What I've been doing the last two weeks

I've spent the last two weeks hiking, camping and attempting to surf on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica with the Costa Rica Rainforest Outward Bound School (CRROBS). I did a similar trip with CRROBS last winter and had a blast, so I decided to take advantage of my current situation and return while I'm still on the east coast.

Unbeknownst to me, I would spend the next two weeks with mostly boys between the ages of 14-18 who, once they believed I wasn't 16, took to calling me Momma because I was "old enough to be their mom."

We hiked Santa Rosa National Park, and camped and surfed at Witches' Rock and Avellanas. While I probably would not choose to re-visit Costa Rica with this particular group again, I had a fun and interesting experience nonetheless. A fun, funny, frustrating, exhilarating, exasperating, disastrous, fortuitous, infuriating, annoying and amusing all at the same time experience. I'm glad I went.

Enjoy the pictures.

Back from Costa Rica

I'm back in New York City.


The sunset from my tent.

I've spent the past week with the Costa Rica Rainforest Outward Bound School learning how to surf. We camped on an undeveloped portion of Playa Avellanas, a few steps from the beach and the water. I woke up to the sound of pounding surf every morning and knew that as soon as the sun rose, it'd be time for dawn patrol.


The entrance to our campground.


The view from my tent.

I'm a crap surfer, but I fell a little in love with surfing this week. There's something about sitting on the water at 6am and watching a good set of waves roll towards you. It felt right, like I hadn't a worry in the world. It was just me, my board, the water and the rising sun.

It's overwhelming being back in the city. After a week with no electricity, TV, iPods or computers, I'm a little overstimulated. There's too many people, too much activity and too much noise outside. I'm hiding out in my apartment today with the plan to gradually reassimilate tomorrow.

For more pictures of my week in Costa Rica, click here.