| Costa Rica Venture Log (2007-07-11 --> 2007-07-31)
Leaders:Mae Link, Emily Pfeiffer, Casey Slezak
Students: Kat Allred, Ashely Bowen, Alvaro Castillo, Tom Clinkscales, Louis Farinella, Jack LaRochelle, Charlotte Lyle, Eliza McLean, Arlie Pearce, Niccolo Regoli, Ainsley Tibbett
July 14 Update
CRV 2
Day 1/July 11th:
Everyone arrived in San Jose safely; they are anxious to begin their Costa Rican adventures! We had quite a scattering of arrivals- from 9am until 10pm. Thus, we were unable to do activities as an entire group. Those whom arrived in the first half of the day were able to enjoy some time at the beautiful park near our hostel, playing get-to-know-you games. We all pitched in to make quesadillas for lunch, and pasta and vegetables for dinner. We tried to wait for the late arrivers for our first Moon-Up, but when we heard the 8:30 pm flight was delayed at least an hour, we were forced to begin despite not having our whole team. For our first Moon-Up, we talked about the rules and expectations, good expedition behavior, cleaning up after yourself, hygiene and the importance of open communication amongst the group, particularly with the leaders. We shared some funny stories of our previous CRV trip (sniff, tear--we miss you all A LOT, if any of you happen to be reading this! :). As always, the leaders of the day (LODs) were chosen at Moon-Up. Usually that day's LODs choose the LODs for the following day; however, the guides pick the LODs for the first day. Kat and Louis were declared our first leaders, based on past experience and general charisma within the group. Because Ainsley, Jack and Miss Mae were absent from the Moon-Up, we didn't go into too much depth about the trip or personal share-outs. The rest of the group gelled extremely well, and expressed great enthusiasm for meeting their fellow group members. We were all about to go to bed, when the three musketeers rolled into Mi Casa Hostel. There were brief, friendly exchanges between all. After a long day, we went to sleep around 11 or 11:30, excited for what the three following weeks had in store for us!
Day 2/July 12:
Pura Vida! I think we were all too tired and distracted yesterday to learn the mantra of Costa Rica. Luckily, we were quickly reminded, as soon as we arrived at the Canopy Tour, that we are now living in the land of Pura Vida (pure life!). We will, of course, adopt this excellent phrase and make it the theme of our travels and adventures in Costa Rica! After driving through coffee fields and spectacular mountain scenery, we made it to our destination, The Original Canopy Tour. This is THE canopy tour to do in Costa Rica, with zip-lines that go on for hours through the rain forest. We harnessed up and hiked to the first platform, stopping to let our guide show us how to use anise plants as natural insect repellent, along with a few other secrets of the rain forest. It was such a blast soaring through tremendous trees! Luckily, no one was afraid of heights, because we were about 25 meters off the ground. Many of us tried some tricks on the last zip-line; Charlotte successfully did a little flip! After saying "adios" to our guides, we headed back to the van, and made it just in time to stay dry. For the rest of the afternoon, we experienced what it means to be in Costa Rica during the rainy season (serious down pour most afternoons). Before heading back to Mi Casa, we stopped for our first typical costaricense meal, in a small cafe serving fresh juices, rice, beans, platanos, chicken, beef, and fish. For dessert, we split coconut cookies and fresh fruit from a nearby fruit stand. We had some rest time/free time when we got back to the hostel. Ashley, Niccolo, Louis, Ainsley, Kat, Jack and Mae had a mega MUD fight in the year of the hostel. It was a hilarious spectacle for all, even for those who were not directly involved. We got some silly photos of these strong spirited seven! Then we gathered to discuss and write down the goals for our group. We came up with many valiant, respectable goals, which Arlie so graciously transcribed for us in the group journal. For supper, we made a veggie stir-fry with a delectable peanut sauce, and pineapple for dessert. After supper, we entertained ourselves with cards, pool, reading and chatting. The second Moon-Up, led by Kat and Louis, focused on why everyone chose to come to Costa Rica this summer, and what peoples' personal goals are for the trip. We began the tradition of having una palabra del dia (a word of the day). The word for day #2 is pescado (fish). The word for tomorrow is bailar (to dance). The LODs for tomorrow are Ainsley and Tom, chosen by Kat and Louis. So far, so good!!
