Final Recap

After 8 wonderful days, today we sadly had to say goodbye to Costa Rica. This morning, we woke up bright and early at 3 am and dragged our zombie-like selves down to the lobby. Our passports were checked and we were given our last Costa Rican meal before we headed to the airport. As we made our way through the streets of San Jose from the hot
el to the airport, our amazing tour guide Herson helped us to recall our favorite memories of the trip. From surfing on the beaches of Manuel Antonio or learning to paint in Sarchi to zip lining through the rainforest or meeting the children at a local school, everyone seemed to have something they particularly enjoyed. After sharing a final few laughs, we thanked both Herson and our phenomenal bus driver Chito for their work with us throughout the trip. At last, we arrived at the airport and were ready to start traveling back to New Jersey. For most of us, I think the flight home was bittersweet. It was one last time for us to be surrounded by our new and old friends from the trip but also got us even more excited to see our families that we had been missing (I’ll admit it). Finally, we arrived safely in Newark and eventually boarded a charter bus to bring us back to Flemington. Overall, this trip was not only a ton of fun but also a wonderful learning opportunity. I am grateful for not only all the fun activities we got to do every day but also for little things like hanging out and bonding with friends in the hotels or practicing our Spanish to order lunch or buy from a vendor. I think I can speak for all of us when I say this trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity that we will never forget and we are thankful to have participated in it. Pura vida!

Manuel Antonio to San José

Everyday throughout the trip, we woke up between 5:50am and 6:15am except for today. We had to be at breakfast by 9:00am so we could all sleep in, but many of us still decided to wake up early to take in those last moments of the beautiful beaches and go shopping in the unique markets.  Everyone did different things, but we all had an amazing morning. No one wanted to leave, especially when most people would rather be on the beach than travelling for a few hours back to the capital that represented our departure. We made some stops along the way, but arrived at our dance lessons ready to go. We learned the basic steps of the salsa, merengue and the swing Criollo which is unique to Costa Rica. Everyone had a great time, but our feet were guaranteed to be sore the next day. Dancing was bitter sweet, because once it was over, so was our trip. the following hours were difficult. Everyone became so close during the trip and the experiences we had changed everyone in some way. Even if we do not want

to leave Costa Rica, we now the memories will never fade. the last day and the end of our trip was not the end of our friendships or memories. we became a family and this trip was just the beginning. We will always find or salsa our way back to each other.

Manuel Antonio National Park

We woke up in our hotel to the beautiful weather and pesky bugs of Manuel Antonio National Park. We applied our sunscreen and bug spray and where ready for the day! After breakfast, we walked the 1 mile trail to get to the beach seeing a lot of wildlife. We saw butterflies, birds, monkeys, sloths, and even a snake! After the trails, we made it to the beach and were able to relax for the remainder of the morning in turquoise waters and gray sands. Many monkeys and raccoons were looking for both attention and food while we were there too! After lunch, we all had free time to hang out and do what we want. Some went shopping and others enjoyed a pool day. After dinner, we ended our fantastic day with a gorgeous sunset on the beach.

Our Journey to Manuel Antonio

All packed and ready to go, we headed out for our 5 hour bus ride to Manuel Antonio. Along the way, we made a quick stop to visit some of Costa Rica´s finest reptiles, the crocodiles that live along the Río Tarcoles.  We were looking for Mike Tyson, the largest crocodile, but he was not there that day. Herson, our tour guide said that there are about 35 crocs that live in this area in a four mile stretch who are sun bathing by the river. 2 hours later driving along the Pacific coast, we reached the beautiful beaches of Manuel Antonio. Our hotel was great as we were only a few minutes from the beaches. Finally, we got to the main event of the day, the OMG surfing lesson. Our instructors were super rad and the were were  gnarly.  There were a few wipe outs in the beginning, but some of us were able to master the art of surfing (of course after quite a few falls). After the lesson, a majority of the group went back to the hotel to go to the pool, while some of us stayed to watch the incredible, pink-sky sunset.  To say the least, everyone found themselves loving the beaches of Manuel Antonio.

Oh My God Zip Lining and Ice Cream

Today in Monteverde was the highlight for many of the students on the trip. We woke up early to have a private tour through the OMG canopy tour. 13 different cables above the trees in the forest with one line extending 800 meters and the longest being 1000 meters (3200 ft).  It was an absolutely wonderful moment flying through the air of the cloud forest. After the 12th cable, some students who are even crazier even decided to go for the Tarzan swing which will drop you 90 meters and swing you around as if you were Tarzan. This was optional, but a few of us tried it!!! After sharing our stories with our group, we headed back into town for one more lunch prior to heading to the Monteverde Cheese Factory which was founded by the Quakers in the 1950s. We had some of the best ice cream and shakes that we´ve ever had before. After enjoying the ice cream, we headed to the oldest bakery in town Stella´s where we were given carrot cake and banana cake samples for free.

