Hola Amigos y amigas!
Yesterday we woke up super early, and went on the horseback safari excursion. Seeing as I have three horses in my backyard and rarely ride, I wasn't too thrilled. But we had a fantastic time! My horses name was Rocio and hated not being the leader, so of course he sped to the front. Emily rode Camanche and looked like a professional as usual. Caroline aka CiCi had Pallamino, meaning BLONDIE! Poppy and Katy rode Candy. While Camanche, Rocio, and Candy all loved to trot and gallop like crazy, Blondie simply was not having it, making CiCi a drama queen and semi bitter. (Love you Mom!) I was amazed at how much I loved galloping. Not only was it way smoother than I imagined, but I also got the biggest adrenaline rush. Emily helped our guides herd some cows and water buffalo into different fields too which was neat. After riding for quite some time, we stopped at a river with a ropeswing, ate some pineapple, and hydrated. Poppy, Emily, and I all looked like pros on the rope swing even though I was sure I was going to snap the thin rope. Afterwards we rode back through the jungle and saw more mono titis, exotic plants, and native fruits. The overall experience was awesome (even though today my derriere is in pain and super sore!) We came back to some burgers Renzo cooked up for us, and relaxed by the pool for the rest of the day. For dinner, Ana and Renzo not only hit the spot, but also managed to steal my heart and my hunger with chicken breast and a creamy mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes with bacon inside, and veggies. I literally could have eaten three more plates if I didn't have more sense. Definitely my favorite dinner so far. After we ate, we hung out, showered up, ang got ready to go out. Emily, Janelle, and I hit up this local bar and restaurant called BambooZu I think? It was awesome. They had live music and people dancing everywhere. Watching the ticos bailar (Costa Rican natives dance) was amazing becuase they moved so fast and smoothly. Janelle drank mojitos, Emily drank cosmos and Pelicanos, and I had tequila sunrises. I was asked to dance by some kids who were having a great time from California even though we all probably looked like fools next to the ticos, but I had fun! That's one of the many amazing things about this trip you just have to take risks, and not get embarassed over silly things. Whether it be in attempting to speak Spanish to those who are fluent, to even dancing latina style, its the fact that you tried. Anyways, after chatting it up with our cab driver in broken Spanish, and asking him if he liked girls instead of if he had girls like in his family, (quite hysterical) we attempted to go somewhere else that was bumpin. However, sadly we ended up back at home seeing as it was a Tuesday night. Good thing last night was just a trial run. I can't wait for when we go out this weekend! After almost 7 and a half hours of sleep, we woke up for the Manuel Antonio National Park tour. After writing my first blog, my buddy Scott Imirie from high school commented that his uncle lives here and that the National Park tour was awesome...He was correct seeing as is was absolutely beautiful. Our guide, Johan, had a great eye for hidden creatures and showed us lizards, frogs, crabs, monkeys, huge spiders, mariposas (butterflies) the size of a Harry Potter book, and SLOTHS! I love the sloths they look so cute however Johan quickly changed my mind of bringing one home with me when he told me their skin is like the end of a broom, and that they are the hosts of over 1500 fleas, ticks, and other insects that live on them. Quite dissapointing, right? On the hike I managed to get eaten alive porque soy muy dulce al parecar (Because I am very sweet apparently). We stopped at a couple beaches and at the end for some locals coconuts. He took a machete and sliced off the top ready for us to drink. Coconut milk is apparently really good for your skin and deep conditioning your hair, so I'll probably finish that off later. At the villa we haven't seen our mono titi friends yet today, so hopefully they stop by soon. Hope everything in Americas as great as it is here! Until next time, muchos besos a todo el mundo! xoxo Ais
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Costa Rica Day 1 + 2
Hola America!
