A weekend on the Pacific...with Iowa friends!

Boy, do I miss Iowa right now! Three friends from me and Geoff's small group are here visiting me right now and they brought with them fond memories of Iowa. Paul & Katy, and Kelsie arrived Thursday night around midnight. Friday, they did some touring around the city and Friday night we took off for Jaco, a local surfing town on the Pacific coast, about 2 hours from San Jose. We took the 7:00 bus on the windiest road in all of Costa Rica (I promise!). There were more curves than there were inches of straight road. Being so dark outside, I felt quite carsick, but we arrived without any major problems.

The hotel we were staying at, Arenal Pacifico, is owned by the same man who owns the school I work at: Country Day School. Because he owns it, CDS employees (or student teachers) get a nice discount. The hotel was fantastic and right on the beach. The picture below shows the view from the pool right out to the beach.


This little fellow was our poolside mate. There were dozens of them around the hotel area, including 6 BIG ones in the hotel's chicken coop. I asked the gardener if they were going to eat the chickens, but he assured me they were friends. I'm not sure yet whether or not he was lying...

Gorgeous black sand beach! I'm not sure why the sand is black, but it's scortching hot in the midday sun. The water is perfectly clear, but you can see swirls of black (dirt-looking) sand as each wave crashes in.

Here's Kelsie and I on the beach during our walk to supper. We ate at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the ocean. I had fresh tilapia, with some veggies and rice. Delicious! (She let me borrow her yellow dress...cute isn't it?!)

Saturday all-day and Sunday morning were spent lounging on the beach and in the pool taking time to get to know each other better and enjoy God's creation. Sunday afternoon, we headed back to San Jose. We ate at a very authentic Costa Rican restaurant. They served us a free sample of their carrot soup as an appetizer. Here's Paul & Katy enjoying their bowls.

The food was served on a wooden handled cutting board with palm leaves on top. I had a casado, which is basically a "combo" meal. It usually comes with rice, beans, other veggies, a salad, fried plantains, and your choice of meat. So much good, authentic food and usually it's the cheapest thing on the menu! Everything you can see on my 'plate' was only about $6! ($9 if you include tax though. Taxes are 23% here for food...13% for sales and 10% for service, so you don't have to leave a tip)

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend! They were all able to go on a tour today to see a local volcano, a coffee plantation, and an oxcart factory. We're going to meet up in a little bit when they're back from their tour to have supper here with my host mom and roommates. I'm looking forward to it! Paul & Katy take off tomorrow morning and Kelsie is staying with me until she leaves on Thursday. What a blessing friendship is!