Pure life!

Costa Rica was amazing...  !!  The plants, the animals, the food, the people, the adventures, the sunsets, the sounds... 

My favorite moments, in no particular order: 

• Discovering that Costa Rica was not an island 2 days before our departure.  :P 
• Meeting my lovely travel buddies at the airport. 
• The rainy hanging bridges. 
• Standing at the foot of the La Fortuna waterfall. 
• Checking out the ghetto hot springs spot under the overpass. 
• Hot Springs hot showers! 
• Sleeping on the shuttles. 
• Kim seeing the sloth by the side of the road! 
• The view of the volcano from Casa Luna. 
• Chatting with Alice over Sushi. 
• The sloths at the hot springs zoo.
• The monkey named Mike Tyson, because he bites... !
• Danielle saving me multiple times during canyoneering. 
• Jaime jumping into the waterhole. 
• Repelling the giant waterfall! 
• Giggling w/ Carlos and Isabel at Nemes when Carlos was trying to find the English word for Olives. 
• Viewing the volcano from the boat bus. 
• Sleeping in the monkey room at the top of the many rooms of the Treetop house. 
• Listening to all of the rain, the birds, the insects, the monkeys... 
• When we noticed the shuttle driver was also the cashier and the coffee tour guy, just in different hats.  Literally.   
• Dancing and singing at the Tree house restaurant! 
• The fantastic casado typico and conversation at the soda in Monteverde.  
• Scarfing down the fantastic casado tipico breakfast at the soda behind the fancy coffee shop. 
• Late night talk with Phuong in the Treetop House. 
• Hiking through the dark forest looking for wildlife.
• Zipping through the trees. 
• Learning to surf! 
• Synthia catching a great wave!
• Isabel calling the waiter (camarero) a shrimp (cameron).  
• Hanging out with the girls on the catamaran.  
• Yuki's commentary on the iguana wanting a bug, and Isabel having a bug fly into her mouth. 
• Seeing the macaws fly by Villa Estela! 
• Yuki giggling at the steakhouse about the failed photos.  
• Watching the amazing Costa Rican sunset.

I am so glad I bought a first aid kit, a raincoat, and really good sunscreen.  I wish I had bought actual bug repellent instead of a bug repellent bracelet, because that thing didn't work.  A second (and third?) bathing suit would've been useful, along with waterproof hiking shoes.  The neoprene Google bag the Trademarks team gave me turned out to be the perfect unforeseen gift.  Board shorts were exactly right, along with an insulated water bottle and a small backpack.


Here's the event list for my memory's sake:

Carlos the driver 

Tomales

Casa Luna 

Hanging bridges
La Fortuna waterfall 

Casado tipico - NOM
Hot springs

Nemes

Canyoneering

Hot springs take 2

Bus boat bus

Treetop house

Stella's

Coffee sugar chocolate tour

Tree house dancing night

Soda 

Ziplining

Night hike

Tree house take 2

Soda + coffee

Shuttle to Manuel Antonio

Villa Estela
Carlos the other driver (I think his name was Carlos too)

Mariposa sunset

Dinner at the marina

Surfing

Catamaran 

Pizza night

Manuel Antonio national park

Cafe Milagro

Shuttle to San Jose 

Airbnb in the hood 

Steakhouse dinner

PURA VIDA!!! :)