Costa Rica 2008

Buenos Tardes,

This last week my kind father paid for me to travel across the great Atlantic ocean to see my family in the lush country called in Costa Rica. I will explain my trip in Minnesota time so everyone understands... I left Pamplona at 6:30 pm Minnesota time and took a 5 hour bus to Madrid I then took the metro across town to the airport. I left at 4:00 am to fly 9 hours to Atlanta and then finally made it to Costa Rica by 8:00 PM. It was a long trip but I wasn´t tired and had some good sleep on the planes. I flew Delta and they were pretty good about feeding me.

My family, as always wasn´t puntual in picking me up so I was haggled by too many taxi drivers. I then went to the hotel and saw the whole game and my family. We hung out for a while went to the local bar and talked to the locals, they don´t speak much English and will yell out the only English they know, which would be drug terms. A lot happened over the trip but I will just name a few things.

We go to Costa with a bunch of my dad´s friends who have houses and condos there. It was my third time there so we know the area quite well. The weather was always around 90 degrees and sunny. Our skin ended up being pulvorized by the sun as usual but it is always a nice feeling.

We try to not go out to eat a lot so we get groceries. But, for some reason my dad found it necessary for us to go to the grocery store I think 3 or 4 times. David thought it was the first time we all went shopping as a family in years, so it was pretty funny. My dad likes to buy weird things such as a 5 lb bag of potato chips. My family in a grocery store is pretty funny, we could probably be on a reality show with the things we do. My dad doesn´t know how to buy fruit so he would shake and knock on random fruit to show us how he REALLY knows how to buy fruit. Aaron worries about buying the beer and Amy, David and I will wonder and randomally select junk food and place it into the cart secretly.

We ate at our friends houses a lot, but the highlight was when my dad´s Canadian friend, who makes pizzas, cooked us all pizzas. He is a character, who claims to be a millionare and always offers drugs to everyone. I think my dad invites him because he is entertaining, but we all think he is creepo. I think a lot of gringos move to Costa Rica, get rich and then do drugs. It is my theory, so our friends who now retired there may be in grave danger. Not really though.

We went on zip lines thru the jungle where some people had problems slowing themselves on the wires and would up slamming themselves into the trees. Amy couldn´t enough speed on these zip lines and ended up getting stuck on the wire. They are fun but kind of scary when you first begin. Humans weren´t designed to do these kinds of things, and the fact that our tour guides had marijuana pictures on their shoes doesn´t provide a safe feeling.

We went to a waterfall one day that had a nice man-made beach in the pool it made. It was very cool and we could climb to the top of it. My dad tried to be a sexy model in the lagoon but the pictures don´t give him the justice he may deserve. After that we went out to eat, my family to subway and the Streses went to Burger King. While waiting at the grocery store, we saw the Streses drive by all wearing the Burger King crowns. Our group is one of a kind.

The usual highlight of the trip is the Catamaran ride we go on. WE all get in a dingy and boat out to this massive sailboat. It was from 1 pm this year until sunset, which was around 6 pm I believe. It is open bar so as usual this group takes advantage of the that. We cruise around for a while and then go snorkeling. There weren´t many fish but it is nice to get in the ocean. We then are provided with some snacks, I think I ate 10 cookies and we sail off to see the sunset. Everyone starts to get a little sauced and that laughs seem to get louder. We then leave the ship but some people were a bit incapacitated. Colleen then started to moon us kids who were foolishly standing near her. Everyone gets into the little dingy to go to shore and some people were as some call it, "overserved". When we hit shore the tide is coming in Tom Otte-who loathes water- somehow did kind of a flip in the ocean. He lost his glasses and his pride in the sea. Colleen who was mooning us earlier, fell as the waves crashed into us. David saved her and we all got ashore.

We all then went to the Strese´s and swam for a while. On the walk there us kids, even though we are adults, played limbo on the street. I was the line leader so we got their safely. We swam for a long time at the Strese´s pool and just hung out. Colleen for some reason stayed in the chair for a while and wouldn´t go swimming with us. WE later were jumping on her bed and try to help her wake up. That was an epic night of the trip. We went out to eat a lot at some fancy restaurants, and just had a great time over the week.

I and Rachel Strese´s friend Megan had to leave at 9 am on saturday. Our flight didnt leave until 2:15pm. Our pilot was sick so we played cards and took photos of a man who looked like Tony Hawk (the pro skateboarder). WE got on our plane 6 hours after it was supposed to depart and headed toward Atlanta, Georgia. We all missed our connectiing flights and I got separated from Megan in the airport. Megan got home around midnight, but I was rebooked for the next day. Delta payed for my hotel and food, but I was supposed to fly out of atlanta at 7 on Saturday, but didnt leave till 7 pm on Sunday.

I was alone in Atlanta for the whole day, but it was nice being in America for another day. I love using the dollar because everything is so cheap. I took their metro to the mall and watched a movie. It was a nice boring day, but I didn´t arrive home until Monday around 3 pm. My enternal clock is a little off still. Yesterday I slept from 11 am until 5 pm. I should be ok today though.

Costa Rica was a blast as usual, and now I began classes today. I love school and this semester should be harder. I have already met tons of new exchange students so their is a good feeling. The weather is going to get warm here soon so I am ready.

These are the best memories of Costa Rica 2008:

*Colleen mooning everyone and us making a dance move name after it.

*Tom Otte falling into the sea

*Danate making us pizza

*Hearing Rachel Strese talk about her pet wild dogs from the beach

*Waiting in the airport for 6 hours and then 24 more in Atlanta

*Teaching others my line dance moves -thanks Randolph high school-

*Eating all the delicous food, sea bass, fajitas, all of it

*When my family had a dance party to Michael Jackson in our kitchen for an hour, my dad even broke a watermelon.

*Spending too much time with my family



I had a nice time and all the people we go there with make it so much fun. I can´t wait till next year and I am sure more people will come.