Retrospect

All in all, Costa Rica was a blast, and most of us would go back in a heartbeat - if not live there (don't worry mom and dad, we'd bring you too). A special thank you goes out to Mr. Dunn for making Mrs. Hartle's life easier (makes her less stressed), and of course we can't forget Mrs. Hartle, who made this whole thing possible.

Rumor has it we'll be heading off to Italy next...

That should be interesting -

It's Jaco - Sounds Like Taco

Hi Everyone. We're in Jaco [hac-oh] beach; now we've ALL seen the Pacific Ocean - swam in it, too. The trip over the mountains was breathtaking. We passed from rainforest to dry forest (hey, it's all relative; it's raining even this minute).

We arrived yesterday & busied ourselves swimming in the pool, shopping & surfing (yeah, some decent advice - which has been based on close observation of the surfers - is that we should all keep studying toward those "backup" careers like lawyer, doctor or writer).

Today we traveled to Manuel Antonio National Park and swam in a protected inlet lined with white sugary sand. For the more adventurous, there were plenty of rocks to climb up or to swim down to. We were also lucky enough to see monkeys up close and personal.

The rest of the day, we'll just swim, surf & shop some more...

Pura Vida...

Hi everyone. We’ve been incommunicado for two days. We’re presently en route from Puerto Viejo de Limon to San Jose. Prior to that we stayed in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui at the Hotel El Bambu. That was the site of our last dispatch, dashed off at breakfast.

This one’s being written on a bouoi, Bonc, bOuc, BOUNCY bus. For the last two days, we’ve been at Hotel Punta de Cocles where we found NO telephones, NO televisions and NO internet. We had a fabulous time, though, because we DID have:

• Lots of (howler) monkeys in the jungle surrounding the hotel (which reminds one – Juan Carlos, our guide, is a lovely singer). We also saw spider monkeys & some saw a white-faced monkey up CLOSE on the beach; we’re unsure which primate species was the more startled. Finally, we slothful primates (us), spied an ACTUAL sloth swinging joyfully from hotel tree (no worries, Harrison did not try to imitate).

• Biking into town (stopped at local watering hole where we were served watermelon & milk smoothies by a French Canadien, eh; and “lime smoothies” for the chaperones).

• Lovely Chauita National Forest surrounding us, with several trips to local beaches (for safe swimming – see “unauthorized outings”). Beautiful Caribbean waters & coral lining the beaches.

• Free time at the hotel pool accompanied by reggae music in the evenings.

• This has been the most relaxing part of trip; it actually felt like vacation! All the kids spent quality time resting, bonding, being kids. It is amazing how well these five diverse groups of kids have bonded. They really look out for one another; it has been such a refreshing experience!





• One evening, a local dropped in to braid hair (arranged by the hotel staff). It was, ahhh, interesting. We plan on buying some conditioner & having a comb-out party in San Jose…





• Conspicuous absence of arroz con frijoles, probably attributable to certain members of our band’s love of papas fritas (and their complaints about local food – NOT OUR KIDS; they like the food here, plus Mrs. Hartle is quite proficient at hooking us up with the locals for, ahhh, additional ingredients).

“Unauthorized Outing” Great beach near the hotel. Deserted! Lots o’ monkeys. Beautiful to the point of surrealism. Guide mentioned that it was too turbulent to swim (for most of us – that’s all we’re saying; curiously, there are NO pictures so you'll have to GUESS who the scofflaws are. What happens in Puerto Viejo de Limon stays in Limon, but if you’re ever here, it’s a MUST see!!!)

Zip-e-de-do-da- zip-e-de-day!

Today we began the day at La Selva which took us through the tropical rain forest and allowed us to view nature at its best. We saw the red and blue frogs in every part, tucans, woodpeckers, tent bats, bullet ants, and more. The forest was beautiful and very humid.

After La Selva we returned to the hotel allowing a quick walk to local bakery for Costa Rican pastries. Lunch was rather delicious, fish or pork, rice, chips, plantains, the works.

At two in the afternoon, we began our journey to the canopy tour. First we were fitted for harnesses, helmets, and gloves, a rather personal experience. Then we boarded a tractor for a slow ride to our zip line stations. Everyone in the group eagerly and enthusiastically zipped throught the nine lines.

Finally to end the wonderful day, we walked to a local fiesta and experienced the Latin culture first hand.

SARAPIQUI

Hola ya'll! Today, we moved the traveling road show to Sarapiqui (sarah-pee-kee). We began with a rafting adventure. Class V rapids, people falling out everywhere.... ok, class II+, maybe one III for those of you keeping score.

