| Costa Rica Venture Log (2006-06-18 -> 2006-07-08)
Leaders: Molly Profeta and Jeff Hope
Students: Sara Blackman, Page Cunningham, Stu Derse, Bretton Elliott, Barrett Freibert, Kelly Ann Gorman, Bahnson Gray, Kiki Jameson, Ariel Jameson, Trey Miller, Abby Moses, Blay Schoenherr, Madeline Sturm
All have arrived and on their way to their way to their canopy tour. Will update soon. Stay tuned!
June 18, 2006
After a long and exhausting day of airplanes, airports, shuttles, buses, cabs and crowds, the 15 of us came together at the Hostel Pangea in San Jose, Costa Rica. Our hostel is a little oasis within a bustling city of small streets, big cars, and smaller sidewalks. We have all enjoyed our short time here at the hostel, making the most of the pool, deck and ¨bumping¨music, while also sampling some delicious native foods including beans and rice, quesadillas and platanos (fried bananas). Finally, after a moonup and some chill time we all went to our rooms for some much needed sleep while eagerly awaiting tomorrows Canopy Tour adventure.
June 19, 2006
Ahh!!! Another beautiful tropical morning in San Jose. We all slowly pulled ourselves out of a deep slumber following the 6:30 am wake up calls from our leaders of the day, Sara and Trey. However, everyone perked up after a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and orange juice, toast, and hash browned potatoes. After filling up, we met our tour bus operator, Arnold, and prepared ourselves for a day of flying from tree to tree through the rain forest. Along the way, Arnold pointed out a number of different natural and historical features including a number of active volcanos!
None of us were exactly sure of what we were in store for in this Canopy Tour, but from the moment we stepped from the bus, we weren´t disappointed. We were immediately supplied with helmets, harnesses and brake gloves and then brought down into the forest. After a thorough instructional talk, we were off to our first zipline! The Canopy zipline consisted of a heavy cable that we were attached to by a rolling mechanism on our harness. We then ride this cord from the platform on one tree to the platform on another tree. Initially we did about eight trees with each one being faster and longer. The excitement continued to build all day. At one point Bahnson exclaimed, ¨Man...I sure am a long way from home!¨ This was punctuated by yelps of excitement from Abby who had just started the ¨Tarzan Swing¨, a favorite of guides and students alike.
After finishing that section with a long ride out of the forest, we moved on to the big ziplines. These consisted of towers that zipped students from hill to hill and gave a beautiful panoramic view of the countryside. This section culminated with a 1/2 mile long ride in which each rider reached speeds up to 50 mph. Whoa!
Barrett was our bird in the air for these rides, flapping here arms and feeling the wind through her hair. Our veterans Blay and Madeline sailed through the day, encouraging others and practicing good EB. Stu learned the Costa Rican phrase ¨Pura Vida¨, or Pure Life and made sure to let everyone know he was having a good time. Kiki, Page and Bretton tested their comfort zones and jumped right into the fun, encouraged by veteran Moondancer Kelly Ann. Ariel was a bundle of energy all day, keeping the Moondance spirit alive on the lengthy bus rides.
After the rides, we enjoyed a scrumptious local meal of paella, and then headed on home to pack up for our hiking section. Tomorrow, we head into the rain forest to backpack and experience life with some local families. Until next time, PURA VIDA!!
DAY 3
Bienvenidos al bosque! We woke up at around 5am to catch a ride down to the city of Quepos to begin our backpacking section. Although not the smoothest of roads, our long ride was worth the beautiful introduction to the Costa Rican rainforest. With a 5 hour hike ahead of us on the first day, we hydrated, pulled up our gaiters and gladly entered the secluded land. We soon realized we would have consistent friends following us... the grazing cattle and horses would greet us every so often as we headed uphill into the mountains. The weather was super hot, but just when we thought we could handle it no longer, the rain came down to cool us off. Our leaders of the day, Bahnson and Kelly Ann, kept spirits high through it all. As we hiked, we enjoyed our first encounters with banana and guayaba trees with their fruits as incentives to keep on going. Just as the sun was setting, we arrived at our first homestay...
