Week Six in Costa Rica

Week six is going to cover three different trips- three trips that spread very different landscapes. This post will be a perfect example and good representation of how quickly the geography, weather, and population can change in Costa Rica.

First, my group and I spent three days exploring the Monte Verde region. Monte Verde translates to "green mountain" and it's a very sensible name. The region is home to Costa Rica's famous cloud forests. 

 

We spent a morning visiting the Santa Elena Reserve, which hosts many types of insects, birds, and much more that I'm happy I didn't see. A slight mist rained over us during our entire hike, a common characteristic of the rainforest. I gathered the courage to climb up a viewpoint platform and saw the clouds nestled in between the mountains. I'm excited to be heading here again with Will next week and we can zipline through the trees. 

We got to skip classes that next Friday and head over to San José. First, we visited the National Museum of Costa Rica which hosts a butterfly garden, a partly knocked-in wall (signifying the abolishing of the army), old barricades (from when it used to be a fort with rooms for prisoners), and ancient artifacts from the first peoples who lived on this land. One of those artifacts includes almost perfectly round stones of all sizes that have been found buried in the ground around Costa Rica. No one knows where they came from or what they were used for. 

After the museum, we headed for lunch and then to the National Theatre. We were a bit behind schedule so the theatre was closed for lunch, but we did get to see inside of the lobby. It has major neoclassical influence with godlike statues, while temples, and elegance all around- a very different feel from the rest of the buildings in Costa Rica. This is because the children of the elite coffee producers, back in the day, wanted to send their children to university but Costa Rica didn't have any. So, the children traveled to France and brought back their knowledge and architecture- the inspiration for the theatre. 

We made a quick stop in the Main Cathedral which lies right in the center of San José. Four more cathedrals lie towards the outside of San José, so that the pattern of the buildings make a cross. Our last stop was the Museum of Costa Rican Art. One exhibit was from the influence of a famous Costa Rican artist named Züñiga, who builds large maternity-like sculptures. I also visited the "golden room", which hosts a mural of Costa Rica's history that covers four walls. 

From San José, we headed straight out (well, we got stuck in some serious traffic) to Manuel Antonio.

We spend our first full day at a public, hidden beach with few people. It's not pictured here, but it's called Playa Biesanz and requires about a ten or fifteen-minute walk to reach. The second day was Manuel Antonio National Park which is stunning with its beautiful, clear water, nice hiking trails, and monkeys who aren't afraid of you one bit. 

Well, now we've gone through a whole six weeks. It's just incredible how fast time is going here. The next post will be a *special edition*, which will capture my experiences of our four-day visit to Panama!

Stay Beautiful, 

Sadie