The dorm that I stayed in at Aqua Lounge - my bed was in the back on the right, top bunk
The view from my bed - that is the water
The eating area outside of the dorm
The pool - aka: a hole cut out in the deck so you can swim in the ocean! Note the diving board at the top of those stairs. Awesome.
The dance floor/bar of the hostel
This was followed by a weeklong visit from Elena, Erik, Paul, and Alison (somewhere along the line I lost my small camera, so there won't be any pictures...), during which we went to Montezuma (a small beach town on the Pacific side), Monteverde again (this time I actually got to hike around in the park reserve), and La Fortuna, which is the town at the base of Arenal Volcano. About a month and a half ago, there was an earthquake that shook some rubble into the mouth of the volcano, which pretty much plugged up the lava (I didn't even know that was possible!), so we didn't get to see any thing very volcano-like, but we did get to go to a hot springs resort and go on a hike, so that was pretty cool too. Then, only two days after those guys left, my family came for Thanksgiving! We went to the beach town of Manuel Antonio, which is also on the Pacific side, and is probably the most beautiful beach I have been to in Costa Rica. Manuel Antonio is a national park, and the water is that beautiful blue-green (similar to Bocas del Toro, but much deeper and richer looking). It is also coooovered in monkeys; we saw monkeys on our hike through the forest, including a little baby monkey riding on its mom's back, and one morning while eating breakfast at the hotel, monkeys started climbing around in the trees all around the balcony of the restaurant. One was even on the railing a few feet behind me; the waiter told me to guard my banana, and he wasn't kidding. A couple of times we also heard howler monkeys...trust me, there is nothing monkey-like about that noise. We heard it during our hike, and it sounded like a giant monster in the trees that was going to swoop down and eat us. Creepy. We spent most of the week at the beach, which was very relaxing, especially since I didn't have to pay for anything, and I actually got to sit in a chair with an umbrella over me! That's a luxury for a traveler on a budget.
After my family left, I realized that I only had three weeks left...and then two...and now I have five days. In less than a week I will be back in Minnesota with the snow and the cold and family and friends...crazy world. I spent the last two weekends at the beach, first Tamarindo (it was hard to say good bye to that one), and then this past weekend Puerto Viejo. Both times it was just Wendy and me, which made traveling easy and fun. I had to say good-bye to the Caribbean yesterday...this trip definitely reinforced how much I love the ocean.
Anyway, sorry there aren't many photos in this one. I didn't take very many pictures in Bocas del Toro, and then I lost my small camera, so I pretty much stopped taking pictures altogether. It's been nice, though...no thinking about what shot is the best, or having to stop taking in the scenery in order to look through a lens. Freeing. All right, that's it for now! Maybe I'll post once more...we'll see. Peace.
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