Costa Rica | Day 1

by Ms. Julia Arce, Studies in Literature & English Language, Faculty

Amidst a prolonged downpour, we ate a breakfast of eggs, toast, sausages, cereals, juice, and coffee in the outdoor gathering area. With daypacks and water bottles, we boarded the three Kermit-green tour buses for our concurrent activities, highlighted briefly below. Dinner was shared as a whole class at the hotel, followed by a serious game night and some free time for pool, swimming, and hanging out. 

The first group, Barat, spent the day horse-back riding through lush jungle to the family-run Nauyaca Waterfall Park. We departed the trust plunge and rode to lunch. The family prepared a traditional lunch with rice, beans, marinated chicken and potatoes, salad, and pineapple lemonade. While we refreshed ourselves together, regal peacocks meowed at us with screeching, shrill calls. Upon return to the hotel, students went swimming, played pool, drank smoothies, showered, and chilled until it was time for salsa dancing. Hector Flores, one of our chaperones, taught us the steps, Then we had a dance-off. Fia Douglas and Henry Wang were voted as winners. 

Quotes:
Azalea Scavullo (student): The waterfall was honestly a little bit terrifying. We all just sort of stared at it for a while. It was buckets of water. But, we had a lot of fun! 

Heidi Yeung (student): A lot of beautiful scenery. The horses were so nice. The waterfall was very dynamic. Everything was run by one, sweet family. 

Mr. Campos (chaperone): When you’re standing under the pressure of the water from the falls, you don’t see anything. All you feel is the speed and intensity of something trying to push you down. It’s exceedingly loud. Then you climb up rocks and put your balance in places you also cannot see. You’re forced to trust in the care of the guides and the experience. 

The second group, Stuart, spent the day doing service work in the community of Silencio. Activities were interspersed with some serious soccer matches. In the afternoon, the group went white water rafting in the Savegre River.

Quotes: 
Graham Woods (student): We did some service at a school where we got to paint hopscotch games, which was really fun. Then we went white-water rafting, which was really fun. Our guides were really great…we got to jump off…into the river!

Tanner Parent (student): I was clearing some big weeds around the base of a tree with a machete. It was a lot of work. For the white-water rafting, I was kind of anxious, but it turned out to be really fun. Swimming was relaxing and a nice pairing with the fast rapids. The view was the best part of it. 

Quotes: 
The third group, Duschene, hiked through the Hacienda Baru Biological  Preserve for an eco-tour. After lunch back at the hotel, they split into two smaller groups, either to surf at Playa Dominicalito or snorkeling around Palm Island at Ballena National Park.  

Emilie Fæste (student): The eco-walk was very fun. We saw a lot of animals. Forty monkeys. Then we went snorkeling and saw the beautiful sunset. It was a lot of fun.

Chris Chow: I enjoyed watching the monkeys climbing, as well as the long boat ride and beautiful view when snorkeling. 

Elizabeth Fox (student): I went surfing for the first time. It was my favorite activity! 

Mr. Bryan Lorenz (chaperone): We saw wild pigs…leafcutter ants farming leaves…and as we walked along the trail, we heard something come crashing down through the canopy. A small monkey had thrown a stick. Then a few more threw more sticks our way. We were in their home and they were being themselves. About 30 monkeys (monos) appeared today. We were part of something so much bigger than ourselves.