Doce chicas y yo

Buenos dias!
Another week, another trip. Getting to be a predictable formula, but I don't think I need to say that I'm not getting bored of it! Costa Rica may be a small country, but there is no end to the amount of things that you can do here. And each trip is better than the last! (but only if you do them in that order... haha).
This weekend saw me returning to Puerto Viejo. We learned last time we were there that it was fairly easy to do whitewater rafting from Rockin J's, but we didn't have the time or the organization to get it done then. We planned ahead this time so we could be sure to get 'er done!
We left on Friday afternoon after our midterm (got my mark back today, apparently I'm gettin this spanish stuff down! go figure) and made it down the Puerto Viejo around 8. Grabbed a 6er for the walk to the hostel. We got there, and as usual, Rockin J's was awesome. They had live music going again and a bonfire on the beach. Difference was, they didn't have tents this time so I spent both nights in a hammock! If you ever have the opportunity, here's a tip - drink a few before you go to bed. You sleep much sounder by not being aware of the sounds around ya.
I suppose I should elaborate on the title of the post: somehow, in the planning of this trip, it ended up being me and 12 girls going. Don't ask me how. No se.
Anyways, a few of us were sitting around listening to the live band. They were great - a guitar, a ukelele, a bass (not the fish, the stringed instrument), and some bongos. Well they'd played a few, and I sorta knew the guy on the bongos (just a dude that works at the hostel), when they started into "wonderwall." I couldn't resist, I was lovin the music and everything at that point. So I wandered up and asked if I could play for that song. Well good 'ol John, he was all for it. So I joined the band for a song, just kinda sat in the middle and played the bongos. Check that one off the list, I guess!
Through the course of the night I met a girl from Ireland (I love that accent), some people from Argentina and Brazil, and a girl from Calgary! Us Calgarians are everywhere! It was fun talking in spanish to the people from South America, and it seems to be a lot easier when you just relax (see: drink) and just let the conversation flow. That's the thing with learning a new language, I think: you just need to take it step by step, poco a poco.
Saturday was cool, went back to The Beach Hut for some eggs benny, then we rented some bikes and headed down like 8km to a beach called Punta Uva (Grape Point). Didn't see any grapes, but we heard some howler monkeys and saw a sloth. The water was crystal clear and the waves were good for bodysurfing. Rest of the day saw me in a hammock, reading, takin er easy, that sort of thing that people don't seem to do enough of. Que lastima. That night we went to a restaurant called Chile Rojo, and I ordered a salad. That's right mom, I actually voluntarily ordered a salad. There's hope for me yet.
We woke up bright and early on Sunday morning to catch the bus at 7:10. It was a 2 hour ride to Siquierres, where the bus picked us up for rafting. We went down to the river, and the guide explained that we'd be seeing class 3 rapids, since it's the dry season so the river isn't running as high as it normally would be. So it wasn't the death-defying adventure that I'd kinda hoped for, but it was still a lot of fun. The valley that the river ran through was beautiful, straight-up jungle on both sides as far up as you could see. It was pretty tranquilo for the most part, but we did hit some good rapids that threw us around and got the boat rockin. I almost bailed at one point, but managed to hook my foot under a seat and held on. Which is actually kindof a shame, since the rules of the river say that the first person to fall out gets a free beer at the end. Haha maybe next time.
The one thing I noticed, that I really want to try next, is that there was a fair amount of river kayaks in the water. These guys were awesome, jukin and jivin and dippin and divin all over the place (now picture Bill Cosby saying that). You have to take lessons beforehand, so you can learn how to roll in case you get flipped over on the way down. I think the element of danger is definitely higher in these little crafts, and you get way more independence in the parts of the river that you can hit. So maybe that's next...

Random thoughts, etc:

- Shout out to all the keys on my keyboard except the "H" key, which is broken and is a consistent annoyance.
- I like the way they drive in Costa Rica. Everyone is aggressive, but extremely aware of what is going on around them. Not to mention they all have balls of steel when passing in the twisty mountain roads. And, the horn means everything from "hi there" to "watch out" to "what a nice sunny day we have here."
- Shout out to your face.
- It doesn't rain much here, but the day I come back with wet shoes that I set out to dry, it rains.
- Shout out to mother freakin nature.
- It's cool that people from all over the world can travel to random countries and make friends.
- Shout out to MAPS for the chat, Jessie for laughing at almost all of my jokes, and Chelsi for the sweet-ass dreds.
- I want to go golfing. So I think I will. Hahaha I love this place!
- Shout out to: Rhawn. (you owe me a beer for that when I get back, aight?)
- Shout out to Maman y Fazha for the valentine's gift, I had a blast!
- Shout out to "she who shall not be smart"

Thanks for reading!