Living La Pura Vida: Tarcoles y Punta Leona

I'm getting behind. I know. And it's getting harder and harder to remember what I have been up to and what I should write about. So this is what has happened most recently:

2 weeks ago my class went to Tarcoles and Punta Leona. Tarcoles was the rural stay of one of my friends. It is a small town in the Central Pacific that is based on its fishing co-op. On our ride to Tarcoles we stopped on the side of the road to buy fruit from a well-known seller. We bought mango, papaya, watermelon, pineapple, and granadilla (one of my favorite fruits in Latin America). We also stopped by one of the rivers in Tarcoles to take photos of the crocodiles that live there. In Tarcoles we learned a little bit about the fishing "industry" they have and I even got to hold some of the large fish. It smelled horrible and they were a lot heavier than I expected but it was a good experience.

Granadilla

For the rest of the weekend we stayed at a private resort on the Pacific Coast called Punta Leona. We went there as a class to learn about the Scarlet Macaw which is an endangered species that is protected in the area. However, we didn't spend much of the weekend doing academic activities. The beach was amazing and beautiful, at night too. And the waves can be really powerful. We rented boogie-boards one afternoon. We saw lots of monkeys and pizotes and raccoons around. They often got into people's stuff which was really funny. Luckily, I didn't get sunburnt. Staying in a chalet with my 7 classmates was a blast!