Party Peninsula - 5/7/09

I have just returned from an amazing little ¨vacation¨on my vacation. Eleven of us volunteers left the island on the 30th for the outside world. We left on a boatride through a torrential downpour followed by a long bus ride to San Jose. That night our plan was to see Gentlemen, a blond goofy reggae singer from Germany. Most of us went at around 830 but no one told us that in Costa Rica they have about 8 opening acts, all of which were singing the same song by Gentlemen, which was constantly and abruptly cut off before they finished the song. It was fairly annoying. By the tie Gnetlemen came on it was almost 1am and none of us were able to maintina any enthusiasm. Two of my friends, Gernot and Jenny, were sleeping on chairs in the back, my feet felt like they were on fire, and Im pretty sure everyone was on the verge of collapsing right there. Probably not the best idea to go to an all night concert right after a very exhausing day; it was quite the disaster. The next day six of us went to the mountain town of Monteverde. We stayed in a nice smal hostal and had amazing family meals (with protein!!). THe next morning we went on the Extremo canopy tour which consisted of numerous ziplines, the longest of which was 1km, and two surprises! The ziplines were incredible; you are so high up and flying so fast and you can see out for miles. However, the two surprises were probably the most memorable parts. Surprise 1: drop striaght down the length of a tall jungle tree; fun and exciting with medium adrenaline. Surprise 2: we wlk up to a platform about 50 ft up from anothe larger platform which is like a million feet up from the jungle floor. Jenny is the first one to go and i dont think anyone expected what was about to come. The guides loop you into a rope, tell you to hold on and inch you up to the edge of the platform. Then you would think there would be a countdown but instead the guide literally shoves you off the platform. You then plummet straight down (mini bungee) and then swing out across the jungle flor and up into the tops of the trees. The swinging part was amazing but the drop was terrifying. I now know i never need to go bungee jumping. THe next day as we were leaving Monteverde at sunrise we were able to see all the clouds rolling around in the hills below us; it was so cool and incredibly beautiful. We then arrived at the beachtown/ tourist haven of Montezuma on the Nicoya Peninsula. The weather was good, the beaches were amazing and the hostal was very nice (minus the owner who is a Billy Bob Thorton look alike, surfer/hipie poser, who tried to cheat us out of our money), but it wasnt the most exciting town. Although we did meet a super sketchy possibly male prostitute wearing a gold lamë tube dress and heels. S/he tried to strike up a conversation with my friend Vanessa who was very confused by it all, as were the rest of us. THe next day was another beach day followed by the parting of our group for the first time when Vanessa and Raf left us. ALSO, ou first meal was a salad made in a shopping bag and served with a dixie cup because we werent allowed to cok at the hostal due to a water shortage. So, then the rest of us made our way to the other side of the peninsula to Santa Teresa, surfers paradise. We figured we didnt need to reserve a hostal but we were very mistaken. We walked in the blazing heat down a dusty dirt road with all our packs (mine weighing in at 50 lbs and yes i know that is excessive) searching we came upon an Israeli man who offered to give us a ride and hook us up with a place to stay. So he started making phone calls and then took us to another Israeli owned hotel where the entire staff was Israeli. It was super nice, right on the beach, with a pool and AC! We immediately went to the beach and watched the surfers all afternoon. We did the same thing the next day and also rented surfboards. Gernot got scraped up and Jenny got a concussion; but before that they both stood up, Jenny with the help of an Israeli surf instructor. Israeli mafia perhaps? We spent the nights watching the amazing sunsets and it was a perfect end to our time together. NOw Im back in San JOse and very excited to make my way to Ecuador tomorrow. Also, I am swine flu free, in case anyone was concerned.