Cahuita

Latin Americans can dance, and I mean really dance.

I always knew this, but after experiencing a full weekend's worth of Latin and Caribbean music, I can finally appreciate it.

On Thursday night, the group attended a guest speaker event. The Costa Rican manager of Franklin Covey (I'm a horrible person; I already forgot his name) spoke in Spanish about his life and overcoming obstacles. He had over 100 surgeries in the span of two years as a child to allow arm movement. He walks with two crutches and has quite the success story.

After, Amy, Natalie and I headed downtown to Castro's, the infamous bar and club everyone recommends. We were a little early, so we started the evening with a little karaoke upstairs. Yes, we sang Spice Girls. Yes, we were awesome. No, we did not get any applause.

Later on, we went back downstairs. We didn't even go near the dance floor for the first hour. It was all Tican couples dancing the salsa, meringue and other types of dancing I had never even seen. There's no sense of personal space here, either. Everyone was just all over each other, with a little spice and a lot of rhythm.

We finally decided to brave the dance floor after more awkward tourists arrived to make us feel a little less inadequate. I love the music! The instruments, the beat, everything...I wish I could dance better, but I didn't care. We danced the night away. Eventually, the DJ started playing random hits, including everything from Grease to Journey to Beyonce. It was great. We met the most interesting people. One guy was half Tico and half British. He spent part of his life growing up in Switzerland (speaks English, Spanish, and French) and now attends University in Germany (learning German). Overall, it was the best night I've had in Costa Rica so far. We will definitely be going back.

On Friday, we went to lunch at Bagelman's. Bagelman's is the one and only place you can find bagels around these parts. It felt like home. After lunch, we went to Auto Mercado to buy snacks for the weekend. I found Goldfish and granola bars. Happiness!

Soon enough, it was time to leave for Cahuita. We gathered in the pouring rain at Veritas to catch our bus. After a long, scary, tedious journey through the storm, we arrived at Chalet Hibiscus in Cahuita. We had an entire beach house to ourselves, complete with mosquito nets, hammocks and ONE bathroom. It was just how I pictured my Caribbean bungalow. The only problem was the distance from town. There was only one long dirt road, and we had a 25 minute walk from our lodging to get anywhere.

We managed to find a taxi into town for dinner, but we were not as lucky after we ate. We started walking home, and within five minutes, the rain started up again. Oh, and of course I wore a sheer white blouse. It was exciting to run around in the rain for 10 minutes, but it got old quickly. We were drenched. We stopped at a little reggae bar on the side of the road to take a break, but the locals didn't exactly go well with my soaked clothing, if you know what I mean.

Sleeping with mosquito nets is creepy. You feel a little claustrophobic under there. There were fans in our room to keep us cool, though, so we slept peacefully. On Saturday, I woke up to the peaceful sound of the waves crashing on the black volcanic rock outside our house. I was in paradise.

All eight of us ate breakfast at a local restaurant. It took an hour and a half for our food to come out, so the owner of the restaurant told us that if we came back for dinner, he would give us free drinks. The food was delicious, so we decided to go back that night.

We spent the day at Playa Negra, relaxing on the black sand beach and swimming in the Caribbean. The water was warm, and the beach was deserted except for a few locals here and there. I could have been there all day. It was so beautiful. Evan rented a surf board, but no one managed to get up. We bought hot empanadas from an old woman, too. Later, we went back to our chalet/bungalow/house and relaxed in the pool until dinnertime.

We went back to the same restaurant for dinner and enjoyed our complimentary fruit drinks. Sam and Jeremy, two people from my program, got sick during dinner. They were both sunburnt and dehydrated. I felt bad for them; they were both helpful when I was sick last weekend, so I tried to help, but there wasn't much I could do for them. After dinner, they went home and the rest of us went to the only bar/club in Cahuita, Coco's. There was a live band and lots of locals.

Cahuita is a tiny town on the Caribbean. The people who live there speak a weird mixture of English, Spanish and some Jamaican-style dialect. Everyone rides bicycles, and drug trafficking is rampant. It's not the safest area, but everyone we met was friendly. The heat and humidity were almost unbearable, but the town was adorable. It was so tropical!

This morning, Natalie and I bought some banana bread at the supermercado and ate it by the sea. I wish I had the beach in my backyard every day. We saw a sloth in the trees. I tried to take pictures, but they didn't come out very well. Everything I learned about the sloths in elementary school is true. They. are. so. slow. It. takes. them. forever. to. get. anywhere. All. they. do. is. eat.

When our bus finally arrived to take us home, the three girls who we had let share our private transportation (to lower costs) were sitting in the front seats. They sat in the front seats on Friday, and it wouldn't have been a big deal, but Amy re-injured her bad shoulder at the beach on Saturday. She's had shoulder problems for years, apparently, and to climb all the way to the back was cramped and difficult. I asked them politely if they wouldn't mind taking the back, and they gave me such a hard time. After a brief confrontation, two of them obliged. The third girl refused, but it was fine. Amy was able to sit in the front. I feel bad for her. She can't even move her right arm.

Today is Father's Day! Even though I had a great vacation, I was happy to return to my Tican home (cooler temperatures, cleaner facilities). The whole family had a delicious meal of something made of yuca. After dinner, Patri brought out photo albums. Brandon and Karen's baby pictures were so precious!

Back to the grind tomorrow. I think I'm going to go to a dance class this week!

Pura Vida,
Lauren