This past week, our Coast to Coast Expedition Semester students officially embarked on their cornerstone trek. Starting at the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, the students are working their way through diverse landscapes, ranging from world-class beaches to lush rainforests to remote mountain ranges. At the end of their 24 days, they will have trekked across the country, endured varying climates, explored many pueblos, and met locals along the way. Their hike will end on the pacific coast.

During the first few days of their journey, the students hiked to an indigenous reserve home to the Cabécar Indians. With a population of roughly 6,000, the Cabécar are the largest, and most remote  indigenous group in Costa Rica. The students entered the reserve located in the Talamanca mountain range after trekking alongside the Rio Pacuare. Just days earlier, the group rafted down the same river, working as a team as they navigated its rapids and learned to captain a raft.

Currently, students are still in the mountains, working their way to a check-in point where our staff will join them for a re-supply of food, letters from home, and basic necessities as they prepare for the next phase of their hike. Instructors have reported that the group’s spirit is high, and we look forward to sharing the photos that are collected on this re-supply. They will be posted in the Coast to Coast Facebook album, and weekly updates will be available here on the blog.