Caribbean Paradise!

This is a little tribute to my lovely friends Britta, Maren and Callie who traveled with me to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica last week. I can't even begin to describe all of the wonderful experiences we had! I've always heard that the Caribbean side is different than the Pacific, which seemed a bit incomprehensible being that it's all one big tropical third world country.

It was true, though. The Caribbean side can boast greener landscapes due to the increased rain, a greater variety of food including spicy Jamaican and Cajun coconut sauces, and a whole culture of black skinned rustifarians who love their dread-locks and live reggae music...a nice change from the loud "trance" music or old 80's tunes that the people on this side of the country seem to be in-love with. Blah.

Plus, traveling with friends felt like being on vacation...from a vacation! Of the many endeavors we had, I'd say the highlights were visiting the Cahuita National Park and being robbed by a monkey, sharing a giant red-snapper in ridiculously delicious sauces with my friends, discovering "Bread and Chocolate" (the name says it all), kayaking down a river and seeing crocodiles and sloths, bathing in the hot springs near Arenal, and enjoying tidbits at 5 different restaurants all in one day. Mmmmm.....

Here are some excerpts from our week in paradise set to some cheesy carribbean music...so appropriate: