Today was a great day... :-)

Today was a great day! We went on a two hour bus ride from San Jose back towards the Caribbean side, so that we could go rafting in the Sucio River. While we were on the bus, we crossed a bridge that went over a unique river. This river is unique because of its coloring. Half is a reddish-yellow while the other half is a clear blue water color. The yellow color is from sulfur that is released from the Irazul volcano after it erupted in 1992. These two rivers come together to form the Sucio.  

On the ride from San Jose to the river, our tour-guide, Olman, told us about the importance of the area.  Apparently 2 years after the war for independence from Spain in 1821 (Costa Rica followed Mexico’s revolt), there were 4 main cities in Costa Rica.  These cities all wanted to be the capitol of Costa Rica which led to fighting for control. Some factions wanted to become part of Mexico, and for a while they considered having the capitol rotate between them every year or two… but the city of San Jose won in the end and sovereignty was established. Olman always has stories about the area we are traveling through that keep me interested.

When we arrived at our destination, the rafting tour guides set everyone up with a life-jacket, helmet, and paddle. We separated into groups of six and one of five. After the groups were figured out, we were taken to a little cliff to jump off into the river. After this we entered the rafts and began rafting. The guides were very nice. They showed and told us how to do things in the raft. They even pointed out and gave an explanation of the surroundings and animals.

When we were about halfway done, we stopped for a break and ate some very delicious and juicy fruits. The fruits we ate were pineapples and watermelon. While we were on this break a cow appeared from the forest behind us. We got to feed it the pineapple peel. The guides said that the cow always shows up every day sat the same time. When everyone was done eating we continued rafting. It took about ten minutes to get to the end of the rafting section of the river, from where we took the break. We exited the rafts and changed into some dry clothes. The rafting guides then gave us some food to eat for lunch. As always there was rice.

After we finished eating, we boarded the bus and came back to our hotel. When we arrived at the hotel, everyone went for a walk around the city coming back just in-time for dinner, and to present Olman with some gifts for being such a great tour director. We have a wake-up call scheduled for 3:30 in the morning, so we all have to make sure we are packed tonight… I’m not sure what kind of sleep we’ll get tonight… but at least we get to go home tomorrow.  I’ve loved my visit to Costa Rica and the new friends I’ve made, but home sounds good right now.

^^^ Patrick ^^^

Leaving Monteverde for the Blue Pacific!

This morning every one woke up bright and early in our mountain cabins ready for the day! We had to be packed and ready to put all our stuff on the bus by 6:45 then at 7:00 we all went to go and eat breakfast. Breakfast was the same as always eggs, beans & rice, watermelon, and pineapple. After we ate we left the hotel and started on our way to go and see the crocodiles on a river at a place called “jungle crocodile safari” on the Tarcoles River. We saw a few different kind of birds that were all colorful then we saw about 5 crocodiles some that were really big, about 12’ long, and others that were smaller and grouped together.  Our local guide, and captain, was a guy named Santiago he was the one driving our boat. He would get off the boat and feed the crocs some chicken to get them out of the water so we can take better pictures.

The weather on this side of the country was weird, the town and hotel we were at before was perfect weather… then when we got off the bus at the crocodile place and it was so hot I walked back on the bus and changed from pants to shorts. The boat ride was pretty cool I didn’t think we were going to see anything, but we did! It lasted for about an hour and a half, and in addition to the crocodiles, we saw herons, hawks, frigates, swallows, storks, and even some parrots!

After the river trip, we came straight to our hotel on the Pacific Coast. When we got there, they greeted us and gave us some juice it was good it was made out of beats. Then they told us who was in what room and we got our stuff off of the bus to take to our rooms before going straight to lunch!  There is no shortage of food on this trip!  Lunch that day was a huge buffet, there was a lot of food I ate a lot of it! It was the first time we actually had meat to eat for lunch.

After we ate we went to the pool and we jumped in and started to play basketball. The hotel was really nice, the rooms were good, but I would have liked them to be larger for 4 guys. The hotel is called “Terraza del Pacifico” and it’s right on the ocean, there is a good view from our room. The water seawater was warm and good and fresh! There was a lot more people than I thought there was going to be people were surfing and having a good time. They said we were not able to go swimming in the water here because the waves are too high and the undertow was too strong and that they would pull us in to the ocean and we wouldn’t be able to fight the current. So we went for a walk to the ocean and got our feet wet.

They said we could do whatever we wanted till 7:30 because that was when dinner was at so I came to the room a few after and took a nap and played with my iPod watching TV. After dinner we had a meeting about what we are going to do tomorrow, which was that we would be going about an hour down south to a beach that we can go swimming in. I am looking forward to that even though we have to get up before 7:00 so we can eat breakfast then before leaving at 7:30. We are going to stay there till around 1 then come back to this hotel and hang out again like today.

