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So in addition to studying human rights and development I've been getting an education in the art of the 3-day weekend in Costa Rica. We don't have classes on Fridays so most of my Friday morning have been spent scrambling to find at cab to the bus station at 4AM haha. Below are some things that I've learned which might be useful if you want to plan your own trip to paradise.

Beach
Last weekend I went to one of my favorite beaches in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio. It is in the Central Pacific region, about 3 1/2 hours away from San José by bus. The earliest bus usually leaves the station at 6AM, but it's a good idea to get there at least an hour early. Manuel Antonio is one of the most popular tourist destinations beacause of its amazing beaches and wildlife. The best beaches are inside the National Park, but there's an entrance fee (about $10). If you want to hang out on the beach for free there's a pretty decent one literally in the center of town. In the low season (September-November) the beach is practically deserted. When we were there we had a huge part of the surf and sand all to ourselves ;D Be careful though, the monkeys are known to steal everything from lunches to cell phones.





Hostel
We stayed at Costa Linda this past weekend. At $10 a night it's probably the best bargain you can find in town. The owner is a German ex-pat. and super friendly. Also they have an awesome breakfast ($3); gallo pinto, fruit, eggs, pancakes, toast, and coffee. See their site for more details http://www.costalinda-backpackers.com/national_park.1.html

Taxi's
My friends and I got ripped off this weekend by a cab driver. As soon as we got in the cab one of us asked the taxista if he was going to turn the meter on. He said it was working, but it wouldn't start running until after the first kilometer. However, the meter never turned on and when we got to our destination he demanded $8 (which is pretty high by Costa Rican standards). We argued that he had lied to us about the meter working, and refused to pay. After a lengthy argument we negotiated a lower price, but were still angry. Here are a few important things to know if you ever take a cab in Costa Rica:
-The majority of the streets are not named and houses don't have numbers, so make sure you know how to describe where you are going before you get in a taxi. The first few weeks in Costa Rica I would write out descriptions of where I needed to go (for example: it’s 2 blocks north of the supermarket and 3 blocks west of the post office by the park... but in Spanish obviously) on a note card and just hand it to the cab driver haha. But as I've learned my way around, and my Spanish is improving I generally know how to describe where I want to go and I can tell when they are trying to take me the long way.
-All legitimate taxis in Costa Rica are red and have yellow signs.
-According to Costa Rican law taxistas have to have the meter running while you are in the cab. It should start at either 430 or 455 colones depending on the time of day.
-There may be an added fee if you call a cab company to ask for a taxi.