Scuba & Sea Turtle Adventure (Session #3)

This group did not miss a beat getting started on their journey! They rose early Sunday morning to travel across the southern border into Panama. From the Panamanian coast they took a boat into the oceanside village of San San Pond Sak. In this village, they observed some best practices from local biologists working on turtle conservation. They picked up on techniques like nest cataloging; this gives the biologists a better picture of population trends so that they can target their efforts more effectively. Turtle conservation, ocean breeze, community service, and cultural interaction characterized their first few days out on course. Once they finished their turtle section, it was time to say goodbye to the friends they made in San San Pond Sak and head out to the archipelago of Bocas del Toro for ziplining. Just today, the group hit the beach of Rana Roja to relax in the sand and play in the surf. They have one more small community service project to wrap up before they spend the next few days learning the basics of scuba diving next week en route to earning their certifications!

Service Challenge (Session #3)

Upon waking up in Costa Rica for the first time, each girl went to the base greenhouse to prepare for trail maintenance and reforestation. They set out on our trail with plants in hand to help sustain the forest vegetation! Talamanca was the destination the following day. It is a district of Costa Rica, roughly the size of Rhode Island, and home to the Bribri indigenous community. The group quickly got involved by helping to paint a community building. Tomorrow they will head to the town of San San Pond Sak in Panama to receive hands-on instruction from biologists and ocean conservation experts on how to best protect the leatherback turtle population which calls those shores home. The girls will have a chance to interact with the turtles up close and possibly see a manatee or two! Along with turtle preservation the group will engage in various service activities during their stay in San San Pond Sak. Many more adventures await them in this next week, including rafting on some of Costa Rica’s most exciting rapids!

OPEN ENROLLMENT

Caribbean Scuba & Service and Surf Service & CPR (Session #2)

The week began with wakeboarding, kneeboarding and packed sea kayaking expedition throughout the scenic archipelago of Bocas del Toro! They paddled from island to island and at each stop to engaged with a different indigenous community to lend a hand on service projects. In one community they dove right in by pouring and spreading concrete to set a foundation for a new building! In another they interacted with local school kids on a cultural exchange. After four incredible days on the water, the group paddled back to Isla Solarte. Today they are crossing the border back into Costa Rica to our rainforest base and tomorrow they will be tackling Rio Pejibaye for a thrilling day on the river against class III-IV rapids! After their final dinner and meeting on Saturday night, half of this great group will be heading back home full of stories and memories and half will be transitioning to another course with us continuing their adventure-filled summer!

19+ Costa Rica

Four participants flew in last Saturday joining up with their coursemates who transitioned from their Panama course the week before! The group united that day, met their instructors Donna and Nico, then prepared for the thrilling week that lay ahead! They kicked things off by taking on the rapids of Rio Pejibaye for an exhilarating Sunday of whitewater rafting. This group returned to our rainforest base to pack and prep for their rainforest trek expedition the next day. Bright and early on Monday, the group woke up and were brought to their launch point to begin their hiking expedition to remote communities of Costa Rica. Their week has been an incredible mix of hiking the rainforests and cultural exchanges. They even tackled a waterfall rappel! Their homestay families taught them how to make sugar the traditional way via a trapiche. The trapiche is a hand-powered milling device with two rollers which squeeze and extract juice from sugar cane. It has been in use for centuries! Yesterday night was their last homestay at Rancho Tinamu—the lodge is located on a mountain ridge with beautiful, sweeping vistas for the eyes to take. Today they are heading to Manuel Antonio to relax on the beach, see monkeys in the national park and to wrapped up their week before heading back to our rainforest base and then back home!

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