Estoy Quemada

So, I'm burned, but in the end, it was totally worth it. From Friday to Sunday I went on a paseo to Limon, and by paseo to Limon, I mean I spent three days at the beach. I mean, we did stop at Limon, but there's nothing much to say about it. The road that the hotel was on was kind of a backroad that was full of potholes, so we had to slow down about every 2 minutes. Every time we would slow down and somewhat close to a hotel, I would think "okay, this is it," and some of these places were not places I would feel comfortable staying in. After about a half an hour we arrived at the hotel. Oh my lands, was it beautiful. When you picture a hotel on the beach, this is the type of hotel you picture. There were big glass doors opening to a little personal deck, and a beautiful courtyard. It was less the a two minute walk to the Caribbian coast. Beautiful sand, clear water, reefs with octopus equal amazing.
There is a lot of wild life and exotic flora in the area. The hotel had a big bird full of about a hundred parakeets. There were plants there that you buy post cards of, and I got to see a few wild monkeys. I also got to hear wild howler monkeys, which kind of sound like loud gasping/yelling old men. By far though, the most exciting thing that happened though (at least with regards to wild life) was that I got to see a wild sloth. It was the only wild animal that I really wanted to see, and now I can check it off of my list. All in all, a successful weekend.

Happy Forth of July

Hello everyone, I'm sorry it's been so long. Now obviously it is not the forth of July, but it is the Costa Rican Independence day. It's a tradition in Costa Rica that the children make lanterns and have a small parade with them the night before independence day. Though I am not a child, I did make a lantern, but instead of having a parade, I spent the night in the hospital with a friend. He'll be fine.
Last Saturday, we went to Orosi and Cartago. While there, we visited a beautiful cathedral. I love seeing difference in cathedrals in different parts of the world. Instead of stone, they used a lot of wood, and everything was painted. We also went to the ruins of the first church in Costa Rica. It was surrounded by trees and there were plants growing on the walls. Normally I try not to think things like "We're both under the same moon." But it's hard not to be in a place like that and not think that people sat here 500 years ago, or that when they looked out, they saw the same mountain that I saw. It was incredible.
I feel bad that I haven't mentioned food yet. Before I left, I would laugh when my dad would say "you're going to eat rice and beans for the next three months." I shouldn't have laughed. I am lucky though, because I love rice and beans, but they eat it with everything. One night, my family got Pollo Campero for dinner, and they served it with rice and beans. They've made pasta, and though I didn't eat it like this, they eat it with rice and beans, all mixed together. Just a big plate of pasta, tomato sauce, rice and beans. On Sunday night, I tried civiche for the first time. For those of you who don't know, it's white fish that's prepared by pickling/fermenting (I don't know which term to use, probably pickle) the fish in lemon juice. There is also red and green pepper and cilantro. I don't think it's taken over as my favorite food, but it's certainly been added to the list.

I can't add pictures right now, but I will as soon as I can.