I believe that many of you reading this are in a completely different world than I am right now. I arrived at the beach (Playa Samara) on Sunday afternoon after a four hour ride in a mini-bus. I am taking classes at the beach this week...and yes, I am still doing my homework!

The road to the playa was very good and has been well maintained. On our way there, I sat next to the tico driver and asked him about different things about Costa Rica. We passed through the city of San Ramon. He (Roberto, the driver) said that San Ramon was a city well know for its poets and musicians, and hence, he said, it is the home of "musicos, poetas y locos." We both laughed and I returned his comment with "Entonces, yo soy loca." (Well then, I am crazy!) In San Ramon, there is a pretty church in the center of town right across from the parque central. Apparently, almost every town in Costa Rica has a parque central, an igelsia (church) and a school all in the same area. One tico told me that the Spanish set these up where ever they went.

We left San Ramon and made our way to the province of Guanacaste. Guanacaste, I had read, during the dry season, looked more like an African plain than a lush tropical location. And in some places, what I read was very true. Trees without leaves, brown, dry grass and horses and cows grazing in the fields. Guanacaste is similar to, in the US, Texas, with "cowboys" and cattle.
Most of this I have read, but now, some I have seen.

We arrived at the Playa Samara at 3:00 in the afternoon. The school is literally 200-300 feet from the beach and you can watch the waves plough in from the back yard of the school. Palm trees (palmeras) with green and yellow leaves line the beach (I am sorry if I am making some of you jealous! ha, ha!) The water is blue, but not crystal clear like the Caribe. The waves roll in and foam on the shore. It is a very nice sight to see.

But...it is also incredibly hot!!! In some way it is hard for me to understand why people vacation in such a hot location...but to each his own. Samama is a very touristy town, with a regular population of only 3, 500 people. The roads are dusty, and I believe that most are not paved. It is a different world. People come here to surfear (to surf) and enjoy the beach. In fact in my class there are two surfers from Seattle. It is very different from Heredia. Heredia is commerial and noisy...it is noisy here too, just in some different ways!