MonteZuma's revenge

HOLA again! SOOOO much has happened here since my last post. It's such a strange feeling to have the days pass so slowly while experiencing them and then to look back and be completely AMAZED at how much has happened and how much has changed.

From Manuel Antonio a large group of us headed to MonteZuma. It is small, but do not let the size fool you - this town is remarkable. The people are generally hippies which completes the city's charm. They are all so nice and hospitable. It's really cool to see a city that is clearly driven by tourism that has not been bittered over time. The nine of us ended up staying more nights here than any of us have stayed anywhere else. We all just loved it here so much!

The best hike we have all done in Costa Rica thus far was here to a massive waterfall that you can jump off of. When I say hike, I legitamately mean HIKE! It was crazy! Scaling sides of clifs and crawling up slipperly, muddy hillsides while hanging out to vines. I was telling my new buddies that this is what Papalardo meant when he said do not die in Costa Rica. Craziness! We all helped each other out though. It has been really awesome feeling close to all these new people who are doing essentially the same thing you are. Well, ok, most of them are just on a couple week vacation but you know what I mean.

Yesterday a group of us took a tour to a group of islands called Tortuga. It is within these groups of islands that portions of Pirates of the Carrebean were filmed. Interesting, huh? We were supposed to snorkel, but the water was quite a bit murky due to it being the rainy season and all. However, this did not affect the gorgeous colors and vibrancy of the water. It was this neon blueish/greenish color. AWESOME! The best part of the tour though was that I got to drive the boat back!!! Because I speak Spanish all the locals love me. LOL. It was really cool.

Not sure where I will be heading next. Considering Nicaragua actually. I am SO close, and from what I hear it is absolutely incredible AND a lot cheaper than Costa Rica.

Sad morning this morning though... half of our group has headed back home because their vacation is over :(. To top that off Jake and another guy leave day after tomorrow. It's REALLY quite sad to feel close to all these new friends so easily and then to have them leave. The feeling will pass, I am sure but not going to lie, I am feeling a bit sad today...

PS - A big shout out to Papalardo who finally followed the blog. AND named himself Papalardo on top of it - AWESOME. Love you!!!

Miss you all! PICS!