One of the most interesting things I did in Costa Rica was the Villa Vanilla plantation tour. The plantation was located about 30 min by taxi from the villa away from the coastline. When the taxi pulled into the plantation the driver pointed toward the entrance to the farm where we should wait for our guide. It had begun to rain on the way and as I suspected there wasn't anyone else waiting for the tour. The tour started inside what would be considered their small factory are

Pressed between Nicaragua and Panama is the beautiful country of Costa Rica and where my first trip to Latin America took me. I stayed in a villa located on the pacific coast in the town of Manuel Antonio. It is roughly a 3 hr drive by taxi from the San Jose International Airport, and full of tropical vegetation and cute little monkeys. Manuel Antonio is a unique location that offered a blend of tourism and local culture. I went in January which lies in the middle of the high