Bahia Ballena, Costa Rica

I am sitting on the porch of the house we rented and listening to the sounds of the jungle. The group is out kayaking and snorkeling, but I stayed behind to do a little work and to recover from my 2 days of surfing lessons.

If you get a chance, I highly suggest heading out to Bahia Ballena. It is super relaxing and beautiful. I am one of 8 people on this trip. It has worked out pretty well except that 3 people missed connecting flights and arrived a day later, but they made it.

I arrived the night of the 28th and met up with Kerry, the sister of a childhood friend, in San Jose. We stayed a pretty swanky hotel the first night and then set out the next morning for Bahia Ballena. Along the way we stopped off to see the location crocodile attraction - actually it is just a bunch of crocodiles hanging out by a river. It was pretty cool though. If you look closely, you can see a pair of shoes next to the crocodile -
I hope it was just coincidental :)



Most of the group arrived a few hours before the new years. Since no one brought speakers for our ipods, we had to improvise. We put my laptop in a bowl and others put their ipods in cups and it really works :)



The last few days, I did a surf clinic through Bodhi Surf - in Bahia Ballena National Park. It was pretty cool. I loved my instructors, Gibran and Adriana. I managed to ride the white water several times my first two days and even rode a small green wave at the end of my instruction yesterday. After the first day, I was sunburned and extremely sore. I thought there was no way I was going to make it through another class. I was wrong - once I got into the water, I couldn't help but attempt surfing again. My body is still sore, my face is a bit sunburned as well as my arms, and my knees are a little scraped up. But in two days, I am going to do it again :) I only wish the waters of San Francisco were as warm and gentle as the waves in Bahia Ballena.

My knees:


It is a bite strange to just be hanging out after living and working in Africa last year. I haven't had much contact with the local people except at the grocery store. I definitely miss that part of traveling, but I can't complain. I am fortunate enough to be able to come to beautiful place like Bahia Ballena, surf and just chill out. Anyways - I hope everyone is doing well and that they had a great New Year. Obviously - mine has been fantastic in Costa Rica.

Take care and if anything else exciting happens or I finally get around to taking some photos - I will update you all.

Hasta luego amigos,

Michelle

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