Our first Girl Scout Rainforest Trek, River & Reef group is out and experiencing Costa Rica’s natural wonders as they hike from our Eco Lodge and end their journey at the beaches of Manuel Antonio. Alongside our other two groups who are embracing the Pura Vida lifestyle as they wrap up their courses.
Girl Scout Destination
Once on base, the students got acclimated to their new rainforest home and enjoyed a welcome meal with their course-mates. The next morning they woke up for tree climbing, similar to a rock climbing gym, but it’s 100% natural! Bright and very early Monday morning, participants were all smiles as they loaded their backpacks into the van and were driven to their trek’s trailhead just southwest of San Jose.
Their first day, they accomplished around 6 miles through the spectacular mountains of Costa Rica’s southwestern highlands while their instructors taught them about native plants. At the end of the day, they set up tarp tents and cooked their first camp meal together. What a way to end their first day on trek!
Today the Girl Scouts continued their trek toward Santa María de Dota, exploring the pristine cloud rainforest and learning about the flora and fauna that thrive in this biodiverse ecosystem.
On Thursday, the group continued its trek toward a beautiful Rainforest Eco Lodge, overlooking the mountains. There, they were welcomed by a local family – it’s owned and operated by one of OBCR’s very own instructors’ family! – and fed a delicious dinner.
Later this week they will be heading out again to go whitewater rafting on the Sarapiquí River (class II-III rapids). With each element of course there are deeper learning experiences where our field instructors facilitate a discussion on how each student can transfer these learnings to their lives back home. From our Blue Peter Flag to the Leadership Wheel and more, each student will be walking away with having learned more about themselves, discovered more about the world, how to better communicate with others, and having made many lasting friendships.
Summer Courses 14-18
Scuba, Sea Turtles, Service & Sloths
Once on base, the students got acclimated to their new rainforest home and enjoyed a welcome meal with their course-mates. The next morning they woke up for tree climbing, similar to a rock climbing gym, but it’s 100% natural! The students then worked on a reforestation project in a nature reserve close to our Tres Rios base. The students enjoyed making “mud patties” out of the soil used in the reforestation project.
The group then woke up bright and early to kick off a long day of traveling to our San San Pond Sak! They have been helping locals work to erect a new structure in San San out of concrete.
At this point, the students will be assisting at one of the most important sea turtle sanctuaries in the world to meet conservationists and learn about the active conservation efforts for endangered leatherback and hawksbill sea turtle populations. Students will also complete a night patrol to monitor the potential mama sea turtles laying their eggs along the beach and protect them from animal predators. They will also get to see and feed manatees from the docks (mosquito nets will be put to excellent use around these marshlands)! While in San San Pond Sak the students helped locals replant the pinapple’s fruit crown to regenerate!
In the upcoming week, the group will be heading to Bocas Del Toro to practice their confined water skills in preparation for their dives coming up later in the week. They will be working with our Dive Master Jim Rowe (our executive director)! The group will also get to practice their skills at wakeboarding around the islands of Bocas Del Toro.
Pacific Surf and Saving Lives
The group began their First Aid & CPR/AED training here on our rainforest base in Tres Rios on Sunday before heading out to our Manuel Antonio beach base on Monday, spending the afternoon enjoying the pool! Each day the group has done an hour of CPR studying paired with an hour or more of surfing. Tuesday and Wednesday were all beach time at Manuel Antonio, a National Park on the Pacific Coast with three beautiful beaches and a dense rainforest teeming with animal life on Monday. The students also visited Ballena National Park, also known as Whale Tail National Park and after hiked to a waterfall. They’ve been soaking up the sun, taking in the views and honing their surf skills – truly living the “Pura Vida” lifestyle – as they continue to bond as a group.
Looking to explore Central America?
Join us on our fall Coast to Coast Expedition. Envision yourself spending 85 days in Costa Rica and Panama!
Submit an inquiry or contact our Enrollment Manager at 800-676-2018 or by emailing [email protected].
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