Tamarinda Beach Part One

I hate bus rides. Especially 7 hr long bus rides, through the mountains, with crazy costa rican drivers, sometimes gravel roads, and people passing even while going around the mountain! (yes on the curves, bleck) The best part was bonding with people from all parts of the US and speaking a little more English than I should be speaking! :) Two bus loads of students off to the beach for a weekend of relaxation, ocean time, and a little fun. We left town Friday at 1pm after my 4hour long Spanish class which didn't go well because my energy was running on empty by the end of the week. Thank goodness my mama tica, Miriam, cooked us some spaghetti for lunch or we would have starved waiting to get to our first stop of our trip. At some point during the bus ride I played some Euchre, sitting backwards in the aisle...terrible idea. I got through two hands and was done-zo. I've grown to understand that I have motion sickness...but didn't when I was little! I awoke finding that I had drooled on my pillow (yes I brought a pillow, and yes I was envied, and yes people offered me money to use my pillow lol they know for next time to bring theirs from home!) at the first stop we made. A beautiful little restaurant off the highway was where we would eat and use facilities, just as the sun was starting to set behind the hill that the restaurant sat upon. The builing was of dark wood and had animals around it, the one animal that stuck out the most was a white horse that was roaming around on its own. I know I have never been on a horse, and still think this was the first time I even touched a horse. I felt a rush of excitement when I walked up to it because I knew I could get bitten or stepped...neither of which happened. Instead the horse smelled and licked my hand, made a horse-like noise and continued mosying round' the building. The sun was setting and the building was hot without shade, I had a coke (in a glass bottle which is very common here) and some french fries because I wanted some unitedstatsian food cooked differently! And yes, I said Unitedstatsian...if it isn't a word I will coin the term. :) The rest of the bus ride to Tamarinda was a lot of fun because my friend and I were busting out the tunes were both listening to on my ipod. No one has a stereo or ipod dock, so we had to bring the entertainment. I am hoping my wonderful father will send me a nice care package with my cheap portable dock here soon...lets keep our fingers crossed. We spent the last leg of the bus ride traveling on gravel (for around a half hour) and I was getting really sick, until I smelled the ocean! My first trip to the Pacific....I was very excited.