Costa Rica Post Dispatch #3
Update from Thomas
The trip continues to be fabulous! We had a wonderful second day with Elbert’s family hosting us at their coffee farm and ranch outside of San Ramon (there are some photos of this in the prior post). On Day Three we had a long drive to the west coast, followed by a great afternoon of playing in the warm Pacific waters.
On the morning of Day 4, after two long beach hikes to discuss geologic history and tidal pools, we went for another quick swim before lunch. This time the water was not as playful and a group of us got swept away from shore in a riptide, but all made it safely back in. The afternoon was spent visiting an estuary where a river meets the sea, forming a brackish lagoon and mangrove swamp, and creating beach art!
On Day 5, we visited Bosque Seco, a Pacific dryland forest, where we saw a great variety of birds, some monkeys, and plenty of bugs!
Today was another long drive back to the highlands and around Lake Arenal. We are staying at a nice hotel that is at the bottom of the Arenal volcano. Later this afternoon we went on a zipline, travelling over two kilometers on cables through the canopy of the rainforest. Amazing! I am sure you will hear about this in student comments in the next entry, but for now I will get this posted (currently the student comments are through the beach days and Bosque Seco).
Kelly's Post
Wow! My first adventure with the teenagers has been quite incredible. I’ve been working with the kindergarteners from the Charter School for four years, but these guys are very different. This is an amazing group of human beings. They have amazed me with their bravery, intelligence and diversity. I also have never been to a Spanish speaking country before…lots of firsts and lots of learning as a teacher and as a world traveler. My translation skills are coming in handy and that is helping me to feel useful to the group. Each day I learn at least 20 new words. My favorite part of our journey, so far, has been the interactions with our host families and the friendly natives of this enchanting country. Pura Vida!
Con Mucho Gusto!
- Kelly
Sammy's Entry
Costa Rica’s really fun so far! I was one of the students stuck in the riptide, and I was really glad we all made it out. Surfing was really fun, but I couldn’t stand up and balance. I got on my knees, though. Boogie boarding was really fun too! I’m sunburned and I got devoured by mosquitoes a couple nights ago, but I’m still lovin’ it here. I’ve gotten so much fruit straight from the trees. I’m excited for tomorrow when we get to the zipline. I hope it’ll be really fun! GAH! We have to wake up at 5:30 tomorrow!!! TORTURE!!!!!!!!!!!
Jade's Entry
Hello everyoneee!!! I’m happy and alive (yes, we have already had to try to maintain our living status). Costa Rica is amazing; it would take me hours to explain. One thing for sure is I have eaten enough mangos and drank enough mango juice to feed an army. Also a few days ago we went to a river in the jungle and went swimming only to find out there were water spiders you didn’t want to encounter. Yesterday (riptide day) was super scary. Sammy, Rebecca, and I were stuck in the riptide together, luckily we have more endurance than we ever thought. Even though yesterday was scary, today was great at the ocean. We got some surfboards and boogie boards and to my own surprise I liked surfing, except falling off. To summarize the trip so far, I would have to continue typing for another four hours, so I’ll stop blabbing…bye!
Tori's Entry
Hey everybody. I am having so much fun here in Costa Rica. I’ve made new friends and have had some great experiences. I got to see the ocean for the first time, and luckily I got to have a good time in it, unlike some of the others. We got to go to a dry rainforest; it was quite interesting. I love the fresh mangos and coconuts EVERY day. I’m just about ready to move here, I love it sooo much. We got to go boogie-boarding today. I got pulled under a few\times, but obviously I survived. Tomorrow we are going to a zipline. I’m extremely excited for that. Ok. Well… bye bye!!!
Rebecca's Entry
Costa Rica—where to start! In so many ways Costa Rica reminds me of the US and India, yet in other ways they are completely different. The moment I entered Costa Rica, I loved it. Now I have high expectations that everywhere else I will be going will continually get better. We have been by the Pacific Ocean for three days now, and each day we go down to the ocean. Every single time the ocean seems to be a completely different place. The ground moves with crabs and sand dollars are found everywhere. A few of us got caught in a riptide, one of the scariest situations I have ever been in. We all made it through though, and hopefully we all learned valuable lessons that we can draw on and use later on in other experiences throughout or lives. Today we went boogie- boarding and I tried surfing—I was only able to stand up twice, but I have never had more fun learning. We also adventured to the dry rainforest. (I know. Weird, right?)The land is beautifully untamed and mixed with every color imaginable. Tomorrow our class goes on a five hour drive; I’m so excited to go on the zip line. The day after tomorrow will be my sweet sixteenth birthday!!! I’m so happy. See you all soon!!!!!!!!!
