Tamarindo

Ila has come and gone. We had so much fun! On Thursday night, Juan Carlos and Patri took me to the airport. Ila had only been waiting for five minutes, so it was perfect. Costa Rica was in the middle of an intense soccer game with Mexico. After a brief drive through the center of the city, Juan Carlos randomly pulled over at a bar. He wanted to catch the last bit of the game! It was really entertaining. Ticans go crazy over the sport. Well, really everyone in every country except the United States goes crazy over soccer. Although Costa Rica lost the game, Ila and I had fun hanging out with my host parents. Ila even bought one of Juanca's drinks which was nice.

On Friday morning, Ila had her first traditional Tican breakfast of gallo pinto and scrambled eggs. Patri put pieces of ham in the eggs as a special treat because Ila was there. Neither of us had the heart to tell her we don't eat pork. I've avoided all pig products all summer. Regardless, breakfast was delicious. We packed our bags and headed into the city.

I brought Ila to Summa to meet everyone. Marilyn wasn't there, but Ila met Cesar, Rafa, Luis Diego and all the other women in the office. Luis Diego immediately commented on Ila's Argentinian accent. She learned all of her Spanish from her Argentinian friends and sounds so different! It's interesting to hear the differences in pronunciation.

When we left Summa, I showed Ila all of the pretty spots in San Jose (there aren't many). It started to rain, of course, so Ila had to buy an umbrella on the street. Obviously Ila didn't get the memo about keeping an umbrella with you at all times. We had a coffee break and even stopped by the big Catholic church in the center of the city. San Jose really doesn't have much to offer, but Ila liked seeing a Central American city. We ate casados con pollo at a cheap cafe and wandered the streets until it was time to leave for our Guanacaste adventure.

We caught our bus at Hotel Balmoral. Private transportation was such a great idea. I can't imagine doing that five hour drive on a bus without air conditioning, leg room or bathroom stops. There were some cool people on our bus, including a Swiss guy traveling on his own and a group of three Mexican boys from California. We finally arrived in Tamarindo after a long and bumpy ride. I don't think Ila has ever been as happy as she was to get out of a bus.

Our hotel was adorable. It was whitewashed with wood everywhere. Our room was clean and spacious and lovely. We managed to make it out to a late dinner at a beautiful restaurant. I can't remember the name now, but it was set outside with candles on the tables and green leaves. On Saturday morning, we woke up miraculously early. After eating our cold leftover dinner for breakfast, we headed for the beach in search of horseback rides.

Guanacaste really is gorgeous. All summer, any and every Tican has insisted I go there, and now I understand why. There were white boats docked in the shallow waters on one side, and millions of surfers flocked to the bigger waves on the other side. There were black rocks and calm pools set in front of lush green mountains. The only problem was the amount of tourists, but what can you do about that? It didn't take us long to track down the horses. We bargained for a good price, pulled on our jeans (brilliantly packed just in case) and got going.

Tamarindo is real estate heaven. I discovered this while my horse refused to trot faster or go in the direction he was supposed to go in. There were all kinds of incredible beach homes, from wooden porches to white concrete to adobe brick to just plain huge. I had to switch my horse with the guide a few times, but it didn't matter. The view of the mountains and ocean was breathtaking. We stopped at a plateau and took pictures. I would love to own a house there some day.

As we descended the mountain, I couldn't help but laugh at myself as my horse refused to obey any commands. I was probably the problem, not the horse, but it was laughably difficult. We wound down the trails and past bungalows and rental homes until we made it to shore. Toddlers and their parents waded in the small pools in the black rock. This beach, Playa Langosta, was calm and serene. We stopped again for a beach photoshoot before continuing down the shore. Ila and I loved it.

The horseback ride ended up being almost two hours long. Afterward, we were sore and famished. We ate lunch at Copacabana, a friendly restaurant right on the beach. Ila insisted that we treat ourselves to fruity island drinks. We gorged ourselves on chicken, avocado and cream cheese wraps. It was heaven!

After lunch, we tried to find a snorkel tour for the late afternoon. We didn't realize that all the tours for the day had left during our leisurely lunch. Before we let ourselves get too disappointed, it started to rain. We would have been miserable out on the water anyway. We walked around the beach town a little bit before the rain became too much. After a brief swim in the rain at the hotel pool, we returned to our room for some well-deserved relaxation.

Once the rain stopped and we regained our energy, Ila and I got all dressed up for dinner. I wore my long dress. I had to; it fit in perfectly with the tropical summer atmosphere. We ended up going back to Copacabana for dinner, because we loved it so much. Ila really knows how to travel. We treated ourselves to fruity drinks and shared an appetizer and dessert for dinner. When you travel, you have to do it right.

A local bar called Sharky's was having 80s night, so we had to stop by. We immediately met Theo Rossi, a relatively well-established actor who no one has really heard of. Apparently he's on the TV show called Sons of Anarchy on FX. Anyway, Theo and his childhood best friend were a lot of fun. He bought us drinks and talked to us about his fabulous career (blah, blah, blah). We also ran into our three Mexican friends from the bus. All in all, it was an interesting night. We thoroughly enjoyed Tamarindo, I think.

On Sunday, we woke up bright and early to catch our bus back home. Ila made me proud. She only hit snooze nine times (this is great progress). Even the drive home from Guanacaste was beautiful. I hope the country protects it's naturally beautiful environments forever. We slept most of the way home and enjoyed a Burger King lunch when we got back. Ila insisted on taking a picture at one point, because she works for the world headquarters now. I still think fast food is disgusting.

We hung out at home for the rest of the night. Patri insisted that Ila write in her notebook for all of her students who stay in her house. It's so bittersweet reading the entries and writing your own. Time really has flown. I think Ila liked my host family, and I'm sure they liked her, too. She speaks really well and fits right in with the friendly culture.

Ila wanted to watch The Notebook last night for whatever reason. You can rent movies off of iTunes now. Technology really is taking over the world. Goodbye, Blockbuster? Anyway, it was a total rip-off. We weren't even halfway through the movie when iTunes shut down unexpectedly and we lost the download. Ugh.

For some reason, Patri was convinced that the highway was going to be closed this morning. Because of this, Ila left an hour earlier than she needed to. Osvaldo (Karen's friend and our beloved taxi driver) was going to have to drive through Escazu to get to the airport. The highway was not closed. I felt bad that Ila had to leave so much earlier. It turned out that her flight was delayed, too. I should have gone with her, but I think it was fine. Her trip was short and sweet, but I think she enjoyed Ticoland.

Today, I hung around the house. I napped, helped Amy with the slideshow and spent time with Patri (and her fish). There was nothing eventful, but it was great to just relax and rest. I can't believe my time here is coming to a close. It has gone by way too fast. Suddenly, I'm in my last week. I never thought I would have such a memorable and rewarding experience here. Having Ila visit made me realize how much I have learned and changed during these seven or eight weeks.

Tonight, we are going to El Cuartel for some live music and dancing. Last week in Costa Rica...vamos a aprovechar!

Pura Vida para siempre,
Lauren