(Blog by Porsha Porath and Katie Lienemann)

Hola from Punta Leona!

We started off the morning with a beautiful outdoor breakfast buffet, where we were joined by a group of monkeys. For breakfast we had many options on a buffet line, although Katie and I (Porsha) both decided on omelets instead. We also had the options of many fresh fruits which included magos, pineapple, watermelon, and papaya. 

After breakfast we headed straight to the beach town of Jaco for surfing lessons. with the help of our great surfing guides everyone on the team was able to get up on the surfboard. Unfortunately our surf time was cut short due to a traditional Costa Rican thunder storm. 
 
 After surfing we then moved into the downtown area of Jaco for some shopping. During our free time in the Jaco some of our teammates stopped at the Britt coffee shop and got some amazing coffee, others choose to get Acai bowls and some just shopped for souvenirs. 

Then we got lunch at a place called Fresh Fish, which is a taco bar in Jaco. Here we had the choice of tilapia, steak, parmesan chicken, or calamari tacos. Then we had the choice to go add on extras at their salad bar. The salad bar had potatoes, salsa, cucumbers, and rice along with a few dressings to add to the amazing tacos. 

After a great meal we headed back to Punta Leona where we had time to enjoy the sun. Most of us decided to go to the beach Playa Blanca, which we had to take the hotel shuttle to get to and from. Our time here was either spent trying to be instagram models or surviving the huge powerful waves. Here we also joined by some hungry monkeys, which stole a dorito bag from people sitting by us. The monkeys decided to be nice and share their chips with a Coati, which looks pretty similar to a raccoon. After about three hours at the beach, some decided to go back to the hotel pool while others went back to their rooms to shower or get Pops ice cream which is known to be the best ice cream chain in Costa Rica. 
           
Finally wrapping up the day we had dinner at a restaurant on our resort called Carabelas. Here we had another buffet style dinner. There were plenty of options to choose from including, fried rice, chicken, stir fry, potatoes, corn and much more. As always, you need dessert after dinner. They had tons to choose from such as ice cream, crepes, pudding and pastries. 

Hasta luego! 
-Minnesota Crookston VB