Day 1 ::: I left for the airport around 11:30am and happened to bump into my friend Meghan on the bus. We chatted for awhile and commented on the amazing luck - 55 degrees and sunny in Chicago - finally a good travel day at O'Hare! Normally that would be great news, but not today because apparently the weather in Houston (my connecting city) was terrible! As soon as I got to the check-in counter, I found out that my flight was delayed and that I would definitely miss my flight to San Jose, Costa Rica, which was the last one of the day. The agent gave me two options, 1) go to Houston and spend the night in the airport (sounds lovely, but no thanks!) or 2) go to Newark and do the same. New York here I come! If I'm going to get screwed, I might as well head home for the night and hang with friends. I flew to NYC and then walked down to Chelsea to meet up with Sean and Colleen and eat my favorite New York meal, Drunk Man Noodles from Spice!
Day 2 ::: 5am wake up call and back to Newark to catch the first flight to Costa Rica. I'll spare you all the details about how I sorted out a new puddle jumper connecting flight to southern Costa Rica, but let's just say the people at regional carrier SANSA are not so organized. I hung around the terminal for four hours before I finally got a flight and to top it all off... just as the agent was tagging my bag, I got a bad feeling and asked him to double check what the tag said. Thank god I asked, because my intuition was correct, my bag was headed to Quepos! He quickly re-tagged it and funny enough, right before we boarded the plane, we found out that none of our bags would actually be joining us on the flight. Lovely. The plane I took was definitely the smallest I've ever been on (12 people), but luckily my seat was equipped with a Jungle Survival Kit. I was only slightly nervous during the flight, but landing in Puerto Jimenez was a trip. You only need to look at the photo of the airport (see top right) and you'll know why I was laughing so hard upon landing. My new friend, Mario, was there waiting for me and took me on a long and bumpy car ride to the place where we were staying, Ojo Del Mar. Run by two Germans, Ojo Del Mar, was a rustic but beautiful place to stay. The grounds were amazing and they fed us quite well! In fact, the first night we had an amazing organic chicken curry dish before imbibing a few beverages, meeting some new friends, playing some cards and heading to bed.
Day 3 ::: We got up just before 9am, in time to catch breakfast at our lodge and then head off by car to Playa Pan Dulce a few miles up the rocky road. Just to give you some context, the region where we were staying is quite remote. In fact, most Costa Ricans (even the well traveled) have not been down to Matapalo. The midday heat was pretty intense, so we stayed on the beach for only a short time and then went to Buena Esperanza, the only public restaurant in all of Matapalo, for lunch. After that we went to check out Lapa Rios, one of the nicest eco-lodges in all of Costa Rica before taking a drive back into town (Puerto Jimenez) to hit the ATM and buy some snacks. Buying snacks was easy, getting money from the ATM was not. Apparently the ONLY ATM in the entire region did not like our bank cards. Not good. Can you say cash advance? @*#^$!!! That night we went back to Ojo Del Mar for some R&R and dinner, hung out with our interesting new cabina-mates and then crashed.
Day 4 ::: We had to be up and out by 8am to head over to Everyday Adventures HQ for our fun-filled day in the jungle. We got there and had to wait for an annoying (and late) family of four from Texas. Then we set off on a 45 minute hike where we saw (and heard) lots of howler monkeys and a poisonous dart frog on our way to our destination, a legendary Matapalo tree. Matapalo's are strangler (killer) trees that form when seedling figs send down long roots to the ground and surround the host tree. It grows quickly and 
eventually suffocates the host. When the host tree dies it leaves a hollow core with an upright strangler, which makes for good climbing. The first part of our day involved climbing a 200 year old, 70 foot tall one of these trees... I went first and KJ and Esteban followed. And when each of us made it to the top, we jumped off and swung around on the harness, Tarzan style! Pretty damn cool. After the tree climb, Esteban left us to head back to San Jose and the rest of us made our way further up the trail to King Louis Waterfall, which fortunately/unfortunately didn't have any water since it is the dry season and there wasn't rain in three months! We repelled down 40 feet first and then down another 90 on the mossy rock face. It was pretty amazing, despite the annoying know-it-all Texan family adding their two cents every chance they got. After our adventure, we hiked back, hit the beach for awhile and then went to Buena Esperanza for dinner where we ate, drank and chatting up locals for awhile. I saved KJ from a terrible mistake and then we went back to our cabina and were in bed by 10pm. Ahh, life in the jungle!
