Monkey See, Monkey Do

After a two hour nap, dad and I had a lovely lunch: pasta with red sauce, bread, and a great salad. Of course, for dessert, we had a local custom: ice cream with chocolate sauce. Everything was extremely delicious.

We then decided to go for a walk down to a beach. With all the stopping to take photos, the walk took us about 45 minutes. On our way, we saw wild hibiscus flowers, palm trees, bamboo, fish, dogs, and MONKEYS. I was so excited about seeing real monkeys in their real home, I just could not get enough of them. I learned that monkeys climb lemon trees and rub lemon on each other to repel away the bugs, so we watched them for a while.We saw capuchin monkeys, and one even had a baby riding on her back! Yes, of course I got pictures. We walked through the hilly terrain, up and down different stones, over fallen trees, and across hanging bridges. The trees were so tall and large that even though it was raining, we barely got wet. The forest is just so amazing. The sound of all the wildlife fills up your ears and mind.

Our guides (a wild german shepherd and a black lab) led us right to the beach and dad wasted no time. Pants off, shirt off, and the swimming in the ocean began. The german shepherd was especially excited with all this commotion that he jumped in with dad and they swam together. I watched and chatted with a German family. It was wonderful. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long, since it starts to get dark around 5, and it's not safe to stay out much past that. On our way back, MORE MONKEYS.

 

Once we got back to the main hotel building, we noticed a woman off to the side at a table with hundreds of pieces of jewelry. Even though she didn't speak much english and my spanish is currently at the bare minimum, we were able to communicate. She and her husband make all the jewelry and many take hours to make. She told me about her family and about her work and about the different stones she uses. I loved talking to her, hearing her english with a thick spanish accent. Sometimes she would incorporate spanish into her english sentences, and even if I didn't quite understand, I would just nod, pretend I knew what was happening. Even when I didn't understand, I didn't care. t found her very interesting and kind and was happy to have met her. We bought a few pieces of jewelry from her and said our goodbyes.

We then headed over to the bar and got something to drink. My dad even bought me a beer since the legal drinking age is 18 in Costa Rica! Sipping a beer with my dad was really special to me, and I didn't even hate the beer. I finished the whole thing by myself and really enjoyed it!

We then headed over to the table for dinner where we were served a feast: a lovely salad, cooked peas and carrots, a perfect mound of rice, incredible chicken, and a nice pie for dessert. I could not get enough of the meal, especially the chicken and rice. Everything was wonderful and after a while of talking with other guests, we headed back to our rooms.

I was able to video chat with my mom, which was nice and reminded me of life back home. My goal while I'm here is to not be afraid to try new things. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, why pass it up? I love being here, and I notice that certain things that bother me at home (namely insects), don't bother me here. This is where they belong, and right now, this is where I belong too.