Beach Break Costa Rica Puntarenas

... were depleted when introduced to European disease. The independence from Spain was declared in 1821, beginning a period of civil war. After independence, the government anxiously sought goods that could be exported and taxed. Coffee had been introduced from Cuba. In 1983, the country made an official proclamation of neutrality. Costa Rica today is a model of democracy and political stability. Coffee, the "golden bean ...

First day of classes! July 6, 2009<br><br>The night before all the students and the professors had a big dinner at a local restaurant on the beach accompanied with the orientation earlier that day. The food was very good (muy rico) and I ate my fair share since I was practically starving from only have gallo pintos (beans, rice and spices dish..a Costa Rican staple) and eggs and a few yogurt cups earlier. Afterwards most people were going to go out ...

La Ensenada is a wonderful lodge. Wooden cabins louk out over the Golf of Nicoya. Our birdwatching tour starts here, that's for sure. Our co-travellers are birdwatchers. My daughter and I can hardly tell the difference between a pigeon and a heron, but that only makes it more fun! CR possesses 6 % from all wildlife and plants on this earth. 850 different kind of birds. France hardly 400 and it is about 10 times bigger. 25 % of the country is protected. "eco friendly" and "organic" our words ...

Ok this weekend we went to Puntarenas. Puntarenas is the closest beach to San José. It's where the Ticos (costaricans) go for a weeked away. There isn't much to see there but it's a great place to find a cheap hotel with a pool and lay around. The beach is a little dirty and I refused to get in the water because it looked questionable but thats probably why they have pools at all the hotels. We just spent Friday and Saturday hanging out ...

... long trip abroad, I think of going home to the Christmas season in two short months, but most of all I think of what I will look like in a swimsuit at my end-of-year WorldTeach party in Tamarindo. And thinking of this finally did it. After trying so hard to see the beauty in a couple extra pounds and allowing myself to loose the internal battles over whether to eat that last tortilla and queso, I have finally been overpowered by that evil little inner voice that every ...

... in their own homes they see no reason to kick off the torture devices. I had a very "Leave it to Beaver" moment yesterday when I walked in my house for lunch and there was Jessica, my host sister, mopping the floor in a poka dot halter tank top, neon green shorts, and strappy heels. She looked up grinning and said, "Hola, Lacey," just like any other day. I decided not to say anything about the footwear. In the past eight months (yes, it´s been eight months already ...

... eyes...and a excitedly wagging little tail...and you know, it would be nice to have a dog. I had images of this little tiny bundle of happy energy greeting me at my door as I come home from work, of taking her back to the states with me and having a real live pet of my own. It would be nice. Oh, and I'd get her a collar and cute little bowls for water and food and a cute little leash. And for about five seconds I really loved this vision of myself as a ...

... And while I did take off about half the length of my hair, and was given some surprise bangs to boot (thank you Mario!), this change would only have gotten me a few comments in the States before everyone moved on. But I am not in the United States right now, I am in La Estrella, and for the past week my hair has been much discussed. You see, hair is very important to the girls in my town, even more so than back home. It's almost like beauty ...

... wet ones at that. Our guide, Omar, gave us some figures about the amount of rainfall versus the amount of water collected from the atmosphere. I can't remember the numbers, but the long and short of it is that the forest doesn't need rain directly - it just absorbs all it needs from its atmosphere, all year round. That's why this is called cloud forest. And here's the first bridge. It's not all that high ...