DAY 3/July 13:
Half of the group (Ashley, Ainsley, Arlie, Jack, Nicco, and Tom) woke up early to run to the market with Casey to buy fresh fruit for breakfast. We were quite impressed, even though many walked back :). While we were waiting for the cook group members to return from the market, Charlotte offered to start making breakfast. Everyone was grateful for the mango, melon and papaya! We got picked up at 9am for our day of Spanish language and Costa Rican culture classes. It was another beautiful day and drive, and much shorter than yesterday. Conversa (the language school) is on top of a hill, overlooking a lush and colorful valley--absolutely gorgeous! Our two professors, Juan and Vera, were patient and as thorough as possible for a one day lesson. The learning curve varied greatly because of how much Spanish people were exposed to before coming to Costa Rica. For example, Alvaro, from Miami, whose Mother is from Mexico and whose Father is from Cuba, is completely fluent; he was a great sport, and learned some facts about Costa Rica. Eliza, Arlie, Jack, Kat and Ainsley, on the other hand, really didn't know any Spanish before today. They did a great job, and definitely walked away with several vital phrases/questions, vocab and verbs under their belts. We had some time to relax in the hammocks on the porch, eat a yummy lunch, and, unbeknownst to Casey, Mae and Pfeiffer (the leaders), all eleven members of the group jumped in the pool, in their clothes!! I tell you, this group has fire; they surely are not timid. We ended our time at Conversa with meringue dance lessons. Unfortunately, our dance lessons were cut short because of a power outage. We were bummed that we didn't make it the salsa part of the lesson, but, hey, you can't get angry with nature (plus, it is Friday the 13th, and if this is the worst we'll see, we are okay with missing the salsa! :)! When we arrived back at the hostel, Casey did a demonstration of how to pack a back pack, what everyone needs to bring for the remainder of the trip (we head out tomorrow morning at 7am!), and a short lesson on lightening protocol. Some people went to get sushi, while others worked on preparing ceviche, along with some rice and beans. Ceviche is a delicious and typical costaricense dish containing some sort of white fish, shrimp, avocado, mango, cilantro, red onion, red pepper and a lot of lime. After dinner we finished packing. Our Moon-Up was light hearted and fun. Ainsley and Tom decided to ask each person to share his/her most embarrassing moment, and to predict who out of the group would have the most embarrassing moment on the trip and why. We heard some comical stories, and learned a little bit more about each other as well. We ended Moon-Up with a reminder of what good expedition behavior is all about. The leaders of the day for tomorrow, our tough day of hiking are Eliza and Nicco. We are confident in the their ability to pump-up the group morale by staying positive and supportive. The phrase for the day is Pura Vida.
For those of you reading the trip log, thanks so much for tuning in!! It will be a little while until we are able to write our next update, but stay on the look-out because it will be REALLY EXCITING!! We are off to hike to the Fonseca's amazing tree house in the rain forest; five hours from the nearest town, where we will do all sorts of unique things like climb a humongous ficah tree, repel down a gorgeous waterfall and learn about several rain forest plants' medicinal uses. Then we will embark on our surfing the Pacific adventure!! Everyone is safe and having a great time so far! Until next time, Pura Vida and COSTA RICA RULES!! To be continued in about one week.........
July 24th Update
CRV 2 Updates from Fonseca Homestay and Dominical
Individual Shout Outs
Kat- Hey Fam! I am having the time of my life. But I also can’t wait to get back to ATL. Miss you all.
Eliza- I love you all! Miss you, but am having a blast.
Arlie- Hola amigos! CRV Group 2 rocks! I love it here and I miss you all (PV)!!
Ainsley- Hola familia! It’s so beautiful here and I’m having the time of my life. Gma, thank you SO much for sending me! BOYS- we miss you so much already and can’t believe this happened.
Niccolo- Hola genitori! Mi diverto tanto qui ma non vedo I'oca di rivedervi. Salutate tutti e prendetevi cura della macchina. PURA VIDA! xoxo
Ashley- Mom, Dad and Steff, You have no idea how amazing everything is here! Hope everyone is doing well. Hug Utah for me! Love you all very much.