The trip continues to be fabulous! We had a wonderful second day with Elbert’s family hosting us at their coffee farm and ranch outside of San Ramon (there are some photos of this in the prior post). On Day Three we had a long drive to the west coast, followed by a great afternoon of playing in the warm Pacific waters.On the morning of Day 4, after two long beach hikes to discuss geologic history and tidal pools, we went for another quick swim before lunch. This time the water was not as playful and a group of us got swept away from shore in a riptide, but all made it safely back in. The afternoon was spent visiting an estuary where a river meets the sea, forming a brackish lagoon and mangrove swamp, and creating beach art!
On Day 5, we visited Bosque Seco, a Pacific dryland forest, where we saw a great variety of birds, some monkeys, and plenty of bugs!Today was another long drive back to the highlands and around Lake Arenal. We are staying at a nice hotel that is at the bottom of the Arenal volcano. Later this afternoon we went on a zipline, travelling over two kilometers on cables through the canopy of the rainforest. Amazing! I am sure you will hear about this in student comments in the next entry, but for now I will get this posted (currently the student comments are through the beach days and Bosque Seco).
Kelly's Post
Wow! My first adventure with the teenagers has been quite incredible. I’ve been working with the kindergarteners from the Charter School for four years, but these guys are very different. This is an amazing group of human beings. They have amazed me with their bravery, intelligence and diversity. I also have never been to a Spanish speaking country before…lots of firsts and lots of learning as a teacher and as a world traveler. My translation skills are coming in handy and that is helping me to feel useful to the group. Each day I learn at least 20 new words. My favorite part of our journey, so far, has been the interactions with our host families and the friendly natives of this enchanting country. Pura Vida!Con Mucho Gusto!
- Kelly
Student comments:
Sammy's Entry
Costa Rica’s really fun so far! I was one of the students stuck in the riptide, and I was really glad we all made it out. Surfing was really fun, but I couldn’t stand up and balance. I got on my knees, though. Boogie boarding was really fun too! I’m sunburned and I got devoured by mosquitoes a couple nights ago, but I’m still lovin’ it here. I’ve gotten so much fruit straight from the trees. I’m excited for tomorrow when we get to the zipline. I hope it’ll be really fun! GAH! We have to wake up at 5:30 tomorrow!!! TORTURE!!!!!!!!!!!
Jade's Entry
Hello everyoneee!!! I’m happy and alive (yes, we have already had to try to maintain our living status). Costa Rica is amazing; it would take me hours to explain. One thing for sure is I have eaten enough mangos and drank enough mango juice to feed an army. Also a few days ago we went to a river in the jungle and went swimming only to find out there were water spiders you didn’t want to encounter. Yesterday (riptide day) was super scary. Sammy, Rebecca, and I were stuck in the riptide together, luckily we have more endurance than we ever thought. Even though yesterday was scary, today was great at the ocean. We got some surfboards and boogie boards and to my own surprise I liked surfing, except falling off. To summarize the trip so far, I would have to continue typing for another four hours, so I’ll stop blabbing…bye!
Tori's Entry
Hey everybody. I am having so much fun here in Costa Rica. I’ve made new friends and have had some great experiences. I got to see the ocean for the first time, and luckily I got to have a good time in it, unlike some of the others. We got to go to a dry rainforest; it was quite interesting. I love the fresh mangos and coconuts EVERY day. I’m just about ready to move here, I love it sooo much. We got to go boogie-boarding today. I got pulled under a few\times, but obviously I survived. Tomorrow we are going to a zipline. I’m extremely excited for that. Ok. Well… bye bye!!!
Rebecca's Entry
Costa Rica—where to start! In so many ways Costa Rica reminds me of the US and India, yet in other ways they are completely different. The moment I entered Costa Rica, I loved it. Now I have high expectations that everywhere else I will be going will continually get better. We have been by the Pacific Ocean for three days now, and each day we go down to the ocean. Every single time the ocean seems to be a completely different place. The ground moves with crabs and sand dollars are found everywhere. A few of us got caught in a riptide, one of the scariest situations I have ever been in. We all made it through though, and hopefully we all learned valuable lessons that we can draw on and use later on in other experiences throughout or lives. Today we went boogie- boarding and I tried surfing—I was only able to stand up twice, but I have never had more fun learning. We also adventured to the dry rainforest. (I know. Weird, right?)The land is beautifully untamed and mixed with every color imaginable. Tomorrow our class goes on a five hour drive; I’m so excited to go on the zip line. The day after tomorrow will be my sweet sixteenth birthday!!! I’m so happy. See you all soon!!!!!!!!!
posted by Crestone Charter School at
9:54 PM
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