Day 5 ::: KJ and I got up early to have breakfast and pack our bags before heading to Playa Plataneras near the airport in Puerto Jimenez. A cute couple, undergrads from USC, were staying with us and needed a lift to town so they joined us. However, right as we were about to get in the car, I noticed we had a flat. Ibiza flashback! Where are Shirley and Nora when I need them?! Luckily we hadn't left 0jo Del Mar so we had plenty of pit crew members to help out. After the tire change, we made our way to town, took 
care of a few errands and then made the short journey to the beach. Unfortunately it started to rain 10 minutes after we got there and we had to retreat back into town - so much for the dry season! The good news is that we were not too far from a cute little restaurant where we could eat yummy food and drink michiladas (beer + lime juice + salt). The sun came back out so we planted ourselves in hammocks for an hour and read our books and soaked the rays before returning the rental car and heading to the airport. Good thing we got there a bit early for our 4:30pm flight because it left at 4pm and didn't even make the scheduled stop in Drake Bay... gotta love SANSA! We arrived in San Jose around 5pm and everybody was still at work so we made ourselves at home in a bar and drank more michiladas until we could be picked up. KJ's old roommate, Meg, finally came and got us and then we went to the house in the "hills" of San Jose. We only had an hour or so to relax and shower before the crew started piling into the house. Back when KJ lived in San Jose, their house was party central so it was a reunion of sorts for her old crew. After a few hours, a few drinks and a angry return home by one of the current tenants we set out for a friend's place. We actually made our way to two parties that night, both at absolutely spectacular apartments, among the most beautiful I've seen. KJ assured me that's how her crew rolls all the time (-; We made it home around 5am.
Day 6 ::: I woke up around noon to do a little writing and then went with KJ and one of her friends to a Lebanese restaurant called Lubnan for lunch. We gorged ourselves on delicious hummus, falafel and other treats and then walked around the city center for awhile. The barrage of cat calls and a trip to a dingy casino were the highlights. That night we took a nice long disco nap and then ate dinner at one of KJ's favorite Italian restaurants before gathering a nice big crew for a big night out at Club Vertigo. Right before I left for CR, I found out that the owners are good friends with one of my buddies from New York... and that Desyn Masiello, Demi and Omid16b were playing while I was in town. So I did when any other elite party person would do...rounded up the posse and got nutty! We started off as ten and by the time the lights came on, we were five. Knowing how crazy the boys of SOS are, I thought for sure they'd play all day, but they finally called it quits at 8am and I was actually glad because I danced the ENTIRE night and was ready to sit down for a bit. Loved the early morning "Good Life" and Hall & Oats sample dropped by Demi...music was on point all night.
KJ and I went home to the house, showered and packed and decided a nap would do more harm than good. I wound up sunbathing for a bit (bad idea!) while we waited for Oliver to get ready and come pick us up to drive to Playa Santa Teresa (central Pacific coast). We had an interesting sleep and food deprived trip to the beach - a two hour drive, a two hour wait for the ferry (where Oliver entertained us with crazy talk), a one hour ferry ride and a two hour drive to our house in Playa Hermosa. Let's just say by the end, I was about to lose it. Thank god Oliver made the late night drive for pizza to save me! Oh and we had a run in with a DISGUSTING PIG of a man on the ferry. I wanted to kill him, I wanted to throw stuff at him, but instead I just gave him some of his own medicine, which apparently he couldn't handle. Nasty.
