My Travels

I bet you're wondering, "Frank, where did you get such a clear map and beautiful artwork?" Well, I'm on a budget. That's all I can say. My email access has been limited so I wanted to try to catch everyone up on my travels while I'm in San Jose (and the Internet access is plentiful) for the night.

On Jan 21, I flew into San Jose and was taken to my host family in Heredia (only a 15 minute drive.) I studied in Heredia at a school called CPI (http://www.cpi-edu.com/) They have 3 different campuses: Heredia, Monteverde & Playa Flamingo. I studied with CPI for a total of 5 weeks: 3 in Heredia and 2 in Playa Flamingo. During my stay, I visited:

-Manual Antonio National Park (1 weekend)
-Puntarenas & Montezuma (1 weekend)
-Playa Tamarindo (my first try at surfing, NICE!)
-Playa Conchal (a beach made of shells instead of sand)

After Playa Flamingo, I've been studying at a school called Montana Linda (www.montanalinda.com) It's in the very small town of Orosi but it is wonderful. The people are very friendly and helpful. Besides being a great place to live, surrounded on all sides by mountains, rivers & waterfalls, the school & hostel are extremely affordable ($480/month). Even with a homestay (2 meals/day & laundry), it's still only $680/month. You can't beat it anywhere in Costa Rica.

Last weekend, a group of us went to Volcan Irazu and afterward to the town of Turriabla for white water rafting on the Rio Pacuare (#5 Best Rafting River in the world). I didn't bring my camera during the trip because I was afraid it would find it's way back in the river but I wish I had taken a disposable camera. The views of the valleys and the rain forest were unreal, absolutely incredible! Amazing!

Tonight, I'm staying in San Jose to catch the bus to Puerto Viejo (on the Carribean) in the morning and then to the islands of Bocas del Toro in Panama next week.

From there, I'm not sure. I would like to continue learning Spanish but I would also like to continue travel as well. We'll see.