gallo pinto with coconut oil!

Cahuita was suuuuch an awesome trip! We originally planned on staying there for 2 nights, but quickly changed that to 3 barely into the first day. We stayed at an adorable hostel called Spencers Seaside Lodge. It was right on the beach, so we fell asleep & woke up to the sounds of the waves. For a comfortable $10 a night, we had a private room, a fan & a private bathroom. Our room even had a desk! Talk about luxury ;)

Spencers was a 5 minute walk to the National Park, a beautiful, rustic, white sand beach. We had nothing but sun, shore & coconut trees for 4 days. Not even a drop of rain.

There was so much I loved about there... the town is tiny, only about 2 blocks deep & 5 blocks long. It has dirt roads, hardly any cars, a million stray dogs, and just about enough restaurants for a 4 day stay... no repeats! Our schedule was up, breakfast bar, beach, lunch, relax, snack. It was super affordable since we ate an average of 1.5 meals a day. But even if we were to eat more, the variety & the price was unbeatable! They have casados here, typical Costa Rican meals, consisting of gallo pinto or rice & beans, plantains, ensalada, & either carne, pollo o pescado. Truly, I dont know if I could EVER get sick of them! And theyre CHEAP! You can get a heaping plate of more food than you should eat (but do!) for c2300, which is about $4 and change. In Cahuita, since its in the Caribe, they have typical casados with Caribbean flavoring... Think: coconut oil in the gallo pinto, jerk sauce on the meat & patacones, or fried plantains.

We also felt instantly welcomed in the area & because of the size, it was so simple to get acclimated. It was fun to hear Spanish mixed with Mekatelyu, an English Creole, and Reggae music blasting from a car here & there, decked out with tints & rims. Knowing we didnt cross water had me sure I was in CR, but nothing around me showed that. Oh, we were also approached about 6 times a day for snorkeling tours, which really added to that Caribbean feel haha

All in all, Cahuita was definitely the recouperation from Costa Rican city life I needed :)

Indulging in an Imperial on a hammock at Spencers

The view from our room

T-minus 4 days!

I am psyched to have a mere 4 days between me & beautiful Costa Rica! I feel like I've been planning, researching, & waiting for the longest! I had a trip similar to this that fell through last Spring & so this comes with much awaited excitement.

All I need to pick up still are some things for the kids I'll be teaching & a present for my host family. Since I don't know who they are yet--do they have kids? Is it a couple? Younger? Older?--I'm thinking of first getting them something that best represents where I'm from. Like... a Statue of Liberty snow globe or a pen with a floating taxicab in it. And while I can't imagine who wouldn't want their very own Lady Liberty in a blizzard, I'll be able to give them a more meaningful token of my appreciation once there. I also need to print out some pictures of important people & places to bring, make copies of my important information & do massive amounts of laundry!

Everything else, I'm crossing my fingers, seems to be in order. I have a super sweet backpack, my share of linen pants & v-neck tees, serious bug spray & watershoes ;) ¡Buena nota!