Day 1-2

Fly south into beautiful, lush, and friendly Costa Rica to meet up with your group and leaders. We will get to know each other pretty quickly as we spend this first day flying (literally) through the trees on zip lines. This canopy tour was recognized by national geographic as the canopy tour to do and we are doing it to kick start our adventure down south!

Day 3-7

Heading out of San Jose we will cruise through lush farmlands, winding roads, and beautiful vistas until we reach the end of the road and the beginning of our trail. From here we will shoulder our packs and wind up into the mountains. Along our path we will find exotic birds, monkeys, and plants and we will feel the earth shake below us as we near the base of a gigantic waterfall. This backpacking section is like no other, as we truly are in a whole new world. Our first day on the trail ends at an awesome home nestled between all different shades of green and pink. We will be welcomed by a truly down-to-earth Costa Rican family with fruits and vegetables from their garden and a huge family-style meal.

We will hunker down on the covered porch listening to the sounds of the jungle (and maybe even some rain hitting the roof over our heads) as we fall asleep anticipating a huge day of hiking tomorrow. Our second day of backpacking takes us to the heart of the Cordillera Mountains – and to a home we have made our Moondance home for many years. The Fonsecas are always ready for our team – usually with mini pancakes topped with a guava jam. Here we will be able to settle into the true jungle/ farm lifestyle. We will spend the next few days learning the lay of the land by climbing up waterfalls and repelling down them, clipping in and climbing up huge trees, and swinging into the Rio Blanco.

The Fonsecas will take us through their medicinal garden and teach us how to use herbs for medicinal purposes. We will learn about how they use a homemade sauna and then head down into some nearby caves. Overall – this is a Costa Rican cultural experience second to none. We will learn about the Costa Rican lifestyle by living it, we will have a chance to reflect upon our identities as Americans, and we will get to live and breathe the freshness of an exotic place.

Day 8-12

Having spent a week with the wonderful Fonseca family we will have developed a pretty deep understanding of the Costa Rican culture – and now is the time to give back. We are going to head east to the Caribbean Coast for service project. The Leatherback Sea Turtle is a critically endangered species and our group, teamed up with a program called Ecology Project International will spend the week working to protect the turtles and their nesting areas. We will cruise up and down the Caribbean shorelines looking for Sea Turtle nesting areas. Working alongside locals will give us a truly unique experience.

We will also oversee the reforestation project in the Terciopelo property as we plant trees to ensure the continuation of natural beauty in Costa Rica. Rewarded for our efforts with community service certificates, we will wash our hands and reflect on the importance of increasing the longevity of nature in the region, and we will fish for tilapia and feast on our catches of the day! After a long day of community service and fishing, we will Moonup and get a good night’s sleep under the Costa Rican stars. We will awake to find ourselves ambassadors of our own language as we assist locals of El Tigre town in English class.

Day 13-15

We will spend the next few days perfecting our surfing skills at world famous beaches along the Pacific. We will learn how to read ocean conditions and safe surfing techniques and all of us will get up on those boards for a ride into the beach. We can spend the hot afternoons playing Frisbee on the beach or going for a hike up into the rainforest looking for sloths and monkeys. Overall, this is the best way to start a career surfing.

Day 16-18

Back inland a little but not quite out of the water we are ending our trip in Costa Rica on two of the most famous whitewater rafting rivers in the world. Both the Pacuare and the Reventazon Rivers boast class III – IV rapids which we will learn to navigate by getting in the rafts and heading down river.

Day 19-20

San Jose will seem like a dream from another life as we head back after our three weeks of adventure and service. Our Spanish will be much improved for some serious bartering at a crafts market, and our group will be so tightly knit that it will be hard to believe that this is the bustling and colorful capital we all arrived in just three weeks ago. We’ll enjoy one last meal of rice and beans while we say our good-byes and head back to the United States. There is no way to come away from a cultural experience like this without having a slightly changed outlook on our home country and our place in it. Get ready for some culture shock.