Puerto Viejo

This week I am starting week #8 in Costa Rica, pretty crazy. Teaching has been going really well, I am really enjoying getting to know the kids more and more everyday. However, I am really ready for a break. Next week is our Spring Break and I could not be more excited!

Enough about school, here is an update of our weekend. Friday we went to a restaurant to watch our beloved OSU Cowboys play in the NCAA tournament. I am sure as all of you saw that they lost which was heartbreaking but it was still fun to watch. After shedding a few tears we headed home to get some much needed sleep because we had to wake up at 4:30 the next morning to catch our 6:00 bus to the beach. Saturday morning a man picked us up to go to San Jose and the drive should have taken around 20 minutes, but somehow took close to an hour. The man had no idea where to go even though we gave very precise instructions. There were numerous times he would just hit his brakes and stop in the middle of the road or highway. Transportation here is always an adventure.
We finally traveled to the Atlantic coast this weekend to Puerto Viejo. It is a small Caribbean town with a long stretch of beaches. We rented bikes for the day and rode all along the coast to three different beaches. It was really fun and some of the best waves I have ever seen. The water was crystal clear and each beach had different types of sand, from black to tan to almost white. One thing that is really great about the beaches here is that they are never crowded and in most places condos and hotels cannot be built on the beach so it is just palm trees, sand and water. That night we went out to eat to a great restaurant that served Caribbean food so it was a little sweeter than the typical Costa Rican food.
Sunday morning we woke up and went back to the beach to enjoy it for a few hours before we had to leave. We then packed everything up; made ourselves ham sandwiches for the bus and headed to the bus stop. And this is where we got our lesson in patience. Our bus showed up, and only a certain number of people were allowed to get on. Our group of five didn’t make the cut, but we were told that the next bus would be coming in 10 minutes. No big deal right? Well, an hour and a half later our bus finally showed up. Needless to say we were all very frustrated and ready to get home.
Even though we were all frustrated with the bus system, it was still a great weekend. Puerto Viejo was our favorite beach we have been so far. Only one week until Spring Break and then we will be packing our bags for Panama! I can’t wait and I hope this week flies by…