2 Wheels are better than 2 feet

... as far as I am concerned! As a biker and not a walker it has been paining me to watch all these people flying around on bikes and us on foot, so we finally hired a couple of mountain bikes for some two wheeled adventures! We got a couple of battered Trek's, lacking in suspension that our comfy ride's at home offer, but for £10 for both no complaints! After a scantily clad ride along the beach (it's the norm here!) and then 9k of hilly road riding we found a lovely hotel with a pool and beautiful gardens to eat and rest in before a rainy but cool ride home! Cycling in the rain here is actually a joy as it keeps you cool! Today we are suffering from battered buttock syndrome but we are hiring a comfy 4 X 4 to take us further afield and that does not require any peddaling, we hope! xx

Animaltastica at Carillo

Oh it's been a fun packed week already, starting with Saturday - trip to the refuge/zoo in Carillo, saw the loveliest raccoon and anteater and mini leopard species. They are all there for a good reason, to be rehabilitated for their return to the wild.

On Sunday we had a music jam with a Costa rican drummer in his family home, and some cocktails after in a beach bar. On Monday we walked a long way, crossed a river by foot, and found a deserted beach. Today, we nearly went kayaking, but the waves to high, so we opted for boogie boarding instead but the waves were too high!! Getting the idea of the waves here?? We lasted 3 mins each and then gracefully gave the boards back to the hire shop, and sat and watched the local guys doing the full standing surfing with ease. Okay so we need a bit of time and practice! Tomorrow we have decided to hire bikes and explore. I haven't not had a bike to ride since I was 4 years old, it's killing me as everyone has bikes here. Ours are in storage at home! Then if we are not too exhausted, by Friday, we will opt for 4 wheels and head a bit further out, and try not to get lost or lose a wheel in the pot holed roads. The roads are made up largely of holes and the occasional patch of tarmac so you have to drive slow, but no one is in a hurry here so that's fine. Right, on with the vodka cocktails before we stretch our legs to our favourite eaterie. It's full of colourful Tico characters who all seem to have a story to tell, and think Rene is a Tico as he is the same colour as them now! My Spanish is coming on, I can ask for the bill and the toilets and buy beer, what more do I need? Bye for now homies xx

Oh lordy we did it!

Hi all, sorry long time no blog, it's been a whirlwind of a month with the course. We both graduated on Friday... yesterday, with a pass A after a gruelling 3 hour written exam and teaching assessments all week. So we are pretty chuffed. It was an amazing course and experience in general and we have learnt so much. We had a graduation party last night were our teachers plied with champagne and then copious Guapo shots - the local spirit which tastes similar to petrol. So we danced the night away, see photo's of our fellow graduates and teachers, before we had done too much damage.

Today started with a heavy head, but not wanting to waste our first day of freedom for a month, we headed to a neighbouring beach town and found ourselves at a Zoo and Refuge centre in the town, it was amazing, more of that in the next blog though.

What next...well we are going to stay in Playa Samara for a further two weeks and wind down a bit, take some day trips and see a bit more of the coast, then we are heading to the mountains inland in Costa Rica, first to a place called Monteverde. http://www.monteverdeinfo.com/. It looks stunning. After than who knows. We are quite keen to visit Nicaragua and Belize also, and somehow will come up with a bit of a plan once we get over the course. For now though we will enjoy the pura vida with a sense of acheivement and a bit more confidence that we can get a job as English teachers here or elsewhere...when we have had enough of having fun!

Brain Overload

We have completed our first week on the TEFL course and found that learning to be English teachers isn't quite as easy as we thought! However, after the initial shock of how hard the course is (long hours, homework, and very tight deadlines), we are really enjoying the work and have learned an incredible amount in just one week! The teachers are great, they are making us think in a totally different way and we have taught our very own local English classes this week already. The Tico's (local's) Costa Rican's are wonderful warm and charismatic people, and it's been so much fun working with them.

The people on the course are great and we all had a party last night to celebrate the end of a gruelling first week. We found some amazing beach bars and a beach disco even where Tico's and tourists alike mix and ended up partying with our teachers and our students!

Today the sun shone so we have been sweating out the hangovers on the beach, and had some swims and really nice long walks. We are feeling much more at home here now. The new purpose we have, the climate, and knowing a few faces around town are all contributing to making us feel more settled. The pace of life here is perfect. It's not so slow that it's annoying, yet it's a far cry from the hurried pace back home. We have heard of very very little crime here also, and it feels safe and not at all threatening. We have yet to meet a grumpy or rude local, they are just so chilled and smiley, maybe it's the drugs, We will investigate that in the next chapter (!).

Adios for now Amigo's.