Celeste en Costa Rica: Field Trip to Curu

So this weekend was one of my Marine Bio's field trips to Curu, located on the west coast of the Gulf of Nicoya. The beaches there were freakin GORGEOUS. I don't think I've ever been to a place with such green surroundings...and EVERYWHERE. It reminded me of Jurassic Park.

First, we had to leave school at 5am Saturday morning to catch the ferry that would take us across the gulf. Then we arrived at our hotel, which was located in the cutest town ever. There wasn't really much there though, except a soccer field, some tiendas, a tiny church, and a club in a barn(??). It was one of those pueblos surrounded by ginormous green forest, in which everyone knew everyone and where there was nothing to do but drink a couple of brewskis with your neighbors...

Anyways, so that day we did our walking tours in order to make observations of the mangroves and intertidal zones on the coast. There wasn't much to see on the beach except TONS of quick little cangrejas (crabs) and piles of sandpoop!

It was really weird watching the sand poop slowly emerge from the sand, forming long continuous piles. Later I learned they were from worms!

Here are the mangroves, common in rainy/floody climates, and adapted to such with the evolution of tons of roots.

I like how we were walking right through where we were prohibited. I didn't see any crocs though, unfortunately..

P.S. On the way, I ate a couple of termites! It tasted like carrots. And apparently, you can fulfill your daily necessary intake of protein by eating just a couple of those critters.

I also got to see a couple of parrots! They were beautiful...Here you could tell that the pair had a love-hate kind of relationship.

So that night we didn't go out because first of all, there wasn't really anywhere to go and secondly, we were all exhausted from having to wake up at 4 in the morn that day! Also, we had to wake up at 6 am the following day...
This next day made the trip totally worth it. One benefit of waking up that early was that we were able to see the not so pretty beach from yesterday at its finest. Here's a romantic pic of me and Ross haha.

First, we took a boat out to Isla Tortuga, a cluster of big rocks and islands, named so because it has a shape like a giant tortoise. See the head?

We went snorkeling for a little while, but because of the season, there was a lot of sediment in the water, making it very difficult to see much. I did see a couple of cool fish and some pretty starfish.
After that, the guides took us to the most beautiful beach I had ever been to. I think it was named Playa Quesado, or cheese beach, named so because the sand was as white as cheese. Lookie. It was complete paradise...turquoise warm waters, white soft sand, and surrounded by tall green palm trees...

And now I have quite an interesting/hilarious story to share. So I met a boy...one of our guides...his name was Juan. He was really cute, with GORGEOUS hazel/green eyes (he's the one on the left)

At the beach, he asked me take a walk with him and we talked for awhile...I learned he was only 20 but already has a 6 month old son! Well that doesn't matter...Soooo, he basically professed his love to me. He kept telling me I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, that he had noticed me the day before but didn't have the chance to talk to me until now, and that the only way to improve my spanish was to find a Tico boyfriend! hint hint. Then he compared me to a pineapple because like the fruit, I was "dulce y riquizima!" (sweet and super rich haha). There were a few other hilarious comparisons too, like a lobster for instance, which I did not understand at all. In my head, I kept thinking to myself, is this guy for real?? He later told me he would love for me to come back so that he could take me to our own private island where he would spend all day everyday with me, smoking mota and dancing and listening to Bob Marley! (which doesn't sound too bad actually haha). Okay, check this. So when he said he wanted to be "mas que amigos," more than friends, I said it would be difficult since he lives there while I live in San Jose. And to this he said, "pero amor no tiene distancia" (but love has no distance!) Yea. I know. Suuuuper cheesy right? I felt really bad because I could not stop laughing at all his corny lines, and I think he thought I was laughing at him. But it was just because no one ever talks like that in the U.S. without receiving a huge laugh of rejection...only in plays and cheesy romances! But I think that's just how Latin boys are...they're really dramatic, and DIRECT, with their feelings...the COMPLETE opposite of American boys. haa oh boy. Well that was something I will definitely never forget. Who knows, maybe I'll decide to go back. The beaches there ARE pretty amazing...

So after that entertaining incident, we left for the ferry and visited a marine aquarium. I was finally able to see a sea turtle! Even though not in the wild, but still...look at the cutie! :)