Tom- Dad, Mom and Molly, Costa Rica is amazing. There are a ton of mountains--it's awesome! I'm having a great time. See you soon. P.S. Feed my snake!! xoxo
Charlotte- Hola Mom and Dad! I'm having a ton of fun in CR. It's so beautiful here! Love and Miss you! See you soon. xoxox
The first day of our trip to the Fonseca homestay was indeed a lesson in the culture of Costa Rica…in particular the incessant road construction that has plagued the country’s major highway the whole time we’ve been there. Past delays have been pretty minimal but this time we got stuck in one place for 2 hours while they painted lines on the road. Enterprising Costa Ricans were hawking bananas, cookies, drinks, etc. and we fought off the boredom by walking around getting outside. Unfortunately this delay meant that we had some serious time to make up once we met Freddy in San Isidro. The jeeps tore down the bumpy dirt roads like it was a rally sport race and once we reached the tiny town of Brujo everyone was ready to finally stretch their legs and start our hike. Even though many of the students had never been backpacking before they all performed spectacularly! Alvaro was the first to accept the fact that the mud would win eventually when he lost his shoe and then took a spill in the first big mud pit. Nico was next and pretty soon everyone stopped trying to avoid the mud and just blazed right through it. We had plenty of chances to rinse the mud off however since there were so many river crossings and Jack was right there in the middle of the stream encouraging folks across and lending a helping hand to everyone. As a veteran Moondance Jack also practiced the Leave No Trace philosophy by picking up trash from the trail and beach wherever he went. Maybe it was the thought of Mama Rosa’s chocolate and coffee or maybe it was the impending darkness, but whatever the cause we hiked fast Freddy told us that we were one of the fastest groups to ever hike up the trail! Good job CRV 2! We made it to the trolley across the Rio Savegre just as dark fell and began the time consuming task of shuttling everyone and their bags across the river…Tom and Nico took on a leadership role and helped out big time by putting their backs into the task at hand and hauling everyone safely across.
The next day dawned clear and beautiful as they tend to do in the rainforest and we got to rappel down a beautiful 60 foot waterfall. Arlie went down the rock like a pro and made it look easy! While it was still nice out we went to one of the finest swimming holes around, which just so happened to be right beneath the house…I couldn’t imagine growing up with a spot like this in my back yard…we are all lucky to be able to see such unspoiled beauty out here with minimal development. Tom, Louis and Nico were the fish of the trip and were jumping off the rocks, riding some small rapids and diving in the pool all afternoon. Kat and Ashley followed their example and would have spent the whole day in the river if hunger and rain hadn’t sent them towards the house. (This was all under the watchful eye of lifeguard Freddy of course). Lifeguard Freddy also played the role of fisherman Freddy and he caught a bunch of great fish which everyone got to taste for dinner. Alvino spent the afternoon teaching us about the local medicinal plants he cultivates and uses to treat ailments ranging from bug bites to cancer. Alvaro, being bi-lingual, was a great help in translating for everyone and the group not only learned a lot but they were exposed to a totally different concept of medicine and healing than traditional Western medicine, a philosophy that focuses on taking preventative measures before ailments occur. The evening provided us with time to have some skits about Leave No Trace and relax while the rains came down.
Day 3 at the Fonsecas started early with a hike upriver to a banana plantation where we picked a bunch of fresh bananas and hearts of palm and hauled them back to eat later on that day. Ashley volunteered to haul one of the heavy bags back all by herself. The next big challenge was scaling a 50 foot tall jungle tree….this is not an easy climb especially when it’s slippery out but Charlotte overcame this challenge and was one of the few who reached the top of the tree! The rain’s offered everyone some down time to play with Ura and his new soccer ball, catch up on reading or journaling, or take a nap. As he always does, Ura picks a favorite from the group that he latches onto and this time around it was Eliza who was great playing with him. A sweat lodge wrapped things up in the afternoon and we hiked out early in the morning, sad to leave our wonderful host family and as always wishing we had another week to spend up there with them.
Surfing Dominical
Our next stop on the adventure was surfing on the beautiful west coast on the beaches of Playa Colonia and Playa Ballena. These beaches are a great spot for beginners to learn how to surf and our surfing instructors had an easy job this time since the group was a bunch of naturals. Kat was the first one to hit the water and catch a wave, while Nico proved to be a born surfer and impressed everyone with his skills. Tom and Ainsley proved their fearlessness by going out the furthest in order to catch the biggest waves.
Later on Ashley, Eliza and Charlotte were real troopers when they found a midnight visitor in their tent….a giant crab the size of a dinner plate! It was pretty funny to watch them clear their tent like a bunch of Mexican jumping beans however, and they had a great attitude about the situation which was understandably scary given the presence of scorpions and spiders and other not so harmless creatures in the area.
