Catching up - Part 1 - Punta Leona

As expected, I have fallen behind in my reporting, but since the weekdays are less eventful (mostly class, homework, hanging with the host family, etc.), I'll try to bring the blog up to date in the next few days. For this entry, I want to post some pictures from my trip  the weekend before last to Punta Leona, a reserve/resort on the Pacific Coast. None of us in the study abroad program were entirely sure why we were brought to a resort for a weekend, but none of asked too many questions either. We arrived figuring we would have a project of some kind to complete (especially since our two Spanish teachers were chaperoning), but the weekend was purely dedicated to relaxation. After taking a short hike through a nearby wooded area, we arrived at the resort for lunch, during which a gang of fearless monkeys hopped from roof to roof in pursuit of leftovers (see picture above)--I couldn't believe how aggressive they were. The majority of the weekend, however, was spent at the beautiful beach, "La playa blanca". We lucked out and didn't get rained on until late afternoon on Saturday. The ocean was the perfect temperature and the great lengths of time I spent in it were well worth the ridiculous sunburn I found on my back the next day. On Saturday night, we danced our asses off at the resort's one and only discoteca, which, if I do say so myself, was pretty lifeless until we showed up. Being at a resort like this, which was relatively foreign to me, reminded me of the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall, because we kept running into the same people (staff, guests, etc.) everywhere. All in all, made for a relaxing and silly weekend. I'll try to catch you up on the following weekend in an entry to appear soon...

Sunset at the beach 

Sunday morning at the beach

  Crazy-looking flower from the short hike