Costa Rica: He llegado - 5/18/13

I have made it to Costa Rica! It's been two days and so far I have not gotten lost nor hurt. So big ups to myself. The group that I came with arrived on Friday midday at the San Jose airport. Each one of us was excited to begin our new journey and nervous at the same time. Customs to say the least was a bit stressful for our newer travelers. 

Our CPI guide for the trip met us right outside the arrival area and escorted us straight to our bus. Lots of people will try to ask you about taking their cab or carrying your luggage in order to get your money. Justin, our CPI guide, was kind enough to keep everyone away. We also learned our first Spanish phrase; "Pura Vida!" Which is the "pure life." It's a common way to greet people and the country's outlook on life. Hopefully, I'll be able to explain more later. 

The first place we stopped was to get food. 

This dish is called Casado con Pollo; a staple in Costa Rica. The drinks are fruit blended in water; I got mango. Needless to say it was delicious and Justin introduced us to Lazone which is a type of sauce you put on the rice.  The rest of the first day was just getting settled into the hotel and going to the bank. We did make a quick stop to the market and tried some more fruit. My favorite was Mamon which looks like a large grape. You peel off the skin and chew around the seed in the middle. It was kinda tart, but I liked that I could pop it in my mouth and act like it was a jawbreaker. 

Today though was awesome. Our first full day in Costa Rica consisted of going to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. There we got to experience a lot of the local animals and plants.

Friendly Toucan!

Monkey agreed that it was snack time. 

     This little guy almost ran into me. 

Though he may be tiny, he is definitely dangerous. Say hola poisonous dart frog!

Group photo at one of the waterfalls we went to. Having fun so far! 

Other observations

- No street names anywhere

- All or most of the houses have tin roofs

- All the houses had gates on them 

- Restaurants and bars seem to have kids playgrounds, definitely shows how important family and children are to the culture

- Each city or village has the church, soccer field, and bar in the same area. These seem to be of high priority in their lives where religion, passion, and social collide. 

Tomorrow I will be meeting my host family. So excited!!! First real opportunity to use Spanish socially. Good thing I bought a good phrase book haha. I'm sure I can babble my way through the first encounter. But for now no more worrying, time to rest. 

Till next time! Pura Vida!