Good afternoon everyone, my name is Brianna, and seeing as this is my first blog EVER I wanted to make sure it was full of awe-inspiring beauty, and maybe some strange pictures of brand new friends! First, a little about what I’m doing right now: I am studying abroad in Costa Rica near San Jose in a town called Zapote. The school I’m attending is an arts school called Veritas University! There are actually four students, including myself, who are here from the University of Alabama – so Roll Tide to that!
This past weekend all of the study abroad students here went on an excursion to Manuel Antonio National Park. This place is only one of many beautiful places to go in Costa Rica, but something very special about Manuel Antonio is that it has a rain forest AND a beach. We saw sloths and monkeys and even met some other friends from the United States while we were there. On the first night we looked around at the shops and had time to walk on the beach and through the town, but unfortunately it was too cloudy to see the sunset. The second day was a full day of activities. We got up and went to the national park and had a guided tour through the forest where we got to see many animals! We learned that monkeys and raccoon are thieves who like to steal food and small things from the people on the beaches. Eventually we spent most of the day and afternoon playing in the sand and water. For many people it was their first trip to the beach, but for me it was only my second visit to the Pacific Ocean. That night I got to bask in my very first Pacific sunset where me and some friends got some AMAZING pictures!
This weekend my friends and I are going to a turtle reserve called Ostional, so I will include a post next week about that! I’m very excited and am really glad I took this opportunity. Bye Y’all and Roll Tide Roll!
This is me (Brianna) enjoying my first Pacific Sunset!
Ahhh what a view of the ocean from a forest hiking trail!
This is the sloth, in spanish they call it “perezoso” which literally means lazy.
Bonding together on the beach!
This is me, and my friends in AIFS walking through the Rain Forest at Manuel Antonio!
This monkey was really close! It’s species is known for stealing things from beach goers!