Day 7: 
Reporting live from the Aurora Holiday Inn in San Jose, Costa Rica, this is room 1012. 
We began our journey from Manuel Antonio at about 8:30 this morning to San Jose. Along the way we  got the opportunity to make a few stops. 

Our first stop included a viewing of Costa Rican crocodiles in their natural habitat. We were given the chance to have an up close view of these animals. Our tour guide, Berny, informed us that these animals have a bit force of 300 pounds, and are quite agile when looking for their prey. He also informed us that the world famous Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, not only visited this preserve but was impressed with the amount of crocodiles and the quality of their preserve. 

 Afterwards we were able to stop at another store to finish up all of our last minute souvenir shopping.

From there, we visited a local culinary institute and learned how to make authentic Costa Rican dishes, including empanadas, tamales, picadillo, sweet corn pancakes, and tortillas. When we had finished cooking our meal we sat down to enjoy our "creations" together. 


When we arrived at our hotel it was time to say goodbye to our fantastic tour guide, Berny, and bus driver, Jose. These two individuals made this journey even more worth while than it already was. 

Tonight we had our last meal together as a Costa Rican family. We arrived on the top floor of our hotel to gorgeous view of the city of San Jose, and front row seats to professional El Torito dancers. Not only did we get to watch them preform, but we were also able to take part in the performance. 

We finished off our night with a delicious meal and are currently awaiting our long trek home to Lake George, New York. We are excited to come back and see everyone but we are also upset to say adios to this beautiful country. Adios Costa Rica,                                         Pura Vida.


This is Paige Edwards, Kellie O'Brien, Liz Sullivan, and Megan Mastrodomenico signing off. Buenas Noches. 

Day 6:
Manuel Antonio

We began our day with a sit-down breakfast. We were entertained by playful monkeys and chirping birds. After breakfast we had a 10 minute journey to Manuel Antonio National Park. We had a 30 minute hike and saw two and three toed sloths, along with iguanas, and birds. There were two beaches just separated by a path. The first beach had small waves and the water was warm. The second beach had larger waves in which we could body surf and the water was much warmer. While a few of us were bodysurfing we managed to lose two pairs of sunglasses and gain lots of sand in our bathing suits.

We spent about four hours at the beaches and then had lunch at El Gato Negro (The Black Cat). We had cascado with chicken, fish, or vegetarian. For dessert we had chocolate cake with Neapolitan ice cream. We traveled back to the hotel to have some free time and clean ourselves up. Some of us got to enjoy baby monkeys outside our balconies. We had dinner at Si Como No, where most of us had steak.  Now we are back at the hotel enjoying the pool and the sounds of the tropical rainforest.

Gaby and Leighann
Seniors

Day Five - Monte Verde to Manuel Antonio

Waking up to the cold embrace of the clouds was refreshing after the humid mornings in other parts of the country. Aware of the five hour journey ahead of us we hoped for an early start to the day but the large line at breakfast stymied that desire. Nevertheless the breakfast was delightful and had the most refreshing pineapple and tangiest papaya we had tasted. Refreshed, we boarded the bus for our nerve-racking descent of the "road".

Four stops were planned for the day, the first of which was a reststop with a heladaria and an authentic Costa Rican eatery. Our guide, Berny, helped anyone who was daring enough to order at the eatery. After some initial hesitance, we found that  the plátanos and rice were both to die for. It gave a good snapshot of the tastes of common Costa Rican food and we also heard that the ice cream was delicious.

The american crocodile is the largest reptile in Costa Rica and is found throughout their rivers and estuaries. We passed a local restaurant that had a path to the river so that we could view the crocs up close. Unfortunately this was rather frowned upon by the owner of that establishment and el Jefe was around so we could not get through. The stop was not fruitless however as we passed over a bridge with a view of the crocodiles.

After a brief trip to the grocery store to pick up lunch we continued to the most anticipated stop of the day, the school. While the amount of children who were there was disappointing, but expected due to the school break, we formed a close bond with the three children who did show up. The three kids were all in their final years at the elementary school, but were of different ages. The two girls were fond of dancing while the lone boy enjoyed futbol. We visited a classroom and discussed the curriculum and other aspects of Costa Rican schools. Many questions were answered and a clearer picture of education was developed. We delivered our gifts to the students and after a quick tour which culminated in many photos it was time to be on our way.

Luckily the school was less than an hour from our hotel, the luxurious Shana, located on the pacific coast. After visiting our rooms and a taking a quick dip in the pool, which is flanked by forests full of howler monkeys, we took a quick walk to the beach close by, seeing three sloths on the way to the delight of many. It was nearly dusk and the waves were not very large so we left quickly. Nevertheless it was a good introduction to the Costa Rican pacific we would explore the next day. Soon after we returned to the hotel we ate and most called it an early night, sapped from the days of traveling. What a full day we had. Pura Vida.

