A Picture is Worth 1000 Words:

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words:: "

Some of you may be wondering "Exactly how much is my child doing and learning in Costa Rica? Are they actually doing all that cool stuff Mr. Hess told us about, or is he making up and bunch of stories?"


I could spend hours detailing everything we've done thus far, or I could show you one photo that makes my argument for me ..............

because any one who can sleep in this position for over 2 hours is truly worn out.

Having a Blast!

M.H.

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Day #4~ Never a Dull Moment (Hess)

Day #4~ Never a Dull Moment (Hess): "

What a day!

We started out with French toast, scrambled eggs, and the ever-present red beans and rice. Some students were awoken early by the howler monkeys, which were jumping in the trees high above our rooms. The monkeys were loud, it sounded more like a lion, and the students were amazed something the size of a house cat could make so much racket. We then went snorkeling and kayaking: see Chandler’s and Austin’s posts (I don’t want to steal their thunder). When we returned, the driver of our charter bus fell ill (migraine), so we were given more time at the resort while we waited for a new driver. Students made the most of their time (see pictures). We then waited out a major thunder storm in the hotel’s restaurant which was a large open building with a thatched roof. The extended wait at the hotel did not derail our plans, which were to travel inland to a hotel in the rainforest and then take a nighttime hike with a biologist to look for animals. On the way to the hotel, we stopped at Burger King; I have never seen people so grateful for fast food in all my life. One student asked: “Can I get a burger or do they have beans and rice here too?” (They did!). Another interesting quote ” Mr. Hess, if you would have told me a year ago that I would be sitting here in the middle of Costa Rica eating a Whopper I would have never believed you; this is awesome!” Upon further questioning, the students revealed the trip was awesome, but the burger was pretty good too. All in all the day was fun and unexpected, I took a poll and everyone agreed it was a good day. I think everyone learned a valuable lesson about being positive and rolling with the punches. Upon arrival at our hotel, we took a night-time nature hike with a local biologist. We learned about the rain forest, local plants & animals. We saw toads, birds snakes and more bugs than I could mention. Needless to say, I don't think any of the students will even think about sneaking out, now that they know what is waiting just a few steps from their door.

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Day #4~ Kayaking & Snorkeling (Austin)

Day #4~ Kayaking & Snorkeling (Austin): "

The past few days have been awesome! Last night Mr. Hess, Lance, Chandler, Adam, Eric, Rebecca, and I played ultimate Frisbee on the basketball court. And then we all went and jumped in the pool to cool off. Then as the next day came around we geared up to go Kayaking and snorkeling. We got to sleep a little more and then ate breakfast. When we got to the Coral and Almond Resort, We got all our snorkeling gear. Life vest, and Paddle and headed for the beach. The waves were huge which made us wonder how we were going to get over them in a kayak and get to the calm water. A lot of us wiped out and had to try 2 or 3 times before we got it. The ride was long and tiring! When we made shore, we geared up and went right in the bottom of the ocean was awesome looking. You could see all the coral and a bunch of fish.

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Day #4~ Kayaking & Snorkeling (Chandler)

Day #4~ Kayaking & Snorkeling (Chandler): "

Today, Friday, I got the chance to go kayaking and snorkeling for the first time! We started are day with an early wake up at 7:15 am and went down to the hotel’s restaurant for some breakfast. Once everyone was done, we ventured on in our tour bus to the kayak place just down the street.

When we arrived there, we all got to try on fins and a snorkeling mask, and we then picked out a kayak and a partner. After a brief tutorial on how to paddle a kayak, my partner, Sydney, and I were on our way out into the ocean! We had an easy trip out since we moved down the shore where the ocean was calmer. Others who didn’t got completely wiped out by the waves!

We kayaked for about 5-10 minutes out from the shore, then we kayaked another 30 minutes parallel to the shore, to our snorkeling destination, a coral reef. Once we arrived, we put on our snorkel gear and jumped into the ocean. It was hard to see because of all the sand floating around, but I was able to make out the reef and all of the fish swimming around just fine. All of the waves made the experience kind of annoying since they kept filling our snorkels with water!

After everyone was finished snorkeling, we got back into our kayaks and set off back to where we started originally. This was the most fun part of the day for me. We had to paddle our way back to shore, and since the ocean was pretty ruff, everyone was crashing! Sydney and I caught a huge wave that completely demolished us, practically turning our kayak inside out! It wasn’t over at this point, unfortunately, as another huge wave smashed into us, sending us crashing back to the shore along with our kayak.

The entire experience was amazing for me, as I have never kayaked before, or even gone out and sailed anywhere in the ocean. It’s something I’ll never forget! So far, this day has been my favorite!

*Please Note*

We have photos of snorkeling & kayaking, but not not my camera (which has been the source of many of these photos). I will post the photos when I get them off of the student camera M.H.

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Day #3~BriBri (Erik)

Day #3~BriBri (Erik): "

Today we got the opportunity to go to an indigenous village. On the ride there we got a great view of the rainforest, which drooped over the river. When we got there we got to see the school buildings, which were like shacks. We even got to meet the science teacher. After that we got to taste and make chocolate. It turned out to be amazing. With our chocolate we had monkey tail, heart of the palm, and chicken. Everything tasted really good, especially the fruit drink we had. The village was really unique and it would be great to get the opportunity live there for a couple days.

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Day #3~Bribri Tribe (Lexi)

Day #3~Bribri Tribe (Lexi): "

Today in Costa Rica we visited the Bribri tribe living in Yorkin. To get there, we traveled on our lovely tour bus for an hour or so; then we ventured out onto a river in long, wooden canoes. After a short boat ride, we reached the tribe’s town, which included schools for different ages, a lot of cocoa trees, and the large huts with thatched roofs that served as homes. During our time there, we toured the village with a native guide, cooled off in a beautiful river after a short hike through the dense Costa Rican rain forest, and made chocolate straight from a cocoa fruit. When the day was over, we left the way we came and enjoyed another canoe ride.

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Day #2~ Sloths, Monkeys & Turtles (Zech)

Day #2~ Sloths, Monkeys & Turtles (Zech): "

Alright, so today was pretty long. Waking up at 5:30 in the summer really isn't my cup of tea, but today I had to make an exception. A three hour bus ride was made manageable due to the wonderful game of Egyptian Rat Screw. When we weren't playing intense card games, we were looking out the windows at the breathtaking views of misty mountain tops and deep canyons. After the long bus ride, we finally arrived at our destination. The preserve was really cool, full of monkeys and fruity looking birds. One owl seemed to have a burning hatred for everyone... Three toed sloths and two toed sloths were a real treat to see. At the end of our visit, we got to give a Green Sea Turtle a shot. I had the privilege of holding the turtle up. It was really heavy! Today was pretty awesome, except the presentation on the turtles was a bit hot, due to the lack of fans. Also, it's kind of hard to type while on a bumpy bus, but I'm not complaining. Trying to type on a bumpy bus in Costa Rica is better then just typing anything back in the states.

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