Costa Rica: ¡Vamos a la Playa!

I've never really gotten the whole appeal of beaches. I mean, I can go to the beach for an hour or so, but I'm usually not the type of person who is content just lying on a towel doing nothing all day. However, with weather here in Utah getting colder and colder and my pile of homework getting bigger and bigger, I can't think of any better place to soak up some sun and relax than a beach. And where can you find a beach with clearer water, whiter sand, and a more lax attitude than Costa Rica?

Like I mentioned earlier, you probably won't find me on a beach just sitting around and tanning, mainly because I'm usually not in the mood for skin cancer, but also because I just find it kind of boring. If I'm going to a beach, I want to do something exciting! If I ever get the chance to go to a Costa Rican beach, I really want to try parasailing, which is basically where you wear a parachute and get pulled by a motorboat. I also want to try scuba diving in Costa Rica, but the one time I ever tried scuba diving, I almost drowned. Twice. And that was in a ten foot deep pool, so I might have to skip this whole scuba diving thing.

This is parasailing. Looks fun, right?
Image Courtesy of: Go Visit Costa Rica

If I had to pick one beach in Costa Rica to go to I think I would choose Playa Zancudo, because it is one of the more quiet and less touristy beaches of Costa Rica, and it has plenty of recreational opportunities. Plus, it has these super cute cabins, called Cabinas Los Cocos, that are right on the beach and that I would love to stay in.

One of the Cabinas Los Cocos at Playa Zancudo.
Image Courtesy of: Anywhere Costa Rica

Another thing I want to do in Costa Rica is a little cliché, but something I have wanted to do for a very long time: I want to go on a zipline canopy tour! This is the thing they always show on reality TV where a celebrity goes flying through the rainforest, harnessed to a cable, flailing their legs and screaming. I have wanted to try this ever since I did the little zipline at the UOP when I was six or seven. The idea of soaring through the trees, going platform to platform, and practically embodying Tarzan just seems like the best thing ever to me!

HOW AWESOME DOES THAT LOOK?!?!?
Image Courtesy of: Wandering Trader

I also want to go to Costa Rica to practice Spanish. I have a goal of being fluent in four languages before I die, and so far I'm at about 1.25 (including English). I would love the opportunity to be able to converse with native Spanish speakers in real life situations, and since Costa Rica is a Spanish-speaking country, it would be a perfect place to do so. I am only in Spanish II this year, so I am not at all close to being fluent in the language, but I know how to say "windsurf," so I don't totally suck (it's "hacer windsurf," in case you were wondering).

Going to Costa Rica has been a dream vacation of mine for years. Costa Rica has gorgeous beaches, tons of exhilarating recreational activities, and opportunities to increase fluency in an influential and widely spoken language.