As I was saying, Costa Rica was an eventful trip.  We went to Manuel Antonio National Park.  It has this beautiful beach that’s right on the jungle.  We were already wearing our bathing suits so we went swimming and my dad took a picture of me spitting water at my waterproof Olympus Stylus 7.1

He’s been obsessed with motion water pictures ever since.  I used to be really into horseback riding.  I rode English in California but in Manuel Antonio, the only place we could find with horses rode Western.  It was tricky, trying to ride with one hand and the saddle was a little different.  It had a pommel, which I liked.  I could hold onto it and it was the perfect size for my hand.  My horse was really nice too, but the best part was the ride.  We rode alone along the deserted beach for hours.  It was foggy and cool, late in the afternoon.  The light was beautiful, calm and glowing.  I had never been on a better ride, and even though I quit riding 2 years later, I still never have.

My favorite thing we saw was the bottle-cap crab.  We were on the beach late one night and the sun was just starting to set when we packed up to go back to the house.  My sister looked down and pointed at the ground screeching, “LOOK, LOOK!”  We knelt down to see what she was pointing at and were surprised to see a crab with a clear, plastic shell scuttling across the sand.

We saw some great insects and creepy crawlies.  There was this little animal preserve we visited and we walked though a bug exhibit.  There were frogs and butterflies, lizards and something that looked like a honey-colored ferret.

Finally we came face to face with the beasts that lived in the Croc Pot.  On the way back from the animal preserve we passed over a bridge and looked down to see dozens of 12 foot long crocodiles chilling out in the mud.

We drove back to San José that night.  Jerry the bus driver picked us up at 5:30 and dropped us off at a little hotel near the airport.  It had the most beautiful tiled floors.  I took this picture right before we left the next morning:

Well that was my trip to Costa Rica.  A shortened version anyway.  We ended up getting delayed again.  This time in Miami and I got to miss the first day of school back from break; I was elated.  I hope to go back there some day.  It was an adventure.