Montezuma

This past weekend I went to Montezuma. Montezuma is a small town located on the Nicoya Peninsula...the very same peninsula where I was robbed last time. So it was a little bit scary returning, but there were 7 of us, and we're all a whole lot smarter.
The total travel time, including the ferry, was about 6 hours, so we didn't arrive until late. And since most of the hostels we had called wouldn't take reservations or were full, we made a mad dash for every hostel around. After about 10 "no vacancies", we found one for $10 a night per person, and we only had to kill a few cockroaches and only Maddie possibly got bed bugs...so it was quite a steal ( ha ha ha).
Anyway, on Saturday we walked along a jungle path and made it to a pretty, secluded beach. There was a French family, a few surfers, and us on the beach. On the walk there we spotted (and heard, obviously) some howler monkeys in the trees above us. There was an adult with a baby on her back. I felt like I was watching the Discovery Channel or something.
After a few hours on the beach we decided to hike to the waterfalls that are in Montezuma. There are 3 of them, but to get to the second two, you have to climb up steep rocks, so we decided the first one would suffice. We were able to swim in the pool and stand on the rock wall behind the waterfall. It was quite refreshing compared to the salt water.
On Saturday night we met up with some other American students that we had met at the waterfall. They were having a bonfire on the beach, and my friend Liza and I had been wanting a s'more for the past three weeks, and we really wanted to expose our Norwegian friend to some high quality American pastries, (tomorrow we're making puppy chow with her) so we had s'mores on the beach for my birthday. A bonfire on the beaches of Costa Rica is not how most Americans turning 21 spend their birthday, but I'm ok with that.
On Sunday we left at 8 since we all had quite a bit of homework to do when we got home. I got home at around 3. I had told my host mom that I probably wouldn't be getting home until later, and when I got home she started calling all the family so they could come over for my birthday. We made some sandwiches and she had corn pudding (like corn bread but softer). A few of the aunts and cousins came over and we had coffee and such. She bought a muffin from the bakery so she could put a candle in it, so I got to blow out a candle even and they sang me "Cumpleaños Feliz." For gifts I got a little jewelry box that says "Costa Rica" on it from one aunt, and from the other aunt I got a purse that says "Costa Rica." From my host sister I got an Old Navy shirt, and from my host mom I got a long-sleeved shirt. So that was really nice of them to do that for me, it definitely made it easier having a birthday away from home. The only thing I was really sad about was not being able to go to Applebee's to get a free brownie..but there's always next year.
This coming weekend, I plan on going to Manzanilla, which is by Puerto Viejo, which is probably about 30 minutes from the border of Panama. I'm definitely taking my bug spray! This will be the first time I go to the Caribbean while in Costa Rica, and I've heard that Manzanilla has got beautiful reefs to snorkel in, so I'm looking forward to that.
Oh, and I probably shouldn't tell people this..but I did lose $16 this weekend. No, I didn't get robbed. I was trying to avoid that actually. I had stored my money in my swimming suit top after buying breakfast, and when we got to the beach I never thought to take it out... at one point I saw a bill floating on the water, and tried desperately to grab it, but the waves were pretty big and I missed it. So like my host mom said, hopefully someone who really needs it finds it.
Well, that's it for now.