El Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio

Jess and I representing GVSU at the beach in Manual Antonio National Park.

Smoothies at the Croc Bridge.

This weekend, I went to the Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica with my AIFS study abroad program. It was a relaxing weekend and was nice to get out of San Jose to see the beauty of Costa Rica. It was about a four hour car ride from San Jose to Quepos. On the way, we stopped at the "Croc Bridge" to see many crocodiles in the river below and have a delicious smoothie. It was a little scary to look over the bridge and see so many crocodiles below you.

The plane in the restaurant, El Avion.

After we arrived in Quepos, we checked into our beach front hotel, Kahare and went out to dinner at a restaurant called El Avion. The restaurant was one of the coolest places I have eaten; it was built from an actual plane that you can go in and overlooks the ocean. The food was also great; I had chicken and rice and a coconut flan dessert.

My group through AIFS at the national park beach.

On Saturday, we traveled to Manual Antonio National Park. The park had many different animals that we saw with the help of our guide, such as sloths, three different types of monkeys, birds, lizards, crabs, and raccoon. The monkeys were my favorite because they weren't afraid to be close to humans; however, you have to be careful because the monkeys are known for stealing food and peoples' belongings. There were also many different kinds of trees, and one of the most beautiful beaches that I have ever seen. After exploring and watching animals, we were able to relax on the beach and swim in the ocean. The park was amazing, and is a place everyone needs to visit in their lifetime. Below are some pictures from the park:

On Sunday we spent the morning swimming in the ocean and hotel pool and then, returned to San Jose. This weekend was an unforgettable experience and recharged me for this next week of Spanish classes.