"The people are beautiful and kind. The food is amazing. We're wet, yet happy. Rain is pounding on the tin roof, the cool breeze is stopping by, and a relative of the cicada is keeping us awake. There are lightning bugs...followed by a lightning storm...creating the greatest sound ever in the rainforest. And, we are lucky to be here, sleeping on the porch of the hand-built house of Flor y Antonio Astua built 30 years ago."
DAY 4
We awoke to the mooing of cows and rustling of pots and pans to enjoy yet another amazing day in the selva. The first part of our service project began today as we visited the local school to learn Spanish and teach English. With our dirty boots outside, the 15 of us entered a small school room with 6 students and their teacher and spent the next 2 hours conversing over everything from names and favorite sports to fish in the ocean and life in the States. After addresses were exchanged, we left the school with a better sense of schooling in Costa Rica, but many would have liked to stay for longer. We then put back on our soggy boots to hike another 5 hours to our homestay at the Fonseca family home.
Leaders of the Day Barrett and Blay led up through the mostly uphill, muddy trek with positive energy and hilarious stories. As soon as we reached the top of the trek, we quickly headed downhill to the family's home, which also created the muddy butts club as many of us slipped on the mud and laughed the entire time. After catching our breaths, the trail led us to our home for the next 5 days...la casa de Rosa y Albino Fonseca.
We were greeted from the porch by Yura, the Fonseca's youngest son, who would soon become the center of our attention. Rosa and Albino welcomed us as we took off muddy boots and gaiters with delicious pancake-looking cakes drizzled in Rosa's home-made quayaba sauce. It was even more amazing than it sounds! After being introduced to the family, we all quietly made it to our bunk beds to catch up on sleep only to dream of what the next day would bring...
DAY 5
We woke up to the sound of the waterfall and river that was right outside the home. Still amazed by the surrounding beauty, we were even more stunned by the amazing food. Rosa fed us so well with a Costa Rican dish called gallo pinto, a mixture of rice, beans, and vegetables, as well as eggs, fresh fruit, coffee and hot chocolate. We needed all the energy for our first activity of rappelling down a waterfall. Albino demonstrated proper stance and technique, and Jeff demonstrated how to being the first one down.
For many, this was their first time rappelling. Abby, Brett, Stu, Kiki, and Page overcame fears, and both happily and successfully rappelled down. Barrett, Blay, Madeline, Kelly Ann, Bahnson, Trey, and Ariel used prior knowledge of climbing and rappelling and quickly followed suit. Sara helped out Jeff with photography down below and cheered everyone on as they came over the top of the waterfall. All of this was before noon, so we then went on to have another amazing meal made by Rosa followed by an afternoon learning about medicinal plants of the rainforest from a lesson by Albino.
After learning about every plant from the garden as well as other parts of their rainforest yard, we headed down to the river for a refreshing swim and a water version of the game Big Booty. Leaders of the Day Madeline and Brett made sure everyone was hydrated as well as having a great time. The day ended with a great moon-up and playing with Yura.
DAY 6
After a great night's sleep, we awoke to the task of climbing rainforest trees. Stu was the first to climb, showing us how to make it up the first "crux." He was then followed up by Barrett and Blay who showed off their climbing skills. Kiki was next and informed us of the big, biting ants, which everyone else was able to avoid (for the most part) because of her. Page and Madeline gave it their all and enjoyed the view from up above. Bahnson was Mr. Speedy on the route and made it look super easy, and Ariel showed her pro climbing skills moving elegantly up the tree. Trey very quickly followed him up in his Crocs and showed others of different way up. Brett persevered all the way to the top without a single sound becoming one with the tree. Abby, Sara and Kelly Ann cheered on from below and helped people find good footholds. Once all were through, we took a dip in the water and went to lunch.