Each rapid has a name. The best one was "confusion" but others included Superman, Air Force, Roller coaster, hay carumba and last chance. You've got to believe that confusion is the best for a young teen crowd.

We saw a howler monkey en route. Too many birds to count and (really) bounced a couple of people out of the boats. For those not so fortunate, we had a voluntary swim, bounding off a towering cliff (ok, ~10 ft). While we were goofing off, our guides whipped up a delicious snack of fresh pineapple & watermelon. We eat a LOT of fresh fruit down here.





After the raft trip we had a great lunch at the outfitter's with our guides; awesome "build your own" burritos and pico de gallo. Oh, and guacamole; rhymes with "whack-a-mole, eh?" if you say it en Espanol.




With the afternoon came some REAL adventures. We planned to "chill" at the hotel & swim in the pool, but an anonymous member of our troop (rhymes with Mr. Gay's younger son) found the only, nearly microscopic sliver of glass in or around the pool.

Mrs. Hartle, despite our med-kit worthy of a medical corpsman, was unable to extricate the offending matter & so a cab was hailed (turned out the ride was shorter than ARS to La Dolce Vita). Small cut, two stitches & NO BILL later (tip, take Mrs. Hartle with you to buy your next car), we were back to normal.

Right now, it's just after dinner & Abbey & Mrs. Hartle (with Juan Carlos' help) scored a CHOCOLATE birthday cake for Colby. Abbey has a bright future running a catering business if the pro-soccer thing falls through.

Currently, we are well into cerveza time, so that's all for today. Hasta luego. Pura Vida!!!

Let's Get Wet

Today is to be a very wet day! We first go to La Fortuna waterfalls where we will swim in a fresh water pool under the falls. We then travel to Arenal Lake for a boat ride. All of us will have the chance to rope swing into the lake for a cool swim. Lunch and time in La Fortuna will finally allow for shopping. At 4p.m. we head to Bali hot springs for more swimming. Finally after dinner tonight, we get to visit Arenal volcano to try to see her spit red lava. This should be an exciting day! Everyone is doing well and truly embracing the Costa Rican culture. I am very impressed with each student's interest in the food, people, and sites of Costa Rica.

La paz water fall was beautiful!

Again with the BUS! "to sleep perchance to dream"

Icecream with the iguana tree was a true treat.

The girls became bugs while the boys and Mr. Dunn ate BUGS, beetle larvae to be exact!

We explored the fauna and flora of Costa Rica!

We reboarded the bus and drove some more!

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Rouund

We boarded the bus at 7:30 a.m. Costa Rican time, and then waited for the California group leader to wake and arrive!



Then we headed to a Biological park in San Jose for a lesson on Costa Rican ecology.

Travel is "glamorous"

Well..... we're on our way. Traveling in the premier style. Think of it as a limo, size XL (TG en Espanol). We barely made it to the airport; ok, we made it through security with three hours to spare.






Here we are, enjoying the fine amenities of Charlotte Douglas (like that word, amenities? Hey, the person running this show IS an English teacher; vocabulary counts).







We have learned one thing (seriously) so far. Always bring a bag smaller than you are.... or bring someone to help you carry it! (thanks Mr. Tsumas)

There's really not much to tell, just sending everyone a quick note to let you know we're in Charlotte. We probably can't post in Dallas; the connection time is ~40 minutes. We're pulling an OJ through the airport. No, not that OJ, the pre-80s OJ... remember Hertz? Sprinting through the airport? Ok, most of the people on this trip don't either.

Next blog... San Jose!

DO NOT FORGET

First picture: Streets of San Jose

Second Picture: Poas Volcano

Both of which we will see Wednesday June 11th!

Three more days till take off! Remember to be at school by 10:30 a.m. We need to be at airport 3 hours before departure!

9 Days & a Wake-up!!!

You read that right! Nine days (counting today, which is mostly over) and a wake-up, then we're off on our excellent adventure to Costa Rica!


Our last meeting with the ARS group (American Renaissance School, the trip sponsor) is 3:00 PM on Tuesday, June 3, 2008. We think Mrs. Hartle (the trip leader) is more excited than the kids...

Ok, now. This trip is all about packing light! Ken went on a school trip with Lenoir Rhyne College in February. A business school class visited all around eastern China . He said people looked like they were moving there forever & that we wouldn't be repeating that mistake on this trip.

So... here's what we've limited ourselves to living out of for this thirteen day trip.

Here's ALL the stuff we're taking with us. Ok, ok, except for a couple of bottles of water each, which we HAVE to buy once we're past security at the airport... oh, and the camera, because we're using it to take the picture, eh?



That's all for now. We'll invite other cast members to blog along as the trip gets closer.

- TTFN