Picture yourself: Over 20 hours of running, swimming, treading, saving, strengthening, studying, and more swimming… all in four days. The upside? It all takes place on beautiful beaches (and our rainforest swimming pool) of Manuel Antonio, and you have the chance to receive an Open Water Lifesaving certification. Okay, so it’s not the idea that […]
University of Alabama‘s students arrive on Monday, and they have a big service job in Talamanca ahead of them. And who better to lead them than our veteran Tico Land Instructor, Orlando Zamora, along with one of our newest instructors, Sean Marr? Our Custom Course Manager, Shawn Pendergrass, will also accompany this group of eleven […]
The Canyon School students are most likely packing their bags right now, unable to sleep tonight out of excitement. They might be going on last-minute errands to purchase some food or supplies they want to have with them while hiking through the rainforest. These nine students (and Brendan, their chaperone) will be happy to know […]
Most of you have alumni done this hike into the remote village of Piedras Blancas. You remember it, right? The one up into the upper canopies where you camped, then down to Orlando’s homestay, then the Lopez’s homestay (where you inevitably milked a cow or squeezed some sugar cane), then up to Rancho Tinamu singing […]
They come in May with the rain. At times they can drive you insane. They make a loud buzzing sound, then hit the wall and the ground, and this happens over and over again. Meet: the Abejones de Mayo. People in the States call them “June bugs.” Scientific circles know their family name to be […]
It’s hard to believe that a Outward Bound Costa Rica course is the first time some students have ever cleaned, cooked, or led a group. But it’s true. Students who come on course have at least one role per day, and these are rotated to different students each day. In some cases, with smaller groups, […]
“It was a memorable experience,” one of the Water & Wave students concluded yesterday on his last day of the course. This reflection may be a result of the fact that Water & Wave students spent 20 days on a river, they went to three countries in 70 days, they got scuba certified, or even […]
Keys? Check.Money? Check.Survival kit? Hmmmm… “It’s not overkill to keep a survival kit in your house or your car.”–Les Stroud, SurvivormanAs we prepare for the upcoming “Jungle Survival” course running for 24 days this July, we have found some very helpful and interesting survival techniques not strictly meant for the middle of the rainforest. The […]
“Anyone who wants to do avid rafting should get WRT certified because it’s helpful for learning to read and respect the river. By understanding the river, you can avoid putting yourself in danger when kayaking and rafting. You can safely have fun riding and doing tricks in the rapids as your skills improve.” –Heidi, Leadership […]
It was typical weather on a cloud forest afternoon: a streak of sun poking through the clouds once every twenty minutes, haze blowing through the trees in thick and thin streaks, overall white skies, and a perfect temperature.But this Saturday afternoon was a little different for the Lopez family. On April 24th at 4pm, in […]
Día de la Tierra (Earth Day), on April 22, is a big day for Costa Rica. It could be because Costa Rica does so much to preserve its land and rainforest. In fact, the government presented a plan to protect 18 percent of the country in national parks and another 13 percent in privately owned […]
What do they do with all of those skills? This “Leadership Series” has finally completed answering this question for seven Leadership alumni as we anticipated the coming of our current Leadership Semester course students who arrived on April 1st. This week we profiled a second Alex, the last of our seven profiled leaders. Leadership Alum […]
It’s hard to believe Michaela Zimmerman, at 13 years of age, not only lives in China as a member of USA Girl Scouts Overseas, but is ready to travel 8000+ miles to get to Costa Rica for this summer’s Rainforest River & Reef Girl Scout course. She explains, “This would give me a great opportunity […]
Christ has died, now let’s go catch a crocodile? During Semana Santa (Holy Week), some Costa Ricans from the Guanacaste province, go on a crocodile chase called “Lagarteada” (in Spanish, lagarto means lizard). And while this tradition is controversial, it still made its way into the celebrations of Costa Ricans this year (see photos below). […]
“I love the feeling of soaring through the air.” -2010 studentFor some, it’s exhilarating. For others, it’s their worst fear. Both of these types of people would agree: it’s the best way to see the upper canopies of the rainforest. It’s zip-lining. Regardless of how you feel ascending that mountain, gear in hand, awaiting your […]