Rosa Villarreal- Cuahita, Costa Rican Adventure

This past weekend our group went on an excursion during our free weekend to Cauhita, Costa Rica. We hired a bus driver and a tour guide to lead our group safely to the Caribbean Sea. We really didn’t know what to expect prior to arrival and once we drove through our small Caribbean town we were very surprised by the Rastafarian influence on the coast. Most of the restaurants, bars, and even hotels were themed around Reggae and the Rastafarian lifestyle. We were warned prior to arrival to be cautious, always remain within a group, and not to drink their water or accept ice in our drinks. We stayed at Hotel Malu, bungalow style accommodations.  Unfortunately it was raining throughout our stay with random reprieves throughout, however that did not stop us from spending time in the ocean. We had an incredible scare on Saturday when Ryan and two students became swept up in a rip tide. Heroically, 3 of our male students saved their lives as they stayed calm and pulled them to safety. I hugged each of our students tight while my heart raced to know how close we came to losing them. Needless to say, we all remained away from the water after that. We ate so much food, visited numerous overpriced souvenir shops, and enjoyed each others company throughout the weekend. Juan and Jose, our guides kept us safe and informed throughout, the trip would have been significantly different had it not been for them. We visited Puerto Viejo a nearby coastal town where the students enjoyed the nightlife and met up with 4 of our other students who opted to vacation without the rest of the group. The day we left the sun came out to bid us goodbye, too bad it didn't show its beautiful face sooner:-)

Our Tour Guides Juan and Jose

The view from the hotel

I snuck up on a student:-)

Our hotel