Back to the Capitol City, San José

Today is our 8th day in Costa Rica. We have been busy and the time is flying!

Lucy and Maddie had a few more things on their shopping list so after breakfast we walked to the nearby shops. The guys joined us later and they bought some additional souvenirs for their families.

There is an abundance of shops to buy carvings, clothing, bracelets, pottery, and just about everything else for a keepsake of Costa Rica. Prices are not marked on much of the merchandise, so when they tell you a price, you are free to barter with them and give a counter offer. Some of the students in the other group were successful with this, but our group was hesitate to try it.

 The coastline is beautiful but the high temperature and humidity are intense. After an hour of shopping we decided to retreat to our hotel rooms for half an hour before loading our suitcases on the bus.

I walked across the street to take a few photos of the beach.

Then the men loaded the suitcases on the bus...

and we took some photos of Giovanny and Didier, our bus driver....

and one last photo of our group before leaving Manuel Antonio.

As we were leaving Manuel Antonio, we spotted the road sign below.  It informs drivers to drive slow due to the possibility of children, dogs, sloths, and monkeys crossing the road.

On the trip back to San José, we stopped for lunch, ice cream, and souvenir shopping. This painting of the fruits of Costa Rica was on the ice cream shop wall. I found a poster of this and bought it for my classroom. (That's the teacher in me.)

We arrived in San José mid afternoon and had free time to relax, connect with family, and organize our suitcases for our return flight to the states.

After our dinner, Giovanny thanked us for being willing to try new things and for immersing ourselves in the culture. He asked each of us to share one memory that we will take home with us. Some of the memories mentioned were watching the World Cup game with the locals, seeing the howler monkeys, white water rafting, and the friendliness of the people of Costa Rica.

For one last group activity, Giovanny said he felt like going for a walk, so the whole group took a 40 minute walk around the (big) block. The weather was much cooler than in Manuel Antonio, and it was a nice way to end the evening.

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