Costa Rica is gorgeous country just a few hours’ flight from the US. It was my first real international trip. My 8th grade Spanish class visited for two weeks to celebrate the end of middle school and practice our Spanish. We stayed in homestays, volunteered at a school, hiked in the mountains, played on the beach and got a little taste of freedom. I was hooked. Fast forward a few years to 2019. My friend Monika and I wanted to go on an adventure. We had both studied in Madrid, Spain, and done lots of cheap travel in western Europe, but now we had been back in the states for three years. We wanted a backpacking, staying in hostels, eating cheap food type of adventure. Costa Rica with its small yet incredibly varied countryside seemed the perfect choice.

The plan was to arrive in San José, each find our own way to the hostel, and then head up to Arenal Volcano the next day to start our week-long adventure around the country.

The quickest way from La Fortuna to Monteverde was a “jeep, boat, jeep”. The boat was beautiful but I remember the last part in the jeep as horrible. I get motion sick and even with my drugs I felt sick. The roads were very rough and it felt like we drove for hours.

Monteverde and the Cloud Forest Preserve was totally worth it. Sunny skies, mild weather, lots of birds and animals plus incredible forests. Monteverde is the town where my school trip spent a week in a homestay. A lot had changed in the 10 years since I had been there. It is touristy but still worth a visit.

Then it was time to head to the bus station again and head toward the Pacific coast.

We ended our time in Costa Rica with a sunset cruise. We got to snorkel and sunbath before the sun set. A fun way to relax and celebrate a successful trip. Thanks, Monika, for being one of my favorite travel partners!