Day 1:

Our day started EARLY as we all met in the Tampa Airport. Even though we were tired,
everyone was very excited to finally get our trip started.

We arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica at about 1:00pm. This was my first experience with customs. We were all given customs forms on the plane to fill out. It asked basic information (name, date of birth, etc), but it also asked about our luggage, previous travel and passport information. Once we got off the plane, we had to go through the customs department. They took our forms and checked our passports against them. They then stamped our passport and we were off to baggage claim. Once we got our bags, we walked out to find out bus, which was waiting right out front for us.

The bus ride was very long, almost 8 hours. We arrived after dark. The drive to Playa Blanca was beautiful. We drove through rainforest, and right along the coast line. Our camp was in rural Costa Rica, far from everything. Our cabins were nice, but there was no a/c and no hot water. We all set up our mosquito nets, changed and went to sleep.Tomorrow our adventure begins anew!