Farewell to Costa Rica!!!

Everyone decided to stay in Manuel Antonio National Park until 2 pm and wrap up any last minute shops or beach time.  We had a last goodbye meeting at the hotel pool before we left the town.  Two people from the tour extended their trip and stayed in Manuel Antonio.  After leaving the town we took our time heading back to San Jose where we first started the tour.  A couple of people wanted to stop back at the crocodile swamp area to get a few last minute gifts.  Once we headed back to San Jose we learned that there was rush hour traffic.  Guess things aren't much different in Costa Rica as they are in the States.  Once we arrived at the Hotel Autentico we just relaxed and said our last goodbyes.  Some people went to dinner at an Argentinian restaurant and others stayed behind to get ready to leave the next day.

I have to say, this was a fantastic experience to see different parts of Costa Rica and learn about the culture and lifestyle.  With the tour guide being a native of Costa Rica, he was very knowledgeable about his country.  I would definitely recommend G Adventures Tour group to use for a trip to Costa Rica.

Leaving Hotel Autentico, Hola Puerto Viejo!!

Before leaving San Jose I walked over to the nearest grocery store with my bestie Dan to grab a few things before we traveled on the public bus to head to Puerto Viejo.  When we walked into the store no one really spoke the language. If you go to grocery stores in San Jose just a piece of advice, you will not know whether some of the locals speak English.  Make sure you absolutely revisit your old Spanish books if you do not speak the language or bring a translation book if that helps better.  It can be very frustrating trying to ask where things are or how much and they can't speak to you or respond.  I wanted to get a feel for some of the groceries that some of the locals eat, aka "junk food."  One of the grocery girls and I made the best of trying to communicate what she recommended for good cookies and crackers to snack on.  Purchase water, because most of the time the tap water is not safe to drink down here.  Once we left the grocery store and headed back to the hotel to meet the group we were transported to the public bus.  The bus ride was roughly 4 to 5 hours, I decided to bust out my Ipod speaker and play music for everyone on the bus to keep them entertained.  That was a good time to get to know some people and enjoy good music.

My bestie Jessica

This is our tour guide Allan

My Bostonian Sue was raising the roof to Macklemore

On our way up to Puerto Viejo, we stopped at a rest area to stretch our legs, thought I'd take some funny pictures of myself and people from the tour.  Check it out!!

Tate Chillin

Strike a Pose for the Camera

Tough girls ready to rumble

My sweet little German Girl

Can you say backpackers!!!