Arenal

This last weekend, I went to Arenal with 6 other students from the program. Arenal is one of the most visited tourist destinations in all of Costa Rica. It is a volcano (that unfortunately is inactive now) and is surrounded by beautiful hot springs, natural reserve, and waterfalls. We stayed at a hostel called La Fortuna Backpackers. There are plenty of hostels in the surrounding town, La Fortuna, because it is such a touristy place. Our hostel had a pool, it was awesome! Friday we got to the town and just hung out with each other. On Saturday we took a walk down to a river which had a huge swimming hole. It was the most beautiful swimming holes that I have ever seen. We spent about 2 hours swimming through it, jumping off of rocks, and swinging off of the rope swing. The last time I went off the rope swing I completely wiped out on the rocks... honestly I was lucky I didn't break any of my bones! I eventually landed in the water after getting all scraped up (and I'm still suffering from those injuries now) BUT IT WAS ALL WORTH IT! It was a great time and I do not regret anything. Now I am spending my nights dousing my feet in hydrogen peroxide and neosporin, but it is all good. After the waterfall we went to Baldi Hot Springs because we got a good deal from our hostel owner. Baldi Hot Springs is a sort of resort which offers people the opportunities to swim in many, many hot springs. Although the hot springs are natural, they have been developed and built upon. The pools were absolutely gorgeous and that water was HOT! It was a great day and we really spent the time winding down and pampering ourselves in the different pools and swim up bars. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures because I was so preoccupied with enjoying the place instead of taking pictures of it! At night we went back to our hostel, visited a local bar, and just hung out with each other. It was one of our friend's birthdays so we had a great time celebrating it with him. I cannot stress enough how lucky I consider myself to have gotten such a great group of students. They are amazing people and I will be friends with them for the rest of my life. I am so happy here, in paradise, with them. Try to really get to know the people you are studying abroad with on a deep level. It has made my trips in Costa Rica phenomenal. On Sunday, we took a bus back to San Jose. The whole drive took about 4 hours although we had to take a bus to Quesada and then another to La Fortuna. Nevertheless, the process went smoothly.