It has been an action-packed week as the summer is getting into full swing. Read below to find out what our groups have been up to!

GIRL SCOUT DESTINATIONS

Scuba & Sea Turtle Adventure (Session #2)

Upon arrival in the indigenous community of San San Pond Sak, the girls made instant friends through a  round of duck duck goose. They are in San San Pond Sak to engage in active conservation efforts for the leatherback turtles. The scientific name for these turtles is “dermochelys coriacea.” They are the largest turtles on the planet and can weigh as much as 11 grown men! When they first hatch, they are small enough to be held in one’s palm. The group helped release these baby sea turtles safely back into the ocean after hatching. They are now in the archipelago of Bocas del Toro taking some time to relax, zipline, and today the group will be heading to Playa Rana Roja to soaking up some rays and also assisting in community’s development projects. Coming up on their course is the scuba certification phase! We can’t wait to share more updates next week!

Service Challenge (Session #2)

The girls arrived on Saturday with luggage, smiles, and a readiness to get their course started! They fell in love with our dog on base, Rafi, and enjoyed a traditional Costa Rican recipe prepared by the talented Doña Regina. On Sunday, they took some time to participate in a nearby reforestation project. The stay on base was short since they departed for Panama the following Monday. When the girls arrived in their host village in Talamanca, they made their way to a greenhouse to learn about the flora of Costa Rica. More than a quarter of modern medicines, worth an estimated $108 billion a year, originate from tropical forest plants. The girls were able to bring a batch of donated books from Aly Youngers (a GS Gold Award recipient and OBCR Alum) to gift to the local community. The group will continue to stay with the Bribri indigenous community to finish up their service project painting a community building. Coming up next week, they will spend time in San San Pond Sak to assist the local biologists in their turtle conservation efforts!

Catching Waves

This group of 11 Girl Scouts is clearly full of adventurers!  After establishing camp at their site in Playa Uvita on the Pacific coast, the girls got started on their main event: surfing. In addition to riding the waves, the girls are learning about Costa Rican culture, made friends and practiced their Spanish with the local park rangers, and learned about coastal development, tide pools, and ocean habitat preservation. They even baked two cakes to celebrate Fourth of July this past Wednesday! Yesterday they travelled to a new beach, Dominicalito, and spend this morning swimming in a waterfall! Throughout the next week, they will continue to develop their surfing skills and begin their service project!

OPEN ENROLLMENT

Service, Hike & Homestay (Session #1)

These boys have been busy since the last update! They continued their hiking and made it to the Rancho Tinamu Rainforest Eco-Lodge. The gorgeous mountainous landscape stretched across the horizon as they observed colorful frogs in the lodge’s sanctuary. From the mountains they made it to their final pick-up point and were driven to the sea. Their destination was the beach of Manuel Antonio which is one of the most sought-after coastal destinations in the country. Manuel Antonio is not solely a beach. It is connected to a wildlife reserve full of animals to observe like the white-faced capuchin monkey! The boys explored the park before heading back to the rainforest base in San Ramon de Tres Rios to rest up and prepare for their last few days on course. The following day they hopped in their raft and navigated the class III and IV rapids today they just went ziplining and will be visiting the downtown artisan market this afternoon! 

Surf, Service, & CPR (Session #1)

Catching waves, learning life-saving techniques, and community service are the cornerstones of this course. They have improved exponentially out on the waves from the last two weeks with us and it’s incredible to see their growth. We so proud of this group’s maturity and leadership abilities. The first week each of them passed their Basic First Aid & CPR certifications! CPR in its modern form originated in the 1960s, but there exist records of CPR techniques as early as the 1740s from the Paris Academy of Sciences. Yesterday this group completed their service project in painting a community building, practiced their Spanish and learned more about the local culture in Costa Rica. On their last day today, the group will be arriving back to base before heading out for a day trip to zipline through the forest on a canopy tour!

JOIN US ON A SUMMER COURSE NEXT YEAR

Submit an inquiry or contact our Enrollment Manager at 800-676-2018 or emailing [email protected].