Deal Costa Rica 2016
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Monday, April 4, 2016
Buenas Noches
Looking back, this has been an absolutely wonderful trip. We had a few sunburns along the way, which is to be expected traveling with a large group, but our students showed the humor and flexibility of seasoned travelers when challenges presented themselves. I hope your students have come home with enough stories, selfies, and inside jokes to fuel months of conversations. I will try to post a few more pictures as they become available and there will eventually be a short video of our trip, but this will be the last post from Costa Rica. Thank you for reading and I hope the updates were helpful and just a little entertaining.
Tomorrow will be a long day of travel, but I know the prevalence of American cuisine and functioning data plans will help it pass quickly. See you at the airport!
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Beach Day!
After water days, adventure days, and more than a couple travel days, today was our much anticipated beach day! With only one item on the agenda, our students were allowed to sleep in until 7:00 am then it was off to Manuel Antonio National Park. Although it is Costa Rica’s smallest national park, Manuel Antonio is known for its high concentration of wildlife and white-sand beach. With highs in the mid-90s today, the students ran to the water to cool down then did what all kids do when they’re at the beach: they played!
They played chicken, they played with hermit crabs, they played in the sand! When the students had enough of the beach we hopped back on the bus and returned to the hotel where they, you guessed it, played on the beach even more. Today was all fun and I hope it shows in the sunset selfies they posted this evening.
With the rest of our activities focused on getting back to San Jose then home, today had a “last day of camp” feeling that was evident in the students’ sharing of stories, laughter, and proliferation of selfies. The students have had a wonderful trip and, though not done yet, it has been a pleasure!
Late night update! We had the remarkable luck of witnessing baby sea turtles hatch and make their journey to the ocean this evening! We have some video and we will try to upload it later.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Traveling to Playa Hermosa
A promised picture from yesterday's horseback riding in Monteverde |
Sneaking up on crocodiles |
It didn't happen if it isn't posted (immediately) to the internet |
What sharp teeth you have! |
Hi Ms. Trenkle! |
Our tour guide informed us that, despite their Fruit Loops sponsorship, toucans are actually quite mean |
Pura vida!
Friday, April 1, 2016
Monteverde
The birds wouldn't hold still so I took a picture of this sign |
Horseback riding this morning was a terrifyingly great experience for most students, but a little too frightening for others. Although a few students opted not to participate and one poor student had a bit of a scare, the students all had smiles at the end of the day and will surely come home with great stories to death-defying feats. While I took some video of the fun, I did not bring my camera so I will try to post pictures later.
Bus 2's wonderful guide, Freddy, is responsible for a large portion of the fun and learning on our trip |
Exploring the cloud forest... no sneaking up on animals with this group! |
Exploring the cloud forest |
Cloud forest sitings |
Cloud forest sitings, it's a kite! |
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Traveling to Monteverde
Our group had another travel heavy day as we left the left Arenal on our way to Monteverde, one of Costa Rica's best known ecological treasures. We spent about 5 hours in the bus today winding our way around Lake Arenal and working our way through winding, mountain roads. As usual, our guides' experience shined as they allowed for several stretch breaks at popular snack spots. If your student was awake for this portion of the trip (most weren't), they were treated to panoramic views of the plains, one last glimpse of Arenal, and several close-ups of Costa Rica's wind-power infrastructure.
A german bakery visit made for a tasty stop outside Arenal |
Dancing at fun during our school visit |
This evening we are in a rustic hotel just minutes away from the cloud forest. The students will have to do without AC tonight, but this region is cool at night and we hope to wear them out by stuffing them with s'mores then dancing in the "discoteca"!
Exploring the town of Santa Elena |
Lastly, I would like to publicly shout out Ms. Cuffee for putting together such a seamless, smooth, well-organized, educational, fun, and safe adventure for our students. This trip is running like clockwork thanks to her tireless efforts. It takes a special kind of person to put on a trip like this and she is shining!
No "Lazy Days" for Ms. Cuffee! |
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