Back in June of 2016, three friends and I embarked on a trip that was pretty much a life-changing experience.
As a travel agent, I have the time to sift through various airfare rates to find the best deals; but most times, the deals aren't for me. When I found plane tickets to Costa Rica for $275, I sent out a few text messages to friends, and the next day I bought our tickets. It was on a whim, and neither of us was ready for the journey of a lifetime, but we had plane tickets and were ready to go. We were all somewhat well-traveled; I had taught abroad briefly and volunteered in a hostel, and my friend, Kaylee, had studied abroad. Despite this, Costa Rica was going to be a different type of trip. We rented a car, planned a few places to stay, and began our journey.
We spent our first few nights in Guanacaste, a place along the Pacific Coast in Tamarindo. This is a more popular tourist spot. We then went to Samara, a fishing village. In each spot, we stayed at a hostel. Despite the lack of air conditioning in Samara and the drought in Tamarindo, each town was perfect. The hospitality of the locals unrivaled. Granted, two of us speak a good bit of Spanish, but it was easy to get by either way. We had empanadas from a vendor in a street in Tamarindo and our hosts in Samara set up karaoke for us at a local bar in town.
After spending our time at the shore, we drove up the mountainside, and by "drove up the mountainside", I mean on a narrow, gravel road, to the town of Monteverde, which inhabits a mountain top above the clouds. We toured a coffee and chocolate plantation and had what was basically the best thing we'd all ever eaten, arracache.
The rest of our trip was spent in the Arenal area, and then lastly at Rio Celeste. In each spot, we hiked through the rain forest to check out waterfalls and explored the hanging bridges. Honestly, both areas are breath-taking, and there's nothing that really compares to those sights. For example, the view from our hotel, the Arenal Lodge:
And Rio Celeste:
At this point, I hope I'm really doing this place justice. Costa Rica is amazing, and it's hard to put into words how beautiful of a country it truly is. The experiences we had, from soaking in hot springs on the side of a highway, to hiking the rain forests in a torrential downpour, they are all something magical we know we can never live again, but moments that helped to alter our lives in some way. I encourage you, go buy a plane ticket and head down to Costa Rica with your friends. Stray from the main touristy spots and check out life off the beaten path. And when you return, we can greet one another with a "Pura Vida," and talk about the howler monkeys that are everywhere.
