Last week, students rounded out their July 4th weekend rappelling down the rushing waterfall and headed to the last homestay of their hike at the Hernan residence overlooking the beautiful Rio Savegre. During one students reflection after the hike he described his overall best memory of the course saying, “Arriving at the homestay after a lot of hiking and enjoying myself with a good meal.”  There, students received first-hand experience making homemade cheese and bread as well as sugar, using the traditional trapiche tool and learning new Spanish cooking vocabulary along the way. After a relaxing night under a roof, a 6 km hike led them to Rancho Tinamu, their next stop where they learned about the endangerment of the red-eyed tree frog. Rancho Tinamu is an eco-lodge dedicated to the preservation of the rare red-eyed tree frog where students went on a night tour to see the amazingly-colored frogs in ponds built to mimic their natural environment and attract wild frogs to the property.

Monday, students rested their feet and traveled by van to our Manuel Antonio base and the national park for some r&r on the beach and an educational hike through the jungle. Students enjoyed beautiful weather throughout the park where they saw sloths, iguanas, and howler monkeys swinging and sounding their powerful calls through the treetops. After some time at the beach, students headed back to our rainforest base at Tres Rios to round out the trip with some local activities. Although the heavy rain and too-high water levels prevented students on their river rafting, they headed into the capital city in San Jose for local souvenir shopping and practicing their bartering skills at the artisan market. Today as some students finish their last days on course and others continue on in their summer expeditions, they participated in one final adventure as a group; flying through the jungle on the treetop canopy tour!

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