Kat, Arlie, Eliza and Charlotte went on a sunset hike down the beach, and when it stared to down pour, they didn't complain, they just played and danced in the rain and had a great time! By this time they must have gotten used to the fact that it rains here in Costa Rica, a lot. Ainsley impressed us all with her acrobatic tricks on the beach--very cool; we all wished we were gymnasts!! Ashley inspires the group with her profound and upbeat outlooks on life and we all think she should be an inspirational speaker when she grows up.
The campground owner Marvin is a character as always, from showing us his favorite fruit trees and catching poisonous snakes, to cutting pipas for everyone or sharing with us the best rambutans I’ve ever tasted. He’s also very patient with those who don’t speak Spanish that well although everyone has been impressive in practicing their skills on this trip from students like Charlotte who have taken several years in school to Arlie who had none whatsoever before coming down here. It’s also a good experience culturally to have an Italian on our trip; in addition to teaching us more about his city and country, Nico is also super patient with those who want to learn Italian phrases, especially Mae!
We enjoyed lots of sun and rain at our surfing adventure and as always it felt like too little time but we are off to our community service portion of the trip where we head to the Pacuare Reserve and work with nesting Leatherback, Green, and Hawksbill sea turtles, all highly endangered from poachers and habitat destruction. More news coming soon!
JULY 21-26
Oh what a week, greetings to all from some of the happiest people in the Universe!! It has been a while since we last checked it, but all is well and the time has been flying (as the saying goes). Our group has just spent the past 5 days at the Pacuare Nature Reserve, doing the community service section of our adventure and our fair share in saving sea turtles. We have worked with Leatherback and Green Sea turtles that come to nest on the beaches of the Caribbean, and been immersed in some of the most wondrous flora and fauna the world has to offer.
To get to the reserve is quite an adventure in itself. We drove through miles and miles of banana fields on dirt roads (after making a pit stop for ice cream and some new music, we now have a Guns N Roses CD provided by Nic and a great 90´s mix to serve as our soundtrack!) and then unloaded the gear to hop on a boat ride to the Reserve. The boat took us through a series of canals where we passed under a canopy of beautiful old growth trees, complete with howler monkeys, a mother sloth and her baby, crocodiles, lizards that walk on water, and beautiful herons and exotic birds. Already at this point we had seen more wildlife in half of a day than the entire trip....surely a good omen for the days to come!
After arriving at the reserve we settled into our cabin by the sea and met our two instructors, Casey and Darren, from Ecology Project International, the organization we were working with. Casey and Darren had just had time to go over some sea turtle basics and a general overview of what we had been doing when another research assistant came running in from the beach with the news that there was a Leatherback nest hatching and we were just in time to check it out. Within the first 20 minutes on the beach we had all seen baby leatherbacks, a critically endangered species, making their first journey to the ocean. Thus began our stay...which we can tell stories about for the rest of our lives!
The week was full of informal lessons on ecology, sea turtles, rainforest, deforestation, water cycles, pollution and some of the numerous environmental problems we face worldwide mixed in with plenty of fun time, volleyball and soccer games and quality hours on the beach. Nic had the great idea to buy a volleyball to bring with us which saved the day (even when it fell into the canal and Tom had to fish it out with a tent pole!) and Ainsley and Arlie came supplied with tons of fun games as well. The group really bonded on this section of the trip and it has been so amazing to see friendships grow stronger and stronger. Ashley has been amazing and a lifesaver helping keep the cabin and common space clean and really shined when she took on the responsibility of being a model Leader of the Day. Eliza has also been an irreplaceable group member, and voted the official best masseuse EVER, while Charlotte has kept us looking our best as the group hairstylist (and also one of the sweetest, most considerate people we know! ps. she also did a GREAT research project with the two instructors and had loads of super questions during lesson times). Ainsley has such a drive and a true competitive spirit, leading her team to victory and sharing her contagious enthusiasm.
We spent several afternoons helping researchers do nest excavations, and Tom got to do one solo which not too many people can say! One of these afternoons the group hiked down to a local primary school and got to play soccer with local students and practice our Spanish skills. On our way back we stopped to have a turtle sculpture contest and art show using materials that had washed up on the beach. Kat’s sculpture of coconuts took the prize and was truly a work of art. She has shown her love for the outdoors over and over, and is one of the main advocates of our nightly meetings being held on the beach, rather than in the cabin. In other news, we also managed to do a rainforest hike into a lagoon to see the only nesting site in Costa Rica of a species of rare herons and spend a few hours doing habitat restoration for the turtles on the beaches of the reserve, ohhh the stories we have to tell!!!
