6/20/14

Wanderworm

Have you ever heard of an ear worm? You know, those songs that are so catchy they involuntarily play over and over again in your head?

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I'm experiencing the wanderlust version of that.

My sister and I leave for Costa Rica in less than a week and the thing dominating my thoughts is the trip. The reservations are made and our itinerary is set, now I just want to be there breathing that wonderful thick air!

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The week leading up to this trip will be bananas. Because our flight is at like one in the morning on the 27th, we'll head out to the airport basically as soon as Vacation Bible School (VBS) ends on Thursday night.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that we're launching this adventure on the tail end of an exhausting -- but super fun and incredibly rewarding -- week of jumping around pretending we're children exploring God's weird but awesome creation in the jungle? I don't know how I'll manage this year's VBS. It's the first time ever that I'll be working full time and heading straight from the office to the church to change into costume. I may go all week without a decent dinner!

Anyway, since I inexcusably missed last week's Miserable, Magical Monday, I figured I would give you a quick peek of what the plans are! It just might be the thing to get me to go from paralyzed excitement to packing and preparing.

FYI: the Google doc I created for this trip is titled Pinedas Take Costa Rica, because I thought it was so cool.

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ARENAL

We'll head out to the Volcan Arenal (that actually looks like what you picture a volcano looking like as a child) as soon as we land in Costa Rica. While we're there, Drea and I will take a dip in some hot springs, enjoy dinner at a soda and of course take a hike around the volcano. There's also a waterfall I'm eager to go back to about 20 minutes out of town. I might actually be adventurous this time and swim in the water!

MONTEVERDE

Sadly, we're practically passing through Monteverde. We'll stay at this awesome-looking hostel I found on airbnb. Seriously, that website is so cool. Although  I kind of wish I knew of more to do in the rainforest, we are doing a zip line course and a canopy bridge tour. I for one am praying that we get non-foggy weather on the day of our tours. My only other experience zip lining (in Monteverde) included lots and lots of fog. At one point I seriously felt like I was moving through empty space since all I could see anywhere around me was gray clouds. It was cool, but I'm itching to see the tree tops and wildlife. Also, this time I'll be prepared with my dad's waterproof camera so I won't be shy about snapping photos of my view. After lunch the plan is to explore a forest trail before heading out toward the beach!

MANUEL ANTONIO

The major attraction of Manuel Antonio is the national park, so that's where we'll start. We'll be up nice and early (hopefully) to increase our chances of seeing some wildlife and literally spend the rest of the day lounging on the beach. Before dark we'll head out for dinner and then watch the sunset on the public stretch of beach. The next day is basically wide open. We want to get in on this spice tour I read about on TripAdvisor and tracked down with my interweb skillz, but I haven't had any luck getting a reply from the people who run the farm. Andrea and I might just show up and use our curly-haired, mistaken-for-twins charm to do the tour without a reservation. Honestly, who could say no to this?


PUERTO VIEJO

Puerto Viejo is the only place I spent more than one weekend in (I spent two separate weekends there) when I studied abroad. I loved the relaxed vibes and riding a janky rented beach cruiser uphill in the pouring rain (I'll have to tell that story sometime). Despite spending more time there than other places, I completely missed out on the various rescue centers. I'm not making that mistake again, so Andrea and I are definitely visiting the Jaguar Rescue Center and might even make the drive to the Sloth Rescue Center. We're both animal lovers at heart so I'm seizing this chance to get my naturalist fix. I liked the souvenir shopping in PV and since this is the last stop of our trip before heading to the capital, I see no harm in beginning the stockpile of souvenirs.

SAN JOSE

I couldn't be my sister's tour guide without taking her to the capital city. neither one of us are interested in eating our way around the country, but we'll probably pick up a lunch at either the Mercado Central or Pollo Campero, a childhood favorite from the small amount of time we spent in El Salvador. We'll squeeze in some souvenir shopping at the Mercado Artisenal and grab coffee at the Teatro Nacional, which, fun fact, is a replica of the Opera House in Paris. I also have to take her to get either some Pops ice cream or a Trit (another ice cream treat) because they were central to my Costa Rican dessert experience. The plans for dinner are up in the air; I'd like to swing by Zapote and see my host mom and old stomping grounds, but I don't know if I'll be competent enough to drive the tricky and scary streets of San Jose. Either way, we're planning on staying with a family friend who lives a bit outside of the city.

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SARCHI or CARTAGO

The last destination on the list is a simple day trip to either the rural cultural area of Sarchi, where they famously paint the oxcarts all kinds of gorgeous colors and patterns, or the Cartago ruins, another thing that was maybe half an hour's bus ride away from me the entire time I lived in CR but never went to see. After a few hours we'll head out to the airport to check in for our flight home. 

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Since it's Drea's first time in the country and since I only got to spend a tiny amount of time in these places, we're sticking to the beaten path this go around. Maybe in the future we'll snob up and spend the whole trip getting to know one place. But for this time around, I think a taste of everything Costa Rica has to offer suits us better than one giant meal.

♥ A

1 comment:

  1. Yay it's going to be so fun! And I can't wait to see pictures and read a blog post all about it, haha.

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