Costa Rican Adventure--Guest Post by Elle Sees

Hi! I'm Elle, from Elle Sees, a lifestyle blog featuring beauty and style. One of my favorite hobbies is traveling, having been to 50 states and 19 countries (so far!). Since it's the summer, I thought I'd share just a few pictures of Costa Rica, a perfect beach destination. Costa Rica (Rich Coast) is located in Central America and is bordered by Nicaragua and Panama. The native language is Spanish and you might know Costa Rica for its amazing coffee, but there is so much more!

I loved how green this country is--not only from lush lands, 

but from an environmental standpoint. 

It's amazing how much of Costa Rica remains untouched. 

There are literally waterfalls long the side of the road.

Costa Rica has a little something for everyone--

adventures and just lounging by the beach. 

On this trip, I did both! One highlight was seeing an active volcano erupt at night.

This was the view from my hotel! Note the volcano and wild horses in the background.

As I mentioned earlier, wildlife freely roamed around. 

I encountered geckos, toucans, monkeys, and sloths regularly.

Some were in my hotel room or peeking through the window!

While Costa Rica has established cities,

 I wanted to share what people in the "country" live in.

The food was amazing--very much like Peruvian food if you've had that. 

As far shopping, the artisan goods were the highlight.

 And here's what everyone wants to see: the beaches! 

I chose to go to non-touristy, rustic beaches.

 I loved being on a mostly uninhabited beach.

Obligatory feet-at-the-beach pic. 

The sand was shell & rock-free and ranged 

from black to medium and the water was clear. 

 The people were friendly and very proud of their country.

 I couldn't get over how beautiful the land and sea were. 

 While I did plenty of lounging on the beach, I also went to ecological centers, 

hiking through rain forests to see waterfalls, snorkeling, zip-lining, 

white water rafting, and to a hot springs spa.

 I'm terrified of riding horses, but I did it for this trip. 

As you can see, my horse Diablo (!!!) and I are at the very back of the pack.

And as the Costa Ricans say as a greeting or farewell, "Pura Vida!"