Pura vida in Costa Rica
March 3, 2017
February 19, 2017: Day One
NC students met at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Terminal at 3:15 p.m. with chaperones Magnet adviser James Auld, AP Biology and Advanced Scientific Research teacher Jennifer Johnson, AP Environmental Science teacher Julie Hopp, Magnet Biology teacher Grant McDurmon, and Wes and Deborah McCoy (former Magnet Biology teacher and his wife). Their flight to Costa Rica took off at 6:10 p.m. and landed in Alajuela, a northern-central province three and a half hours later.
After going through passport check, the group met their Costa Rican-native tour guide, Eric, and Yeezy-wearing bus driver, Alberto (Beto). Eric leads tour groups throughout all of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama; he works for NC’s usual travel company EF Educational Tours.
“When I was in high school, we had to take a speciality [class]. The only option I really liked at the moment was ecotourism,” Eric said. “I wanted to do something for the environment and the world. Being a tour guide is like being a teacher, and I love making new friends.”
The group boarded the bus and headed towards San José, the capital city, and spent the night at Hotel Villa Tournon.
February 20, 2017: Day Two
After a quick breakfast of rice and beans, eggs, and fruit, NC traveled to Café Britt, a coffee company inside the city of San José. The group took a walking tour of the plantation, and learned about how using different soils grow specific flavors, as well as how processing coffee beans produce certain levels of roasts. Throughout the walk, students and chaperones indulged themselves with several of Café Britt’s coffee samples.
NC boarded the bus and headed to Sarchí to visit one of the most famous ox cart — a national symbol for strength and economic prosperity — companies in Costa Rica and the world’s largest ox cart. The group ate rice and beans, chicken, fried plantains, and spaghetti at Rio Restaurant.
Students and chaperones then visited a school in the Puntarenas province where they danced the Macarena and played tag and soccer with the Costa Rican kids. One teacher, Ms. Glenda, taught all six grade levels, so NC brought monetary and object donations including markers, paper, and pencils to alleviate her financial burdens.
The group then headed to Monteverde, a popular and mountainous location for ecotourism in northern Puntarenas. On the way up the mountains, the bus stopped after sighting monkeys in roadside tree branches. NC spent the night at Hotel Villa Verde and huddled around the campfire for stories and s’mores.
February 21, 2017: Day Three
NC left their hotel around 7:45 a.m. to go to 100% Aventura, a canopy tourism company where students and chaperones experienced the Monteverde Cloud Forest through ziplining and horseback riding.
“It was something I haven’t been able to do before, so it was a completely new experience,” senior Madeliene Guillen. “I was also able to practice my Spanish with the tour guide, and they were very knowledgeable about how to inform us. My favorite part had to be the last line that we did that was over this mountain. As we were flying over this ravine, we were able to see so many trees, and I’ve never seen so many trees in my entire life. We were able to see birds and horses below, and it was so amazing.”
After a quick lunch at the Hotel Villa Verde, the group drove to Monteverde’s Forest Reserve to plant a tree and help with the construction of their ecological corridor for safe animal travel.
Students and chaperones plant several species of trees in the Monteverde’s Forest Reserve to help build an ecological corridor that will help animals safely move through their habitat.
NC spent time in the town of Monteverde enjoying ice cream from local heladerias (ice creamery) and visited a three-story cafe built around a tree. Several students from the group partook in a nighttime hike through the Monteverde forest where they saw snakes, sloths, various insects, and tarantulas. Once the whole group reunited and ate dinner at Villa Verde, they danced the night away at the hotel’s discoteca (dance club).
February 22, 2017: Day Four
Led by Eric, The group hiked the Santa Elena Cloud Forest for three hours while learning about the local flora and fauna. During the walk through the dense greenery, students and chaperones got the chance to climb a tower and view the surrounding forestry and nearby Arenal Volcano.
After one last meal in Monteverde, NC began their three hour trek to La Fortuna, a relocated city in Alajuela, named after its luck for not receiving any damage after the eruption of Arenal Volcano in 1968. Along the way, the tour group passed rolling hills used for agriculture and livestock and saw fields of wind turbines.
