On November 21, we welcomed students to Costa Rica for our first COVID-19 adjusted program! This group are spending their Thanksgiving break earning their NAUI Basic or Advanced Scuba Diver certification, learning Spanish, exploring rainforest trails, and spotting incredible wildlife along the way.
To ensure the health and safety of the group, all participants and staff have been following our COVID-19 precautions both prior to and during this course. Just some of these adjustments include: a negative PCR-RT COVID-19 test prior to their departure to Costa Rica, strict physical distancing 14 days before the program, monitoring temperatures, personal protective equipment, and a full health and safety orientation on arrival.
The group spent the first few days of their course getting to know each other and their instructors through some fun-filled interactive activities! They reached the skies during a technical tree climb, scaling a strangler fig tree with hand and foot holds to bring them up to the treetops, and completed a scuba confined water session at a nearby pool to learn the basics of in-water skills.
On Tuesday, the group departed early for a drive through Costa Rica’s lush mountains, stopping off to spot some crocodiles at Tárcoles River, and arrived at Playa Mantas to complete their first shallow water dive. Then, they continued to our Pacific Coast Base located in a tropical forest and home to wildlife such as parrots, sloths, coatimundis, capuchin monkeys, iguanas and more!
Since their arrival, the group have completed their first boat dives and have seen plenty of sea urchins, pufferfish, starfish, stingrays, triggerfish, manta rays, “dory” fish, eels, and skates! They have also been busy practicing their Spanish with our bilingual instructors and listening to a lot of music from Latin America. When they haven’t been diving, participants have been learning to surf on the famous breaks of the Pacific Coast. Tonight, they will celebrate Thanksgiving—Costa Rican style!
Before heading back to our Central Valley Rainforest Base, students will take their written exam to earn their NAUI Basic or Advanced Scuba Diver certification. The group is due to depart on Monday, but will make the most of their remaining time in Costa Rica on a canopy zipline adventure and participating in a rainforest conservation project. Students will give back to the rainforest by clearing forest trails to allow the local community to pass through the reserve adjacent to our base.