Adventures in Costa Rica: I still can't believe Dad actually got onto the plane...

Sorry for the lengthy break, it was quite the week.

So I braved the San José traffic and picked my parents up from the airport around one on Saturday afternoon. Although their journey was long and tiring, they made it here safe and sound. We then checked into their hotel, chatted for a bit and headed over to my side of town (aka Zapote). There, we enjoyed conversation and Costa Rican coffee with my host mom, Doña Mayra (the term conversation may be a stretch considering the rather large language barrier, but it was conversation none-the-less). I'm going to say it again, Costa Rican coffee is delicious. After a tour of my campus and surrounding neighborhood we returned to the hotel for a nice dinner and I, taking advantage of the opportunity at hand, had a spectacular shower (tune in later for my rant about the showers here in Costa Rica). On Sunday, we learned about the history of Costa Rican in the National Museum then explored downtown San José. Not much to say there except that San José is a slightly crowed and extremely colorful city.

For me, the subsequent week was a flurry of presentations, papers and exams. For my parents, it was a flurry of travels, sights and some restless nights. I don't know a whole lot about their experiences during the week but I do know that they helped save over a hundred baby turtles and for that, I am incredibly jealous.

On Friday afternoon, I finished up my second (of three) Spanish classes and, once reunited with the padres (not the baseball team), headed to Manuel Antonio.

Manuel Antonio is a small beach town located next to one of Costa Rica's most beautiful national parks. El Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio is practically overflowing with animals. There, you may encounter anything from...

a sloth,

to a hermit crab,

to a red faced iguana.

...

And then of course there are monkeys. Un montón de monos. The monkey featured above is a White-faced Monkey. Also known as the Mafia of Costa Rica, White-faced monkeys are mischevious (but still adorable) little devils who steal everything. I mean everything.

It was 7am on Saturday morning. My parents and I were peacefully enjoying our gallo pinto when suddenly, a monkey appeared. While the kitchen staff was looking away he snuk into the kitchen, stole a banana and then scampered out (though not without receiving a scolding from the staff as soon as they realized what had gone down).

Apparently word spreads quickly in the monkey community because within minutes, there were a whole lot more. All trying to get their own piece of the cake, or in this case, banana.