Written By Chris Dudzenski

Awakened by the sounds of distant howler monkeys at 5am, we started off our Caribbean leg of the trip with an awesome breakfast at our resort.  

We headed north for a snorkeling adventure at Cahuita National Park. Our guide, Tom, said it is one of the most scenic areas of the country. Composed of a coral reef, we headed out on a boat for about ten minutes where we split into two groups. The only way to describe it is a bit cliche but it honestly is like a different world. Beautiful colors and different types of species. Some of us were lucky enough to see a nurse shark, puffer fish, barracuda, needle fish, a French angel fish, and a grouper. Brain coral and sea urchins made for an beautiful, yet dangerous sea floor.  The view inland though was absolutely stunning and the lunch of marlin was muy bien.

Our afternoon consisted of walking around the market place shopping then we hit the beach for a little fun in the sun. These waves were huge too, evading them was just was hard as dodging surfers. This was followed by a friendly guards (NARP Squad) vs. big men volleyball match. Sadly the good guys fell to the guards (there were a few bad calls and Coach Thorsen is an intramural All-American so it's really not all that fair).

Our day concluded with another delicious Costa Rican dinner as we retired to our separate Eco Lodges for the night...if only these monkeys would stop howling.