This post was written by Sage Bachmann, a Long-Term United Planet volunteer in Costa Rica.

Last weekend, I visited the lovely Puerto Viejo. We caught the bus at five on Saturday morning and, because there were no seats left, we sat on the floor for five hours. It was hot, it was crowded, and it was early. It sucked, but it was worth it.

We finally got there at around 11am and met up with our friends for lunch and to plan the day and so on. They then led me to Rocking J’s, a hostel, roughly 15 minutes away from the main beach by foot. The whole place was open air with roofed patios covered completely in tiles of every color put together in giant mosaics. If it wasn’t covered in tile, then it was covered in paintings or ridiculous things that had washed up on the beach. I wish I’d had a camera. The patios sheltered the front desk, a restaurant and then the places to sleep. You could rent a cabin, a tent or a hammock all of which came with a locker. The hammock was the cheapest option (7 dollars), so my friends and I all paid, got situated, locked stuff up and went straight to the beach.

This meant walking through the forest and along the edge of the Caribbean for a while. It was like stepping into a postcard, or someone’s honeymoon photos. Finally we got to the beach, but it was cloudy and the waves were rough so we only stayed for two hours before we went back and took naps.

That evening, we checked out the nightlife, which included fire jugglers and we had a blast. Finally, we returned to our hammocks and went to sleep. If you have never slept in a hammock I very seriously recommend it, it was ridiculously comfortable.

In the morning we had breakfast in the hostel (which was delicious) and went straight to the beach. Unlike the day before, Sunday was beautiful, sunny and hotter than hell itself. The waves were still really rough, but because of the heat a bunch of us decided to risk it. The riptide was really strong, but there was one part of the beach where it wasn’t as bad as everywhere else. Exhausted, we went back to our towels and laid in the sun until it was time to get our stuff and catch our bus back.

Other than that, everything is pretty much the same as it was. My Spanish is gradually getting better. My work is sometimes fun, sometimes boring, sometimes really sad. Some of the elderly are so lonely. My host family is great and includes me in their lives while still giving me some space. I even played paintball with my host sister, it was a riot!

I miss my family, my dogs, and my friends. I miss silly things like my television programs, tuna melts, wireless internet, baked ziti and Thai food. But I can definitely make it five more months. I really love this place, so being here definitely makes up for the things (trivial and important) that I have to do without.

You can check out how Sage is doing by visiting her blog: http://skippyjack.blogspot.com/