Wow, this week was definitely an exciting one. Though my post will most likely be me talking about our Manuel Antonio trip, I also had a lot of fun in the hospital this week, where we rotated within rehabilitation. As I reflect back on this week, it’s kind of crazy to see how much time has passed and how much we have all grown as both interns but also travelers living in San Jose. Let’s get into it, shall we?
Excursion to Manuel Antonio
On Saturday, Haruto, Jhalak, Katy, and I took a day trip to Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio! It is a gorgeous park that is filled with both jungles and beaches. At the crack of dawn, we pulled ourselves out of the bed, snacking on granola bars as our measly breakfast. Then, we Ubered to the bus station to step onto this bubblegum pink-colored bus. This drove us from San Jose to Manuel Antonio. On the first stop, we got empanadas, and boy these were some of the best empanadas I’ve had in this entire trip. Like, Haruto and I were shocked by how good they were for a quick pitstop. When we finally reached the bus stop at Manuel Antonio (we actually got there early!), we took a quick diversion to a nearby cafe to grab some breakfast that would actually fill us for the entirety of the day in the park. This is because the park does not allow food of any sort due to their crazy monkeys, which like to steal people’s food (and yes I have pictures of this coming up very soon). WIth my yummy breakfast burrito in my tummy, I was good to go for the rest of the journey.
My delicious breakfast burrito at MA
As we entered the actual park, we were greeted with lush green forests and exotic plants. We decided to do about 3-4 miles of trails in total, stopping occaisionally along the way to snap pictures of assorted fauna and flora, and even a waterfall! The nature was absoutely incredible, and it made us start to feel like maybe we weren’t missing out on not going to Monteverde after all.
Katy hikes across the boardwalk bridge in the trails of Manuel Antonio
When we finished hiking our trails, we visited both Playa Gemalas and Playa Manuel Antonio. Both of them has gorgeous turqouise waters, green trees, and grey/brown boulders along the shore. It was a really pretty sight, especially since the day was so nice as well (we didn’t get any rain at all). Playa Gemalas was a smaller beach, while Manuel Antonio was the bigger beach along the isthmus. We spent a lot of time getting on the rocks and taking these very cool shots, which I have put down below.
Jhalak and I sitting on a rock mound on Playa Manuel Antonio
Us on top of a rock formation at Playa Gemalas!
Monkeys, Monkeys, Monkeys
Within the park, we were able to both see and hear monkeys! From squirrel monkeys to howler monkeys, we encountered them both within the park and outside of the park. My most memorable moment with monkeys, however, was the moment we walked out of the park; we saw an unattended truck parked on the side of the road containing coconuts and banans, but simultaneously, we saw a literal gang of monkeys start to approach this truck and begin to start rampaging through the back. It was absolutely incredible to see how nimble they all were.
Crazy epic monkey business going on behind the truck of a local merchant
Cafe Miel Cakes
On our way back from work one day, I decided to try one of Costa Rica’s famous desserts – torta chilena, which is the Costa Rican take on the Chilean mille feuille cake (thousand layer cake). Although it was on the sweeter side for me, the cake was super good – it was very much like a baklava with warm dulce de leche (like caramel) in between each layer. I have yet to try Spoon’s torta though, so I will report back and let you guys know which one I think is better!
My torta chilena that I got para llevar from Cafe Miel, which was right across from Selina
Rehabilitation Rotation
This week, Raniyah and I got scrubs finally after a long wait! Dra. Acosta was nice enough to help us get these uniforms so that we looked less suspicious around the hospital, especially with the physical therapists. Within Rehabilitation, Raniyah and I were incredibly lucky to see a whole range of patients, both old and new. We were even lucky to have a patient who could speak Spanish, French, and English – it was refreshing that I was able to use my French again! It was also refreshing to be rotating in Rehabilitation, a rotation that I did not even think about doing or potentially liking before I started working here. Our mentor had told us how rehabilitation is an often forgotten yet critical part to a patient’s healing plan, and sometimes doctors neglect to refer patients to physical therapy. That really resonated with me, in terms of what this healthcare system could impove on. Overall, I loved how kind the staff were in really leading patients through recovery following injuries, surgeries, etc.
Raniyah and I in the rehabilitation gym, in our new scrubs
Dinner at Cafe Mundo
And to finish off this week on a good note, Raniyah and I headed over to Cafe Mundo, which was also across the street, to have our Friday dinner. It was extremely delicious, and I was very pleased with the service provided…until they charged me for my para llevar box/brown basg without telling me. So while I did leave with a sour note, I still recommend this place to anyone who may be staying in San Jose!
The shrimp and mushroom pasta I ordered
I need to go back to packing before my Irazu trip tomorrow, so I think I will stop my post here! I will keep you all updated of what happens next week (apparently we may be rotating in ER so that’s super exciting). Until the next one!
Pura Vida!