The afternoon was set aside for taking part in the sweat lodge. Albino explained to us the significance of the ceremony, and Freddy, his son and our amazing guide, took us through the process. It began with a dip in the cool river to get us ready for the small hut with the fire pit inside. We sat in there for 10 minutes to feel the heat, and then headed back into the river water. We then repeated the process two more times to complete the ceremony. Everyone took different, amazing experiences away with them.
DAY 7 & 8
Today was our day to take part in another rainforest zip line. Everyone had so much fun cruising through the trees and enjoying the views. We then went on to work on the second service project which was to break into groups to study and research different topics on rainforest destruction. Students were expected to come up with solutions to the problems and present these ideas to the Fonseca family as well as Jeff, Molly and the rest of the group. Everyone did an amazing job, and the project led us to our final service project of reforestation. Each student planted 4-8 trees in the rainforest to help with the destruction. After this very busy day, we got ready for our early departure the next morning out of the rainforest. Everyone had an amazing time in the backcountry. We will all miss it, but look forward to our water sections ahead.
DAY 11
Hola de la Playa Dominical!
We are soaking up the sun and waves in southwestern Costa Rica in our surfing section. Already on our second day of the surf, we have had amazing weather which has only added to the great fact that everyone has gotten up on their boards. Sir Bahnson has used his previous surfing knowledge to guide fellow friends Trey, Sara, and Brett in the ocean. All four have been the last to come out of the water both days. Blay and Barrett have shared many pointers with the group as well as many laughs and shouts of joy as they got up on their boards. After identifying some friendly sting rays, Ariel grabbed the big banana board (our bright yellow 9' surf board), got up with great pride, and rode the wave in. Page and Kiki have happily taken on almost every wave, and Page with her huge smiles compared the board to "a wild cow" that needed to be tamed. As yesterday was his first encounter with the ocean, Stu relaxed on his board in the sea in between sets getting to know the sandy shores. Madeline, Kelly Ann and Abby are slowly getting their feet wet with the surf, and when not surfing have found many beautiful shells along the shore. We will enjoy one more day of surfing before beginning our kayaking journey in Golfo Dulce, which will end on the Fourth of July.
Hasta luego!
Hola de San Jose! We arrived late last night to the bright lights of the city after spending the past week on the secluded beaches of Golfo Dulce in southern Costa Rica. Day One of kayaking began with an early morning leaving Playa Uvita and heading 5 hours south down the coast to our put in at Playa Blanca. After Kayaking 101 with Mauricio, we headed along the western part of the Gulf for 4 hours to our first backcountry campsite. Blay and Barrett led the way on this day as they sang countless songs for us to join in on. Jeff and Stu held us tight to the shore as Trey and Bahnson watched the other side. Abby and Kiki reminisced of favorite foods at home as they paddled followed by the Sara and Brett show of songs. During this time the pairs of Page and Kelly Ann and Madeline and Ariel let their grooves out and joined along. We became the paddling Partridge Family. Once at shore, we quickly set up our tarps and mosquito nets, but had some tasty mac-n-cheese made by Ariel and Barrett. With our bellies full, we headed to bed anxious for the next day of paddling.
Days 2-4 were full of Mother Nature in every way. We had beatiful weather in the morning while paddling, but like clockwork we received tons of rain at camp. Because of an excellent tarp lesson from Jeff, though, our tarps were bomber, and we exchanged conversations to eachvother from underneath. During this time we also had encounters with animals! Every night and morning we were greeted with the deep tones of howler monkeys and croaking (if you could call it that) frogs. We became neighbors with numbers of crabs, who would sometimes make their way into the net, but we always safely got them removed. While paddling we saw dolphins daily as well as flying fish, or voladores en espanol. And, while no one saw it, we heard the sounds of an ocelot near by. It was a great way to experience nature in action.
During this time, we averaged about 8 miles a day of paddling, and on the last day did a 10 mile crossing of the Golf that was beyond breathtaking. We woke up at 3:30 to be on the water by an hour later. Everyone was excited to paddle a while in the dark, but the best part was paddling with the sunrising behind us. The girls paddled on with the inspiration of Brittney Spears songs, and the boys, well, that got them going even faster. After a quick paddle through some jellyfish, we headed to shore in a record of 2 hours 45 minutes. It was an amazing experience to kayak the Gulf, and it got us even more excited to go rafting...