Day 7 ::: Beach time! Oliver's friend, Will, lives in Playa Hermosa, which is just a little way past the more well known beach towns of Mal Pais and Santa Teresa. Will was out of town for a few days and graciously gave us the use of his pad. We got up in the morning and cruised to the beach and sat in the shade since it was scotching hot and I had sunburn from the day before. Around lunchtime we ventured into town to grab some yummy wraps at Sugar Mami's restaurant. Not only were we fed well, but we got to take in the sights - an adorable puppy and adorable (but gap-toothed) surfer boy. Oliver and KJ were drooling... it was gross. We made our way further up the beach to catch a nap and sunset at Playa Carmen. We also got in our first proper photo shoot - can you believe it - Day 7 and we're just now getting to a photo shoot?!!?!?! Back home, shower, eat and off for a night on the town. It's Reggae Night at Tabu...everybody's gonna be there! Well everybody in the small a$$ beach town, which is good enough for us. Cool little outdoor venue near the beach with a bumpin system. Some interesting characters for sure! We did make a few friends - one from Manchester who proceeded to get wasted and try to make-out with me and one (HOT) med student from Stockholm. We hung out till around 2am and then made our way home.
Day 8 ::: Tuesday morning we woke up to some seriously strange noises... we have no idea what it really was, but the only thing that could possibly make such a terrible sound is the rare, Pliver-Butt Monkey. I guess we'll never know. We decided to take a short road trip to Montezuma. And in case you're wondering (like I was)... the place we visited is not the source of Montezuma's Revenge. 
Although funny enough, we did manage to get the Mexican curse the next night. Coincidence? Hmmm.... Anyway, back to Montezuma. Once we arrived we hiked 15 minutes to a really cool waterfall and then swam, slept and starred at some studly, curly-haired Tico boys. Once the waterfall was invaded by some annoying Americans, we left and went back into town to enjoy an iced mocha and some french fries before walking along the beach. Unfortunately there was a "red tide" that day which meant the water was full of algae and the beach was full of yucky debris. The nasty conditions did not deter us though - we marched down the beach and found a spot suitable for beach photo shoot #2. Oh and it was a good one (see pics below including the classic three picture series). After the photo session we watched the sunset with some ceviche and micheladas. We drove back to Playa Hermosa and met up with Will (whose house we were staying at) and had an imPROPtu silly session, where the Pliver-Butt Monkey was reincarnated as Oli-Azteca!
Day 9 ::: KJ and I got up early and hit the beach while Oliver slept in. The weather was amazing and we had the beach almost all to ourselves for a few hours. After soaking the sun for awhile, we set off for lunch in town at Tula, an Israeli cafe, where we feasted on falafel...yum! The afternoon was spent browsing shops and then we went back to the house to get ready for the night out. Our host, Will, is a bartender at Flor Blanca (one of Costa Rica's finest 5-star lodges @ $500/night) so we met up with him for a series of drinks that sent all three of us flying. First we had guaro sours and then mojitos, which were both amazing! The KJ and I decided to start ordering a massive meal, which included sushi, a beet salad, ceviche, a salmon dish with beet puree and... get this... a hamburger hand ground with foie gras and gorgonzola cheese. Are you serious?!!? One of the most incredible foods I've ever eaten! After eating and drinking so much, we took a stroll to the beach chairs near the Flor Blanca pool and passed out. Literally. Will came over and found us an hour and a half later and laughed at us and then brought us espresso. After that we made our way to Surf Camp, the place to be on Wednesday nights and got our party on for a few hours at what appeared to be an Abercrombie casting call. High/low-lights of the night out include: Montezuma's Revenge, Chicho, a fistfight, KJ's squat in the bushes, the sleeping dudes and an Anna Nicole Smith sighting.
Day 10 ::: Up at 10am and on the road back to San Jose. It took FOREVER, but at least we got to stop on the way for a typical Tico meal, gallo pinto (rice and beans). Delish! Thursday was supposed to be Esteban's last night in Costa Rica before heading back to school in Paris, so one of his good friend's with a pimp apartment hosted a farewell party. The crew gathered once more and as expected things got just nutty enough for some fun photos. Esteban was drawing on the walls and I did a backspin. Enough said.
Day 11 ::: Some sun, some fun, a late lunch at Tre Frateli (a favorite spot of the Kristins) and then a long, long nap. We watched Big Daddy and then passed out. What can I say... we finally ran out of steam.
Day 12 ::: San Jose - Houston - Chicago. Home, (somewhat) Sweet, Home. Only 10 more weeks of business school! It's time to get serious (about having fun!)