The best part about today was that we got to take a nap at the hotel on the ocean… we were tired, because we were going to bed too late and getting up early each day!  I also liked taking a boat ride on the river and seeing the crocs and the awesome colored birds.  I think for some people seeing the ocean was the best thing, and being at that hotel, which was the nicest we had been at so far…

((( Larry ))))

The big splash in the Pacific!

Today we woke up around 6:30 AM and were ready to go by 7:30 AM. I knew we were visiting a school today but had no idea how fun the kids would be,and how fast I would get attached to the children. On the way to the school we saw lake Arenal. The lake stayed going for about  half an hour before we lost site of it, it was HUGE! We also stopped at the German Bakery which was cool. It was one long bus ride but we all stayed entertained playing games and listening to our music. 

When we arrived at the school the kids were really shy but got used to us as time went on. The cultural dances  the kids did for us were really enjoyable, the school also has a volunteer named Elly from Chicago teaching the kids English, I think he was doing a good job, because the kids sang a song to us in both English and Spanish. One of the kids looked like me when I was younger his name was Joel I took several pictures of him and me. One picture has him wearing my hat and me wearing his.

The German Bakery was fun, they had all sorts of goodies and drinks like cappuccinos. They were really nice and friendly. I would never of thought there were full blooded Germans living in Costa Rica but I guess I was wrong. Olman our tour guide said that in Costa Rica there are a lot of different races like Hispanic,German,Italian and Swiss, also Jamaicans. After the bakery we began driving to our next hotel which wasn't that far but not to close, there was enough time for a little nap.

At the end of our bus ride we arrived at our hotel which was right on the ocean. The ocean waves were nice and big for us to play in as they crashed into the shore. There were surfers ridding the waves and many people swimming. Everyone really enjoys this hotel, the food is great and the view is perfect not including all the cool interesting creatures you see when you walk the beach.

This day was really fun and interesting we saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time, and experienced a wonderful culture that new to all of us. We all liked the bakery because we got food to snack on for the ride and the school because the kids made an impact on all of us. I think today was a fun day for all of us. 

[~] Jeremy [~]

Having an AWESOME time... Loving the beautiful views!

Ok so since we have been in the country of Costa Rica everyone has Been having an awesome time and loving the beautiful views. Everyone seems to be getting along great, and I have made a few good friends my self. This place is so awesome and now I will share a little bit threw this blog. 

Ok so today will consist of kayaking at lake Arenal in the morning, and going to the La Fortuna Waterfall. On the drive to Lake Arenal our tour guide taught us some fun facts! A rain forest is only a rain forest depending on the amount of rain the ground gets. In a rain forest all the leaves are pointed, so the rain doesn't settle and falls to the ground. The rain forest has to be trimmed once every two months in order for the trees to stay out of the road. The rain forest has a very moist and dense floor. It is very complicated to to walk through.

After World War Two many Jews moved to Costa Rica. Many of the people in Costa Rica are Jewish and do not even know it. People with natural last names, for example rock or tree, were Jewish and never know it. In all of the population in Costa Rica 18% are Jewish.

The majority of Costa Ricans are part of the Catholic Religion. Catholic  Statistic say that 98% are part of the Catholic religion. Costa Rican stats say only 75%. A lot of the Native did not convert to these Catholic ways. When the Inquisition in Costa Rica began in the15th century, the Native population was  over 600000 and now less then 60000.

When we arrived at lake Arenal the people were very greeting! All the kayaks were two seat kayaks. Thank god, because even with two people, my arms were dead. Patrick Holterman did not want to go because he was not feeling well. Ms. Maxwell worked very hard to get him to go, and Patrick was very happy that he decided to go. The view at lake was indescribable, it was so beautiful.

When we arrived at La Fortuna Waterfall I was already so tired from the kayaking. The walk down to the waterfall was suppose to be 500 steps exactly. Mercedes actually counted and there were only 496 steps, which doesn't sound like a lot but a big difference with a long day. The walk down to the falls was really worth the view. In the water there were nice size fish just hanging out by all the people swimming. I tried to catch a couple but I was not successfull. I can't imagine living in a place with all this beautiful views!

**** Matthew ****

~First taste of Costa Rica~

I didn't know what to expect when our tour guide Olman told us our day was starting at 6:30 AM. We woke up and were prompt to get our luggage down to the lobby by that time and loaded it in the bus. We went back into the hotel restaurant for breakfast at 7AM. I don't know why but I expected to see a whole variety of different foods that I wouldn't recognize however, the selection was all very normal. There were eggs, toast, cereal, and a lot of fruit. There was one thing that stood out to me which was the black beans. I would not have thought that black beans would have been beans for breakfast. As the day progresses I would come to find out that black beans are served with every meal.

