My host parents left a week before I did so my friends and I did a final trip to the Nicoya Peninsula which is in the post before this one. When we got back I didn't have classes anymore because it was a 2 week break in the middle of the year. I visited some friends for the last time, stayed home with my host grandparents who were watching the house and my younger brother while my host parents travelled Europe. The other exchange students and I went to San Jose (capital), stayed in a hostel for a few hours till we left early in the morning to drive out of San Jose to go to the airport and head home. It was sad leaving Costa Rica because it had become our home. My biggest regret is probably not staying a year. I had been so lucky to stay with such a wonderful host family, have great friends, and see a beautiful country. I had the time of my life in Costa Rica.
THE VISIT
Almost a year later, I returned. This time I brought my triplets. We just graduated high school and as a gift, we got plane tickets to Costa Rica. (We already knew we were going and had everything planned we just were told our parents would pay for the tickets as a gift.) We arrived from Wisconsin to Costa Rica in the afternoon and took a bus from San Jose to Puerto Viejo. I LOVED being in Costa Rica again. Some things had changed, others hadn't, it all felt like home. After the long bus ride over the the Pacific coast, it was night time and we were so hungry and it was so hot. It took us awhile to find our hostel because I had never been to Puerto Viejo before and the streets are poorly lit. Turns out our hostel was in the end of an alley way in the back of the town. Super sketchy right? But we sure did luck out with the hostel though. It had lovely hosts and our own room with a bathroom, shower, mini fridge and best of all, air conditioning. That is such a treat to have in Costa Rica. If you just so happen to stay in Puerto Viejo, I definitely recommend them: Sea Towers Hotel in Puerto Viejo.
Anyways throughout the week that we stayed, Puerto Viejo, we went zip lining and beach hopping. For beach hopping we rented some bikes out of the hostel and biked south along the shore stopping and beaches and hiking areas.
We took one day of bus time to go from Puerto Viejo, to San Jose, to Ciudad Quesada where I got to see my family again.
In Ciudad Quesada, we arrived at night after an entire days worth of sitting in a hot bus, but we did catch up on sleep. I was so glad to see my host family again. I missed them so much. We went to their house and they met my sisters and we all caught up with each other. I felt at home so much. Just being in Ciudad Quesada again, driving though the town, sitting at the kitchen counter talking and making food for dinner made me so happy. Just writing this a few months later makes me want to go back again! The next day, so like day 4 now, we went to Rio Celeste with the cook (Vicki) from the school Marcia works at. Rio Celeste is still beautiful as ever even though it was my third time seeing it. We took the long drive back home (3ish hours) and when we got home, it was my host cousins birthday. Last year right before Marcia, Cesar, and I left, it was this cousins birthday and that was the last time I got to see all my host cousins. Then now when I went back I got to see everyone again. I was not excepting to see everyone so it was a nice surprise.
Sunday, our last full day in Costa Rica, the whole family, my sisters, Marcia, Cesar, Felipe, and I all we to San Jose to see my host brother, Pablo, who is a day older than me. He is at the university there studying to be the person who reads your MRIs when you get them done. It is a lot of work he said but it is very interesting. We continued on past San Jose to go to Cartago to visit Katy, my older host sister. She studies material engineering at the university there because she wants to make the next material like how there is cotton, nylon, plastic, those types of things. We toured her university, Cesar also went here, it is a beautiful campus. Then we toured around Cartago. I have been there three times as well and we saw the beautiful basilica. I told my sister stories of when I travelled around Costa Rica and what it was like for what I did and what I saw. We drove back to Ciudad Quesada and at dinner at home, I miss Costa Rican food. My sisters and I packed up our things to leave early in the morning Monday. Both my host parents had to work so they quick dropped us off at the bus station and went to work. We flew home to Wisconsin and I left my other home in Costa Rica. It was such a fun trip and it was nice for my triplets and I to do one last thing together before we went our separate ways.
Ziplining in Puerto Viejo
Punta Uva
Cartago basilica
Bush gardens
Rio Celeste