After two lengthy flights and a 3 hour car ride from the airport, we have arrived at the beautiful Villa Cantico in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica! When we arrived we were exhausted and so ready for some dinner by our personal chefs Ana and Renzo. While I'm not much of a fish eater, I really enjoyed red snapper and ate the whole thing shockingly then we hungout and hit the sack. The next day I woke up at 6:30 am for some reason and waited for breakfast in which we had pancakes, bacon, and exotic fresh fruit. There also was a yellow and black snake coiled up in between our villa doors too which was a fun surprise. The villa guard had to come and remove him seeing as los serpientes aren't exactly welcomed by a villa full of women and children here. haha. We lounged by the pool which has an awesome scene of forest and the beach. Right before lunch was served the mano titis aka monkeys stopped by in which we fed them by hand. Definitely the most awesome thing so far. They climb all over the house like acrobats and if you hold a piece of banana flat in your hand they scurry over and grab it with their lttle claw fingers. Its wild! For lunch we had a mango salad and quesadillas which was yummy. After lunch Caroline, Emily, and I walked up some humongous hills into the small town and restaurant area, and played frogger because the locals all drive their cars super fast on the small windy roads. Anywho, we're talking legit ALL uphill...the way back was way better, mostly downhill :) On our walk I was dying to see a sloth, however I only saw a raccoon which I guess was better than nothing. When I talk about a workout I mean it, my ass and calves were burning. The villas are hidden in the mountains so walking anywhere is quite the trek and workout in itself. In the village we saw a couple small shops and lots of restaurants, then presumed back to the villa just in time for a nice rainshower to pass through! After our hike, we sat in the air conditioning and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks which of course I got a kick out of. For dinner we had fajitas and el helado aka ice cream for dessert. If you know me well, you know I'm quite the sucker for icecream. After dinner, I practiced some of my amazing Spanish with Renzo and he made Em and me some strawberry margaritas. We played some Just Dance on the Wii, skyped our boys aka Tommy, Rory, and my dad, then called it a night because we were going horseback riding at 7 the next morning. After getting up at 7 am, getting ready and almost ready to walk out the door the excursion manager called and told us they were short one horse so we're doing it a different day. Afterwards, we had another great breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and bacon then relaxed by the pool. After about 2 hours of failed attempts of monkey calls and using the binoculars, I gave up and retreated inside to read. As it is now time for lunch with the ladies and to practice more Spanish, I will be picking out excursions tonight for what I want to do for the week. Some of the options consist of surfing lessons, waterfall repelling, boating and snorkeling, and ATV tours. They all sound awesome, how will I choose? As you also probably know I'm also very indecisive when it comes to making decisions between a bunch of awesome things...one of my few flaws, I know ;) Lunchtime but I'll keep ya posted. Fingers crossed for another visit from the mono titis :) xoxo Ais
After two lengthy flights and a 3 hour car ride from the airport, we have arrived at the beautiful Villa Cantico in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica! When we arrived we were exhausted and so ready for some dinner by our personal chefs Ana and Renzo. While I'm not much of a fish eater, I really enjoyed red snapper and ate the whole thing shockingly then we hungout and hit the sack. The next day I woke up at 6:30 am for some reason and waited for breakfast in which we had pancakes, bacon, and exotic fresh fruit. There also was a yellow and black snake coiled up in between our villa doors too which was a fun surprise. The villa guard had to come and remove him seeing as los serpientes aren't exactly welcomed by a villa full of women and children here. haha. We lounged by the pool which has an awesome scene of forest and the beach. Right before lunch was served the mano titis aka monkeys stopped by in which we fed them by hand. Definitely the most awesome thing so far. They climb all over the house like acrobats and if you hold a piece of banana flat in your hand they scurry over and grab it with their lttle claw fingers. Its wild! For lunch we had a mango salad and quesadillas which was yummy. After lunch Caroline, Emily, and I walked up some humongous hills into the small town and restaurant area, and played frogger because the locals all drive their cars super fast on the small windy roads. Anywho, we're talking legit ALL uphill...the way back was way better, mostly downhill :) On our walk I was dying to see a sloth, however I only saw a raccoon which I guess was better than nothing. When I talk about a workout I mean it, my ass and calves were burning. The villas are hidden in the mountains so walking anywhere is quite the trek and workout in itself. In the village we saw a couple small shops and lots of restaurants, then presumed back to the villa just in time for a nice rainshower to pass through! After our hike, we sat in the air conditioning and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks which of course I got a kick out of. For dinner we had fajitas and el helado aka ice cream for dessert. If you know me well, you know I'm quite the sucker for icecream. After dinner, I practiced some of my amazing Spanish with Renzo and he made Em and me some strawberry margaritas. We played some Just Dance on the Wii, skyped our boys aka Tommy, Rory, and my dad, then called it a night because we were going horseback riding at 7 the next morning. After getting up at 7 am, getting ready and almost ready to walk out the door the excursion manager called and told us they were short one horse so we're doing it a different day. Afterwards, we had another great breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and bacon then relaxed by the pool. After about 2 hours of failed attempts of monkey calls and using the binoculars, I gave up and retreated inside to read. As it is now time for lunch with the ladies and to practice more Spanish, I will be picking out excursions tonight for what I want to do for the week. Some of the options consist of surfing lessons, waterfall repelling, boating and snorkeling, and ATV tours. They all sound awesome, how will I choose? As you also probably know I'm also very indecisive when it comes to making decisions between a bunch of awesome things...one of my few flaws, I know ;) Lunchtime but I'll keep ya posted. Fingers crossed for another visit from the mono titis :) xoxo Ais
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
