if you ever get a chance...

Go here: Matapalo, known for some of the best surfing in Costa Rica. Located on the Osa Peninsula in southwest Costa Rica on the Pacific Ocean, Osa is known as one of the most biologically intense places on earth, and home to at least half of all species living in Costa Rica. Whales, turtles, flocks of macaws, monkeys, insects... they were all there in this rugged part of the country that also makes up part of the Corcovado National Park. We stayed at an incredible place called Ojo del Mar, completely off the grid. No electricity, candles for light, completely sustainable, eco-friendly and run by a charming German woman from Munich named Nico, who also wrote a book on sustainable living. Definitely one of the coolest trips ever!

 "Eye of the sea"

http://www.ojodelmar.com/

Breakfast time

Outdoor shower

Ceiling view

 Walking three miles to the best spot

Coconut time!

Macaws!

Restaurante Buena Esperanza

And some real live alligators for good measure...

surf

My summer in Costa Rica ended with an awesome week at the surf house. Great friends, an excellent group of kids, the beach... very chill and fun!

la paz

I am currently in La Paz, which is different from every other part of the country I've been in. The weather feels like fall and sugar cane and coffee plants stack the surrounding mountains; cloud forests envelop the community and lightning storms light up the night. The students this week stay with families in between playing soccer and doing community service, and so my co-guides and I are able to cook for ourselves and enjoy some time to run the hills surrounding us and dance salsa in the yard.

Chopping sugar cane

Indoor soccer

Lunch time

A peek into daily Costa Rican life that I liked

Night soccer

Night lightning storm

And bungee jumping to end the week...

frutas

One of the best parts of Costa Rica has been the fresh and exotic fruits. Mangoes, papayas, avocadoes, pineapples and watermelon are standard fare and the bananas are noticeably better in taste and everywhere. Cas, mora, chan- all sorts of juices are offered everywhere, and here are two new favorites:

Guayaba, (I think it is guava), you eat the whole thing like a pear

 and Mamon (sort of like a lychee) which are sold all over the place on the sides of the road.

what you see is what you get

praying mantis awareness

Here is a recent shot of a praying mantis. An amazing insect highly beneficial to gardens and the ecosystem. Leave them be if you see one!

bri bri village

Here are some photos from last week's program, Bri Bri. Bri Bri is a rural village in the Talamanca mountains, close to Panama. By far the toughest week of the summer, what with my co-guide Bri sick for a few days, me being the Spanish translator, and torrential rainstorms that washed out roads and left us stranded in a beach town for a night...

Painting class

A former road

Crab sighting!

Surfing lessons

More rain damage

Just hangin with the babies