-Jeff Naftaly y Zack Preuss (Seniors)

                                                       

Day Four – Monteverde, Costa Rica

What an incredible day we´ve had!  After a hearty breakfast at our hotel, El Establo, we set out for the Selvatura Adventure Park to gear up for some extreme zip lining.  Nestled in the dense Monteverde Clould Forest, the Selvatura Adventure Park offers daring folks the opportunity to sail above the tree canopy.   Joined by our Californian friends and with helmet, gloves and gear safely put on, we flew over and through fifteen different zip lines and even launched off of a Tarzan Swing!  The view from the top the tree canopy was like no other and, despite some jitters, smiles and shouts of joy were abundant.  It was truly a highlight of our trip thus far. 

After building up an appetite zip lining, our tour bus took us to the small art town of Santa Elena where students had an opportunity to choose a restaurant in which to have lunch.  Many choose the Treehouse Restaurant and then visited the small souvenir shops to purchase memories of their day. 

Just a 20 minute drive from Santa Elena is the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.  After arriving, our incredible tour director Berny led us on a two hour hike during which we saw various flora and fauna typical to this area.  We even got to see some playful monkeys swinging in the tree tops.  Berny directed us to various beautiful vista points, including a tremendous view of the Continental Divide!  Our hike back to the base camp of the Reserve was intentionally quiet so that we could soak in all of the wonderful sounds of the Cloud Forest.

Now we await a buffet dinner at El Restaurante Las Riendas at our hotel.  After a long day of zip lining and hiking everyone is sure to enjoy the food and to chat about the day´s events.  Tomorrow we are off to the southern part of the country and to our next destination, Manuel Antonio National Park and the beach!!

Emily Cooper

                                                                                                                              

4.14.14

Breakfast was the beginning part of our day today. After our meal, we took the bus on our way to Monte Verde. The bus ride was just under four hours. The bus ride was just under four hours. Jose, our bus driver took us through the beautiful ways around the mountains. We as a group took about two pit stops. Our first stop was at a market for snacks, souvenirs, and more. Our second stop was more entertaining. We got to see cute animals such as toucans, deer, cows, parrots, monkeys, and peacocks. On our destination to Monte Verde, we saw a copious amount of valleys, hills, and mountains. However, it was very bumpy. The views were phenomenal and picture perfect.

            Once we got to our hotel, it was gorgeous and had a beautiful site. Now, we are on our way to a night walk hopefully with more photos to take, memories to make, and on adventurous walk in Monte Verde!

            So we just came back from our night walk. We split into two groups and explored the nature trails in hopes of spotting wild life. Luckily, we got to see toucanettes, tarantula, a specific bird that has a green back and long blue tail, and certain bugs that cut leaves. In addition, we got to see a certain bug that lights up as well as an armadillo. The guide (Albert) had an excellent eye for spotting certain animals and was funny. After, we all as a group walked back for dinner. The buffet was very good and very filling It’s getting late, and hopefully we can wake up at 1 am to spot the lunar eclipse. Tomorrow is zip lining day as well as some shopping. Beautiful weather still, and outstanding views. Two days  down, five to go. Wonder what else Costa Rica will bring to us! 

 

Sophie Ferrone, sophomore

Today was a long, busy day.  We had a delicious Costa Rican breakfast in the hotel lobby at 7.00 am.  We had gallo pinto (a specialty of black beans and rice),  eggs, fresh fruit, fried yuca, Costa Rican coffee and much more.

Next we made a short stop at the Mas Por Menos grocery store to pick up some snacks and water bottles. This was a quick cultural immersion for the students as they learned about the new currency, the Colon (approximately 500 colones = 1$.

After breakfast, we boarded to bus and headed to Poas volcano.  We had a short 15 minute hike to the crater at about 8500 ft. high.  Unfortunately it was very foggy and we were not able to see the crater and the lagoon.  We headed back to the bus for our next stop.

We stopped in Sarchi to learn about the ancient ox carts.  The ox carts are now a craft of local artisans that are beautifully decorated and painted.  They were once used for transporting coffee and sugar.  We all got a chance at decorating them by sitting down for about 45 minutes and painting our own masterpieces (see pictures).  We then had a tasty Costa Rican buffet lunch in the same building and finally had a chance to shop for some souveniers made by local artisans of leather, wood or coffee.

After Sarchi, we continued our travels to the volcano Arenal.  This volcano has been active for years but has quieted down within the last few years.  Our tour guide Berni heard some romblings a few days ago and also saw some rocks fall and feels that it is building up pressure again and will hopefully become more active again.

Finally, we arrived at our hotel, Arenal Hot Springs.  We were greated with cool moist washcloths and fresh squeezed juice.  What a welcome!  After finding our rooms, we all changed and tried out the hot springs that are heated by the volcano. What a relaxing end to a couple long days of travel.  We had dinner at 7.30 and celebrated Michaela´s birthday.  The hotel made her an awesome volcano cake.  Check out the pictures.  At 10.00 pm, everyone checked in for the night.

Jen Cornell