Tonight we will trade in our nightly patrols of the beach to get a good nights sleep for Day 1 of rafting tomorrow... We will hit the Reventazon River early, then it’s on- for an overnight trip down the Pacuare River, one of the top 5 rafting rivers in the world.... watch out, here we come!!
Hard to believe in less than a week we will all be home, but until then we plan on going full throttle and getting the most out of every second we have left in this beautiful county.
Thanks for checking in and we will keep you posted!
PS- Shout-outs from Mae and Emily to their wonderful families and friends. Sorry we haven’t included you earlier although we miss you dearly and can’t wait to catch up soon! Happy Birthday Rachel from your little sis and hugs
and kisses to all!
July 31 - Final Update
Here it is, our last update before we head home... hard to believe we will
be able to recount our own versions of these stories (along with photos!) in
less than 24 hours. The group is back at our home in San Jose, MiCasa
hostel, after 3 days of world class rafting on the Reventazon and Pacuare
Rivers.
The waters were absolutely perfect, and we couldn´t have been luckier with
the weather- sunny days to match the warm river water. Day one on the
Reventazon introduced the peace of spending hours on the river. We learned
the guides' commands, in both spanish and english, and practiced our river
skills, gearing up for the Pacuare River. The class two and three rapids
kept us on our toes.
The Pacuare lived up to all of our expectations, with big water and
beautiful scenery. This river is the fifth most beautiful river in the world
to raft; we felt blessed to be together on the Pacuare. We were really
pleased with our river guides, Otto, Ronald and Levin. We "surfed" some
rapids, and did some other tricks as well, including banging the "we will
rock you" song with our paddles, twice against the raft with the paddle and
once with the t-grip of the person across from you. It was quite
entertaining. Day two we cruised through a lush green gorge and our very own
Arlie got to show off her whitewater skills and guided her raft through 3 of
the major rapids! Maybe a future Moondance group will have her as their
guide one of these days!! We did have some swimmers along the way, with
Charlotte, Ashley, and Arlie joining the Moondance Swim Team. The class four
rapids were awesome!! By the end of our three days, everyone was content and
comfortable on the river. I think we have some natural "river rats" in this
group, which made this section of the trip an exciting pleasure for all.
The first afternoon after rafting, we went on an excursion into the city of
Siquirres. People treated themselves to ice cream, body wash, spandex shorts
;), and other "necessities" with which we had been living without for a
while.The afternoon of the second day rafting, we took a spontaneous
field-trip to EARTH University, an international leader in sustainable
agriculture and ecosystems of the humid tropics. We were able to squeeze in
a tour of their impressive campus and learn a little about how complex
agronomy really is. As we were finishing up the day we were treated to a
truly once in a lifetime experience, coming face to face with a two-towed
sloth. We came across the sloth as it was making its way to another tree,
and were in awe as it walked right up to Mae, Pfeiffer and Casey (they are
natural wildlife magnets, you know).
With only a day left, we have been busy getting the most out of our
remaining time with a morning full of shopping, hitting the town and
sightseeing in the center of the historic district of San Jose. Tonight we
will have our final banquet at a typical Tican restuarant called
"RostiPollo". We have finished our group journal, which Mae and Pfeiffer
must say, is an impressive compliation of journaling, drawings, quotations
and funny memories. We have our final Moon-Up tonight, which we are hoping
won't be too, too sad. Moon-Up last night was great; the topic was two
things you will miss and one thing you will definitely NOT miss. People got
pretty creative and silly. The group is insisting on staying up all night
tonight because they ahve grown so attached to each other, but the leaders
are going to make sure we ALL get some "shut-eye" (don't worry, parents!).
We do, afterall, have a long travel day tomorrow, especially poor Nicco who
is traveling all the way back to Milan, Italy! We are going to miss this
group/family BIG TIME. They supply us with perma-grins, much like the sloths
we keep "running into"!!
We shall let you all know that everyone made their respective flights
tomorrow. Thanks for reading our updates!! Hope you all are well, and ready
for your matured, world traveler children to return! It has been a pleasure
sharing our summers with them. Thank you.
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