Settling in

I LOVE IT HERE.

We went to Paradise yesterday, AKA Las Islas Tortugas. Lonely Planet says it has the most beautiful beach in all of Costa Rica. The beach is really small and touristy but we loved it! Joe and Matt (the two guys in the first picture from the last post) and Katrine, a German volunteer, and I went together. We first had to walk through a National Park, where I saw my first monkeys of Costa Rica!!! And then we hired a boat to take us over to the island. The boat tour included snorkeling and fresh fruit! Qual! While snorkeling, I saw a huge Sting Ray and it was so majestic. Then we went over to the island, met up with my BFF Kerstin (a former volunteer who works on the island now), played some beach volleyball, swam over to another beach, came back, ate a picnic, and just soaked up the beauty of the whole day. Along with a lot of sun. We all came back well burnt- the first burn I got since being here.

And last weekend we went on a hike to another beach on the opposite side of the bay! We saw millions of tinnnnny hermit crabs!

Among all the monkeys, crabs and sting rays I have seen, I have also seen several frogs, tons of pelicans, several Macaws and a boa constrictor.
Not so cool wildlife= a gigantic cockroach that was living in my room, the five daddy long legs in my bathroom that I named after each Spice Girl, and all the ants that live in the sugar that provide a little extra protein in my coffee each morning. I am really starting to love the dogs here. There are four and I know all of their names. I spend a lot of time with them, which is probably why my eyes are red all the time, but this is the first time I have actually had a relationship with animals. They take walks on the beach with me and now they even sit calmly with me while I do my yoga (most of the time.)

Another creep-o local is starting to become infatuated with me and from what I can gather, his name is Gravy. Apparently he hasn't yet got the memo that I'm a heart-breaker.

We play a lot of beach volleyball now and when we get too hot we just go for a refreshing swim! I run when the tide isn't too high and swim when the tide is too high. Lots of ejercicio here!

Powdered laundry detergent is the all-purpose cleaner around here. We use it to clean the floors, wash our hands, and do the dishes when we run out of dish detergent. We wash the floors a lot. Probably every other day.

We got TWO NEW CDS so we don't have to listen to JUST Bob Marley! Jethro Tull and Kiss - not bad!

At night, there is plenty of free entertainment. We watch movies some nights, have beach bonfires, learn pool (one local is teaching me pool and Spanish, telling me to keep the cue straight (ni por aqui ni aca) and to hit the ball in el puro centro), we had a party one night with live music and sing-alongs and sometimes we take the bus to neighboring towns for other adventures. I just love spending time with all of the other volunteers, they make anything fun! My two English pals are teaching me new phrases to bring back to the US. They are adorable.

I am trying to ween myself off of using the internet so I will update in another week or two! With more pictures too!!!