Our trip to Monteverde

On our way to Monteverde was anything but a normal trip. we left first by heading out on our bus with Chito our bus driver. He left us at Arenal lake where we then took a boat ride across the lake to meet our horses. On our boat though were our friends Darwin and company who came with another ACIS group from Michigan. As we arrived at the horses, many of us experienced our first challenge of the horse by trying to get on it! When we finally started moving, we journeyed 6 miles on our horses 

down a windy and mountaintops terrain.  As with people, we learned that many of the horses have an interesting personality and don´t always get along with everyone! What was  really neat is that some of the horses wanted to run a little bit so with permission and depending on the experience of the rider, some of those hoses were allowed to trot and gallop a little bit. After the Oh My God horses, we traveled on the Oh My God roads traveling the rest of the way to Monteverde by not exceeding 20 miles an hour for the 30 mile journey. When we arrived, we had a chance to eat lunch in the town of Monteverde before heading to our beautiful hotel and enjoying the activities such as tennis and swimming prior to dinner. We can´t wait until we see what´s in store for tomorrow!

Arenal y Río Frío

Our third day started with waking up to the beautiful view of the Arenal Volanco. We then had a wonderful breakfast which included gallo pinto (of course) and then headed off for a boat ride on the Río Frío. On the boat ride,  we saw many different species of birds, monkeys and even spotted a a sloth hanging out in a tree. The boat ride took us to the border of Costa Rica and Nicaragua and we snapped a quick shot of us at the boarder. After lunch, we visited Escuela Sonafluca where we were greeted by the children. After they brought us into their school, they performed dances for us and ew even got to join in in the traditional dances (El pavo).  After the dancing, we had a Q&A moment with them in Spanish and English followed by a tour of their school in which has become bigger with the helps of groups such as ACIS visiting them and donating money. We then left the students to visit don José´s farm where we took a cooking class making our own ingredients from the organic farm to eat with tortillas. After this wonderful day and all of the incredible things we did, we went back and many of us went to the hot springs pool at the hotel where we relaxed until bed check.

San Carlos, Sarchi

21 de junio

Our day started pretty early today with a wake up at 6 and breakfast at 7am.  Many of us tried the traditional breakfast of gallo pinto which includes rice and beans which we thought was delicious.  The we hoped on the bus for an 1.5 hour trip to Sarchi where we learned about the history and art of the art of the Costa Rican ox cart. After arriving on the windy and hilly roads of Alajuela, we started off painting own mini wheels tyring to replicate the famous design including the light and dark colors. When those dried, we went on a tour of the factory where there was electricity that was provided by a watermill and pullies and we saw how they constructed the ox carts today.  Colleen today ended up winning a prize for having the most decorated ox cart. The rest of the group did a wonderful job, but altough they didn´t win a price they shopped for their own souvenirs for themselves and family. After lunch, we celebrated Morgan´s 16th birthday with tres leches and candles. Along our way to Arenal, we passed pinapple fields, cow farms and seeing native homes that were different then ours. Upon our arrival at the Arenal Manoa, we were greated with a tropical drink then we made our ways to the beautiful rooms here. Finall to end our day, we went to Baldi Hot Springs were we experienced the 10 different pools with  Oh My God Slides and water that was up to 120 degrees in temperature. Tomorrow, we will hope to wake up to see the volcano since the rain and clouds kept us from seeing it today.

San José 20 de junio

We started on a high note getting to the airport 45 minutes before any airport personnel. After checking our luggage, going through security and being on an overbooked flight, all went suprisingly smooth. After 2.5 hour flight arriving 35 minutes early into houston, we got some breakfast and headed out for San José for our connecting flight.  Upon arriving into Costa Rica, we met our tour guide Herson who will lead us through the next 9 days in his country. We then encountered our first taste of Costa Rica culture. Costa Rica´s capital was found in the mid 1800s and lies 2700 ft above sea level. We toured the city walking along the avenida central which is the longest pedistrian walkway in Costa Rica, had a chance to see pigieons swarming over the area of the opera house. Some of the birds ate off of our hands. We passed the first post office in Central American, took a stroll through the mercado central and also saw the first McDonalds built in 1960 outside of the US. We had our first taste of Costa Rican cuisine with amazing sugar and carmel donuts followed by caramel filled churros and our first meal of rice and beans.  Our first hotel is nicer than imagined and we cannot wait till see what tomorrow brings.

Pura vida

Twas the night before......

June 19th, 2016

483 days since promoting this tour to Costa Rica, 30 students have been waiting anxiously awaiting this day to come. Over the next week, the students will be experiencing the adventures and beauty of my second country. They will understand why the slogan is Pura Vida and what makes the Costa Rican's wonderful.  We will be visiting San José, Sarchi, Manuel Antonio, Monteverde and Arenal.

Follow the blog as this year, the students will be posting the blogs about their reaction to one of the most beautiful places on earth!