Beach Day!

The most anticipated day of the trip, beach day, was a success! As a sign of their growth as travelers, they arrived to the buses by 6:30 am with minimal complaints and all the gear necessary to enjoy a full day on the beaches of Manuel Antonio Park. We made the hour and a half drive along the Pacific Ocean and barely made the park before they closed it for the day due to reached capacity (with one bus barely making it as the door closed behind them).

The beach is known for its calm waters, beautiful sand, and mischeavous monkeys and the students enjoyed it all. Furious games of chicken, football, sunbathing, hermit crab hunting, and body surfing kept them busy for hours and they were shocked when we had to leave for lunch. Despite almost constant reminders to reapply sunscreen, our students returned to the buses exhausted and more red than when they arrived. Snores echoed through the bus the whole ride home and dinner conversations recapped the day’s most exciting dunkings.

Tomorrow is a travel day with a mercifully late wake up time and a stop on the town of Sarchi, an artisan town know for its beautiful, traditional coffee carts. 

Day 6 - To the Beach!

Although I could easily spend the entire trip in Monteverde, our students insisted we follow the planned itinerary and we made our way down to the Pacific Ocean and Jaco. On the way, we stopped for a boat tour of the Tarcoles River and took a gondola ride through the treetops. The students are starting to show signs they are seasoned travelers as our travels become smoother and our children become more confident interacting in Spanish and solving problems for themselves. Popular google translate queries include phrases like “How much for three scoops?”, “Can you unlock the bus?” and “I’ve locked myself out of my room... again.”

Tomorrow we board our buses at 6:30 am and head to the beautiful beach at Manuel Antonio!

A Promise Kept

As you may know, 8th graders are masters of negotiations and any individual who finds themselves conducting business with these future lawyers will find themselves making, and being reminded of, promises. This post is one such promise:

Sydney’s mom, your daughter is alive, behaving well, and generally amazing!

Day 5 - Monteverde Snapshots

As reviewed by an excited 8th grader to Ms. Farkas shortly after a sensory-overloading party of snacks, dancing, and soccer, our fifth day of the journey was “the best day so far!!!” This day is always a crowd pleaser and rightly so. Today our students experienced the zip line, a hike in the cloud forest, and what EF Tours calls a “cultural exchange” at the local high school. It is hard to capture the powerful combination of adrenaline, serenity, and adolescent social excitement induced by these experiences in a short blog post, but please know that today was a big day in your students’ growth as world travelers. 

Below is a collection of the day’s fun (sorry there are no pictures of zip lining, but Ms. Cuffee purchased the park’s professional pictures and will share them soon).

Night Hike

Late on our 4th day, students had the option of resting at our hotel or going on a guided night hike. While interest was initially low, contagion caught on and most students ended up deciding to brave the dark forests of Monteverde. The mostly-full moon occasionally peeled through the trees, but its light rarely snuck through the canopy and we were grateful for our flashlights. The collected list of sightings included:
- Sloths
- Armadillos
- Bats
- Lizards
- Taratula and many smaller spider friends
- Snakes
- Frogs
- Countless sleeping birds

Here are some snapshots from the adventure!

Day 4 - The Road to Monteverde

Our students woke early Wednesday to make the trip from La Fortuna to Monteverde. The road winds its way around Lake Arenal and up in to the elevations that allow Monteverde’s famous cloud forest to thrive. On the road, we stopped at delicious German bakery and all buses avoided the roadsickness that frequently pops up on this road. We were greeted with cooler weather and clear skies in Monteverde. While some students visited a local farm, others explored the gift and snack shops of the town, Santa Helena.