Flamingo Beach – Sand and Salsa!

Flamingo Beach was, for me, the most perfect place imaginable to learn Spanish! An exotic paradise with beautiful pristine beaches, tiki charm, and an unbelievable atmosphere. No wonder the people that lived there were so warm and friendly!

The 5 minute walk to the beach from school was just the icing on the cake. We were on the gorgeous Guanacaste coast, and Flamingo Beach was just one of many amazing beaches I got to visit. We were so lucky; we even had our own pool at the school, so I would regularly go to class with my bathers all ready to jump in as soon as my lessons ended!

Studying Spanish in Flamingo Beach gave me the chance to enjoy the great outdoors with the natural beauty of forests, and stunning coastline on my doorstep. I saw so much amazing wildlife and all kinds of weird and wonderful plants and flowers!

The school did an awesome job of getting us involved in outside trips – they planned a turtle watching trip where I fell in love with the tiny little baby turtles! It was incredible to see these creatures slowly plodding around in their natural habitat. The Arenal volcano trip that I went on was also incredible. I never in my life would have guessed that I would see a real live active volcano; it’s so much more than I imagined- utterly breathtaking.

The weather was perfect the entire time I was in Flamingo Beach, so the range of outdoor activities on offer suited me to a tee! Everyday there seemed to be something new to try, and we had so much fun while speaking Spanish at the same time. I went horse back riding for the first time on the beach, tried scuba, snorkeling, and even surfing!

When I wasn’t gallivanting around the Flamingo beach countryside I even learned how to cook yummy Costa Rican dishes (my 3 classmates and I participated as a group) and took Salsa classes at the school. To show off our new found culinary and dancing skills we arranged our own fiesta one night at one of my fellow classmate’s studio apartments and recreated the dishes we learned… followed by salsa dancing. It was a such a fabulous evening and one of my favourite memories of all the wonderful friends I made while in Costa Rica.

I had the time of my life in Flamingo Beach. Being immersed in Spanish conversation and activities all day long meant my Spanish improved dramatically. This is all thanks to the school, but the amazing improvement in my Spanish was just the tip of the iceberg. I left Costa Rica having had one of the most fabulous adventures ever. I experienced a beautiful new country, met amazing people and learned more about myself than I had ever expected. I saying “hasta luego” to Flamingo Beach was the hardest part of my whole trip and it gave me an appetite for travel and adventure that I don’t think will ever leave me!

Chloe (USA)