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The Weekend of Three Islands and Nearing the End
This past weekend, I went on an excursion with my study abroad program to Isla Venado, Isla Tortuga and Isla San Lucas. They are islands located on the pacific side of Costa Rica in the Nicoya Gulf.
Isla Venado is property of Costa Rica, but 850 people are living on it now. A few generations ago, three families moved there from the mainland and they are still going. There is a legal battle over the rights of the land, and the economy is not very active. We stayed in a cabin with bunk beds to help support the economy. Since it was on the coast, the weather was pretty hot there.
On Saturday, we traveled to Isla Tortuga. It’s a slightly more touristy island, with a rocky and shell-filled beach. The water was a bit nippy, but refreshing. After soaking up the sun and repeatedly applying Coppertone SPF 50, we jumped into the small lanchas, or small boats to go to Isla San Lucas.
Isla San Lucas has a dark history and I am convinced that I felt eerie vibes. It used to be a prison, and a pretty rough one at that. It was a prison for 118 year, until 1991, and is now exclusively used for tours.
It was my last weekend trip of the semester (I come home in 12 days – it’s hard to believe it’s been a semester!), and a solid one. I got to see a new part of Costa Rica.
I’m finishing up my finals in my classes, and am relieved at the end of each final paper/project/exam (some classes have all of these). I am really looking forward to my IUPUI classes next semester. I miss the syllabi, the office hours, and the punctuality of the professors. At the same time, I know I will miss certain aspects of Costa Rica, such as the different flowers and animals. Most of my trips have had at least one moment that made me feel as though I were four years old again, discovering the world for the first time – seeing monkeys in the wild and up close, noticing colorful birds that are only in zoos back home, being shocked by the seemingly hundred different kinds of flowers blooming on the roadside.