We hopped on the bus and started on our journey to the Biopark. On our way over we noticed that the streets in San Jose are total chaos. "Our driving system over here is called 'MD', move or die," Olman said. And from the bus ride we could tell that was very true.   

We arrived at the Biopark in no time and were split up into two different groups. Our group consisted of the MVHS students and the three Texas students. Our guide there was named Diego. Both groups had to undergo an introductory presentation which in this case happened to be a really interesting light show. On our way to the presentation we were able to see a sloth up in the trees. He looked as if he was just another part of the tree until we saw him moving. It was incredible to see this rare and magnificent creature.

As we toured through the Biopark Diego talked about all the different vegetation and animals that we encountered. There was this tree called the Parasite Tree and it had a vine like thing wrapped around it (Ficus). Diego explained to us that the host tree would eventually die from the parasitic Ficus tree, however it was a very long process. We also came across the Red Eyed frog. We learned that it was a nocturnal frog kept in a tank enclosure away from the sun and at a constant temperature of 56°(F). Maybe the most interesting experience we had at the park was the butterfly enclosure, there  were iridescent blue ones, 2-eyed blue ones, paisley blue ones, and mottled blue ones... and that's just the blue butterflies!  Costa Rica has over 14,000 different types of butterflies and 12,000 of them happen to be nocturnal. We were able to enter this area surrounded in net that had many butterflies enclosed in it, which was pretty awesome.

After the butterflies we began the last bit of the tour. We saw a Caimen, which if you don't know looks like a baby alligator. Even though it looks like it belongs to the alligator or crocodile family it is actually a species of its own.

Last but not least we encountered iguanas throughout our tour. Diego taught us that the iguanas first defense is to run away and if it feels it can't escape it's second defense will be to whip its tail, which is said to be very painful.

After taking our group pictures and "picking flowers in the garden", which in Costa Rica means going to the bathroom, we were on the road again. We headed to Poás Volcano. The bus dropped us off at the main entrance and we hiked up the rest of the way which was only about 1/2 mile. When we reached the top we were higher than the clouds and let me tell you the sight was just breathtaking! We looked over the edge and saw the crater of the volcano which was a light blue and had steam coming from the side of it. It was beyond amazing to see. We hiked up a little farther to a lagoon nestled in the top of the volcanoes crater, and even though it looked like any other lake, it was located at the top of a volcano, and it was a magnificent sight. Just being at the top of the mountain and seeing the lagoon surrounded by green was a really great sight to see.

We returned to the bus and started our three hour journey to our hotel on the Atlantic side. On our way we stopped at a supermarket to buy snacks and go to the pharmacy if anyone needed to. Let me tell you that was an experience. This was the first time that many of us had tried buying stuff with American money. Needless to say we survived it and now know how to figure out how much money to give them.

We arrived at our hotel around 6, got settled in, and went to dinner at 6:30. This hotel is really cool because the dining area is just under a canopy with no walls, and our rooms are like little individual huts. In each hut there are two twin beds and a single bed. I don't think we are going to be spending much time in there because there because there is two pools and the weather is beautiful even at this time of night.

We have to be ready again at 6:30 for tomorrow’s adventures which consists of kayaking, visiting the town, a waterfall, and hot springs. I cannot wait to see what fun and exciting adventures and memories tomorrow brings.

~~~ Ashtyn ~~~

The most important thing to pack... A Sense of Humor!

Is everything ready?  Do I have all that I need???  You'd think we were heading to Mars!  I'm pretty sure there are drug stores in Costa Rica where I can stock up on necessities that can't be carried on the next flight...  the pants that did not arrive in time to pack via the Taos pony express can surely be replaced by some tropical capris...  And no doubt the US isn't the only country that carries AA batteries!  What am I forgetting???  Then I realized, the most important thing to carry at ALL times, patience, and a sense of humor!  I know the lines at airports will be long and slow, that finding the nerve to fly down the zip-line will be easier than the wait to do it!  Sometimes we'll be lost or disagree about what to do next, but I also know that the memories I'll keep are of the moments we share with humor and wonder...

Frequent travelers understand this concept better than others, because while being out of one's element often makes us most vulnerable, that is also the point when we come to know ourselves best, where we start to connect with our companions and hosts, even in the smallest ways.  A smile, a laugh, a nod, some eye contact, and sometimes an entire conversation.  And that is the ultimate goal, right?  The ability to let go of yourself and find a new you in a new place....

SM

Family Meeting 2 Feb 13

Today we will be covering the following:

Flight information
Hotel information
Packing tips
Getting to and from the airport
Communications from-to Costa Rica
HS experiential learning credit