Before entering the town, the bus traveled around the man-made Lake Arenal, the largest body of water within Costa Rica, which covers the former town of Arenal and generates 70 percent of the country’s electricity.
Once in La Fortuna, the group stocked up on supplies and visited another coffee plantation where they taste-tested the difference between delicious and cheap coffees. Afterwards, NC relaxed at their hotel, Cascada de Fuego, with a lush garden and a perfect view of Arenal Volcano.
February 23, 2017: Day Five
Eric led students and chaperones through a second growth forest and up onto Arenal Volcano, one of over 200 volcanoes in Costa Rica. Eco-tourists that travel to Costa Rica always visit Arenal Volcano due to its infamous eruption in 1968 and beautiful composite volcano shape. Following the walk, the group spotted a golden eyelash pit viper, one of the 22 venomous snakes in Costa Rica.
NC then visited a chocolate plantation, Rainforest Chocolate Tour, in La Fortuna. They learned about healthy chocolate and helped the tour guides make dark chocolate. After the informational session, the group drank hot chocolate and ate spoonfuls of melted chocolate.
Before arriving to Sarapiquí in Heredia Province east of Alajuela, NC stopped at an Organic Paradise Tour, a pineapple plantation. In the rain, students and chaperones filed onto a trailer and drove through the fields. After the tour, the group drank non-alcoholic piña coladas and ate pineapple empanadas, jam, and upside-down cake.
“I never liked pineapple until I tried it in Costa Rica, and seeing the pineapple plantation gave me an appreciation for this holy fruit,” freshman Katie Word said.
The group purchased some snacks at a supermarket in Sarapiquí and spent the evening in the Hotel Bambú.
February 24, 2017: Day Six
NC explorers then traveled to the Limón Province on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and attended two programs at Earth University. Students at the university must create a business to learn economically-successful farming tactics in the hopes that they will bring their knowledge back to their hometowns and aid the surrounding countryside. The group listened to topics regarding raising livestock and urban agriculture.
“We are an agribusiness focused on giving tours and workshops in peri-urban agricultural strategies and hydroponics. Our motto is ‘Pasión por la tierra’ [lit. “passion for the earth”],” Salome Chitubila, a sophomore at Earth University, said.
Students and chaperones interacted with cows, pigs, and water buffalos and built vertical planting systems for lettuce and parsley.
The group then returned to Sarapiquí and shopped for souvenirs.
February 25, 2017: Day Seven
Students and chaperones broke into groups and walked through Braulio Carrillo National Park where they saw a wild tapir, walked through a butterfly garden, and saw snakes and frogs behind glass. The separate groups then boarded an air tram and traveled through the forest, watching from a bird’s-eye view.
NC travelers spot a wild tapir during their walk in the Braulio Carrillo National Park.
“My favorite part about the Costa Rica trip was the air tram because right before the tour we saw a wild tapir which was really cool,” freshman Maggie Glancy said. “Then, I got to hang out with my friends on the tram. Our guide, Fernando, was very kind, informative, and funny. Me and my friend greatly enjoyed hanging out together and learning more about the Costa Rican wildlife together on the last day.”
Afterwards, the groups walked across a rope bridge swinging over a river.
Coach Auld takes off into the air with his students to look at the Braulio Carrillo National Park from a bird-eye view.
Following the exciting excursion, NC ate at El Costa and enjoyed lunch while looking off the balcony to the river, Rio Costa Rica . The bus returned to San José and passed by the Costa Rican national soccer stadium. Later, students and chaperones ate dinner, watched a cultural presentation, and danced traditional dances with local high school kids at Café Britt. The group spent the evening at KC Hotel San José and packed their bags for the airplane ride home in the morning.
February 26, 2017: Day Eight
The group left their hotel at 4:50 a.m. and headed to the Juan Santamaría International Airport. They caught a flight at 8:10 a.m., and landed in Atlanta just after 1:00 p.m.
“The trip was absolutely amazing. I got to improve my conversational Spanish and enjoy cultural, economic, and adventurous aspects of Costa Rica. Plus, being one of only three seniors had its perks,” senior Sarah Baker said.
The upcoming Magnet class of 2021 will return to Costa Rica next year for their first tour with NC.