On Sunday, we stayed at the beach right outside of the national park (because it was free) and then took a bus home at 1. Also, it didn't rain at all the whole weekend! That is a major accomplishment because it rains every day in San Jose. That just goes to show how many different ecosystems there will be in Costa Rica. There are so many different climates, elevations, and natural boundaries. All together, the whole weekend cost about $80, give or take some. That may seem like a lot, but I don't think we could've gotten it down much lower. What was most expensive was the hostel, admission into the national park, transportation, food and drinks.
All in all, I cannot describe to you how happy and lucky I felt this weekend. Multiple times I had to stop what I was doing, look around, and soak in what was really happening. I know that coming here was a great decision and I am where I am supposed to be.