We are about to get on the bus right now to head north to the Pacuare River...we´ll fill you in as soon as we get back. Adios!
July 5, 2006
After a long, bumpy and musically diverse ride through the cloud forest of Costa Rica, we arrived back at the Hostel Pangea in San Jose. All of the group was excited to be back to old stomping grounds and were especially looking forward to having a bed for the night. After a dinner of quesadillas and an hour of packing, we crashed out and eagerly awaited the morning in which we would be setting out on the much anticipated rafting section.
We awoke at 5:30 am and ate a quick breakfast to ready for our 6:30 am pickup. Right from the start our guide Chollo set the stage for an amazing experience, which started with a second breakfast (yay!) at a restaurant overlooking the rainforest valley (yay again!). After reaching our destination, we jumped out of the bus and hiked down a steep four wheel drive road to the river. There we got geared up with helmets, paddles, and PFD´s (life vests) and got into the rafts. Our guides went over some safety concerns, commands, and of course, the best technique to splash the other rafts. After that, we were off! We went about 2 hours down river to the lodge with breaks to swim in some waterfalls and practice ¨surfing¨ in the rafts. At one of the breaks Chollo got Kelly Ann and Blay to help him send the group down a waterslide.
Around mid-afternoon we reached the lodge and were stunned at how amazing it was. They greeted us with iced tea and fresh baked cookies while showing us to our beautiful bungalos complete with private bathrooms. The lodge is an eco-lodge that strives to be environmentally sustainable by not using electricity, having an extensive recycling program, and only using materials from the area. All of the supplies had to be rafted down, as there is no road access. This instantly became everyone´s favorite part of the trip.
We then took a hike to a natural waterslide where Stu raised the energy of the whole group with his excitement. Abby challenged herself and got down the waterslide with the support of the group. This ended with our guides painting mud masks on all of us. Soon after getting back, we had dinner by candlelight which was absolutely wonderful.
Bright and early we were up, had an extravagant breakfast of pancakes, eggs, juice, yogurt, granola, and fruit and then we were on the river. This day was to be much more intense than the day before and they were not kidding. We immediately got into some class 3 rapids and it didn´t stop from there. Jeff and Page got tossed in a class 4 rapid and got to take a heart racing swim, but the guides were quick to get them back in the boat. Ariel pulled Page in almost single-handedly (and with a big smile)! Trey, Bahnson, Sara and Brett manuevered their boat as though they had been doing it for years. After a few hours, we were treated to a float through a canyon where we could jump out of the boats. Kiki did some arial manuevers for us and Stu was jumping from boat to boat. At one point on the rapids, Chollo even had Abby, KA, Barrett, Stu, and Madeline stand as they went down! All in all it was just an awesome, awesome day. Thanks Pacuare River Guides!
Day 20
After an extremely eventful two days on the Pacuare River, we were off to shower and celebrate our successful trip[s end. We attended Nuestra Tierra for our banquet feast, a local restaurant featuring typical Costa Rican cuisine. We entered with greetings in English from the waiters, but all of the CRV1 crew responded with happy smiles and "hola[s." Sitting at a huge wooden table surrounded by Costa Rican decor, we pondered over dishes with many choosing to share the house special including an array of shrimp, steak, chicken, rice and beans, tortillas, and salad. It came out delivered in giant circular pots lined with banana leaves, and we enjoyed our final meal together as well as endless stories from the trip (including different variations of the experiences.)While sharing cuentos, we swapped cameras and took shots of the group as clean beings. And, without fail, we left with full bellies only to stop at a local heladeria on our walk home down Avenida Central.
Once at the hostel, we loaded up into a meeting room to share our final moon-up. We reminisced even more of the three weeks traveling through this beautiful country, shared our favorite moments, and laughed about the tough times. After final entries in our group journal, we headed to bed with endless memories to share with our families upon our return. Pura vida it is.
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