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Maria MagnerMaria Magner
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traveled in 2 countries Read more
  • Maria MagnerPura Vida Costa Rica
    1
    Day 5

    Seis

    June 4, 2016 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    The day started with a swim in the rain. A family played in the sand, but I was the only one in the water.

    The Sat farmers market was right outside our motel so we stocked up on avocados, mangos, goat cheese and bread. I'm such a bad haggler.

    A sea turtle preserve patrols the beach all night, so anyone can join the volunteers as they search for turtles laying eggs. They take the eggs to the hatchery for protection until they're ready. For two hours, we walked the beach in the dark while the warm rain came down. We didn't see any turtles but the volunteer taught us Costa Rican slang and showed us other beach creatures.

    There is essentially only one main road through town and on Saturday night, people grab drinks and hang out. One bar had a DJ and I got Rory to dance!

    Montezuma feels like a secret. It hasn't been developed like other parts of the country. This trip keeps getting better.    Read more

  • Maria MagnerPura Vida Costa Rica
    1
    12
    Day 4

    Cinco

    June 3, 2016 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    It was an early morning bus ride to Puntarenas so we could catch the ferry across the Gulf of Nicoya. When we travel, I nap while Rory nervously checks his GPS. After the ferry, we took another bus through farms and windy bumpy roads. We ended up in a small surfing town called Montezuma. Carlos owns the motel where we're staying and he's always outside talking to friends. We're next to the town square, park and church, a few minutes walk from the beach, but the best part is staying in a quiet clean room after the hostel. Our Spanish is getting better, but mostly people either speak English or tolerate our jumbled Spanglish.Read more

  • Maria MagnerPura Vida Costa Rica
    11
    Day 3

    Quatro

    June 2, 2016 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    We spent 2 heart-pounding hours rafting the Naranjo River on class 3 and 4 rapids. Our hostel recommended the Amigos Del Rio Adventures. Afterwards, they fed us lunch and dropped us back at the hostel.

    For Costa Rica, we packed only what fit in our backpacks. Our clothes where starting to smell ripe, so we washed them in the hostel sink with a bar of soap and hung them up to dry.

    We came across a used store and picked up typical Costa Rican shirts. Mine is a soccer jersey and his is a nylon Polo. We might be mistaken for Ticos (Costa Ricans), but our height gives us away.    Read more

  • Maria MagnerPura Vida Costa Rica
    Day 2

    Tres

    June 1, 2016 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Today was a reminder that nature can be both beautiful and brutal. Our hostel group (Rory and I, Jaimy from Holland, and George and Joe from England) visited the Manuel Antonio National Park. This tropical rainforest was full of sloths, lizards and monkeys. It ends on a beautiful beach with giant waves. Rory fought off a business of raccoons from stealing our stuff, but then a capuchin money dropped from a tree and tried to grab a bag! They must work together! I got a wicked sunburn, and Rory's back is bugbite city. For dinner, we had poolside pizza and cervezas at a hotel near the rainforest. Apparently the monkeys enjoy happy hour too because at 5 pm (on the dot), they filled nearby trees, along with a slow-moving sloth and rainbow toucan.Read more

  • Maria MagnerPura Vida Costa Rica
    1
    Day 1

    Dos

    May 31, 2016 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    The reason our flight was so reasonable is because it's Costa Rica's rainy season. We were hoping to use this break to get sun and relax (with a sprinkle of adventure) but the forecast says it'll storm all day...every day.

    We were pretty discouraged, thinking we had made a big mistake, but I remembered when I studied here 10 years ago. It was the rainy season then and I still saw a lot of sun. Essentially, it rains for a few hours every afternoon, but get your nature in early and it's not a problem. In fact, this time of year means fewer tourists, and cheaper prices.

    This morning we took a three hour bus ride from San Jose to Quepos. It was more comfortable than we expected, and we stopped half-way for snacks and bathroom. We took the opportunity to grab food and water - both of which we hadn't had since we were on the plane 18 hours before! It was delicious!

    We're staying at Pura Vida Hostel for three nights. It costs $20 a night for a private room and shared bathroom. The other guests are fellow trekkers on a budget. We all went to the local grocery and cooked dinner. Most are from Europe and two of them just finished medical school in England. We played the Bullshit card game, and my highlight of the evening was the comment, "Leave it up to an American to call bullshit on an English King!".    Read more

  • Maria MagnerPura Vida Costa Rica

    Uno

    May 30, 2016 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We figured out how to take the bus from the airport, saving $30 and making us feel like we can navigate this foreign country. After getting off at the downtown terminal, we attempted to walk to our Air BnB. Unfortunately, we couldn't find it and realized we were a mile away! The crowds, rain, and darkness made for a stressful moment, so we got in a cab. Thankfully he knew where he was going, but we didn't know how to pay with Colones yet, so we paid $18 for an $8 ride. I guess it's better to learn that lesson now, than later. We also realized our Spanish is worse than we thought,
    so instead of grabbing dinner, we laid in bed watching YouTube videos of Spanish travel phrases. I hope that once we get confident, we'll do better. Buenas noches.    Read more

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