Pura Vida Livin

 After some well needed relaxation by the beach the three of us decided to move inland. Two weeks ago we went to Monteverde which was much cooler and a completely different vibe. The second day we were there we went on a zipline tour that ended up being a highlight in our trip. We got to experience a heart thumping Tarzan swing and a 1km long superman zipline from one mountain top to another. It was exhilarating! Monteverde is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in Costa Rica with many different species of animals and vast rainforest. The call it the cloud forest which gives the whole place a relaxing yet eerie feeling.



We spent two full days in Monteverde and went by jeep-boat-jeep to La Fortuna where Arenal Volcano stands. Last time I was at this volcano five years ago it was spilling with lava though I didnt get to see it since it was cloudy the weekend I was there. I was excited to get back there to see the lava until we found out that it has been inactive for the past three months. This is the first time it has been inactive in over 60 years. Active or not, it is a beautiful volcano still spewing smoke and the town is quaint and relaxing. We stayed at Arenal Backpackers hostel in the dorm rooms for two days but the beds were wrapped in plastic so if one of the any 8 people sleeping in there would move everyone would wake up. Our last night there we switched over to the awesome teepeeeeee like tents built on slabs of wood with comfy mattresses inside. This was breezy and QUIET AND $2 cheaper!

Our final location visited was Playas del Coco. This was the town that Matt and I had originally planned on living to do our dive master internships and we were keen to see what it would have been like. The town is extremely small and had more locals roaming around than any other place we visited. Due to funds, however, we decided to only snorkel for one day and relax the other two days. We are happy with our decision to travel instead of staying in one place. The Dive Center was a great place that probably would have made a memorable ten weeks but we are excited to move on from Costa Rica.

Costa Rica now vs five years ago.
1- Prices for a local meal are around $6 now and were around $3.
2- Tourists EVERYWHERE as before we would see much more locals.
3- Businesses are no longer owned by locals!!! Can you believe that? We would try to eat at Sodas, which are local restaurants and meant to be extremely cheap. A few times we would get there and find out that some of the so called  <local> restaurants are actually owned by foreigners and not actually locals. Many times we would see the local workers being mistreated by the owners.This really angers me and it makes me eager to save my money to spend in other countries where the culture has not been so shifted by outsiders.

Tomorrow is an exciting day for Matt and I. We will finally be PAID and we will fly to Guatemala city. Since we arriving in the evening we have already arranged our nights stay at a nice hostel for half the price of any hostel in Costa Rica. Early the next morning we will be taking off the Antigua and spending a few days there. Im not sure if we will have internet for the first few days so I want to give you a rough itinerary. After Antigua we will make our way to Semuc Champey known as one of the most beautiful places in Guatemala. There is a National Park there with many natural springs and caves that we want to venture through. After a few days there we will go to Livingston on the Carribean coast. We will maybe stay there one or two days and take a $15 river boat to Rio Dulce which lies on the largest lake in Guatemala name, ummmmm, something Lago de Izabal, I think...sorry Im going off my memory. Finally we will make our way to Tikal to see the pyramids and then into Belize to wwoof at the bamboo farm for three weeks.

I will try to update the blog sometime in there but I will definitely email the family that we are safe upon arrival.

We are loving our travels right now but we have everyone in Korea in our hearts and miss you all. We are also always thinking of our family and friends back in Canada, the States and everywhere else in the world and cant wait to see you all soon!