Costa Rica Expedition 2011
San José, Costa Rica
• Greet your fellow Ambassadors in your gateway city before boarding your
international flight to Costa Rica.
• Welcome to Costa Rica! Upon arrival in into Juan Santamaria International
Airport in San José, you’ll be met by your Delegation Manager and motorcoach
driver who will accompany you to the hotel for dinner and a good night’s re
DAY 1, July 23
San José, Costa Rica
• Greet your fellow Ambassadors in your gateway city before boarding your
international flight to Costa Rica.
• Welcome to Costa Rica! Upon arrival in into Juan Santamaria International
Airport in San José, you’ll be met by your Delegation Manager and motor coach
driver who will accompany you to the hotel for dinner and a good night’s rest.
DAY 2, July 24
Jacό, Costa Rica
• Depart this morning for the Jacó Area, where you will begin your surfing lessons.
• Surfs up! Work with experienced instructors to develop your surfing skills. You
will have a great experience!
• Jacó is world renowned for having consistent waves and an easy beach break,
which allows you to surf almost the entire beach.
• Enjoy the afternoon being part of a service project at Playa Hermosa Wildlife
Refuge. You will help with activities such as reforestation, beach cleaning, trail
maintenance, or a beach project where you learn how to prepare hatcheries for
turtles.
DAY 3, July 25
Jacό, Costa Rica
• Prepare to get wet when you board your raft for some of the world’s best white
water rafting in Costa Rica’s Manuel Antonio Area.
• Experience Costa Rica’s beautiful rivers from a different perspective as you
plunge through dramatic and largely unexplored tropical wilderness.
• These rivers descend from the mountains above Quepos, through jungle gorges
to near sea level farmlands and palm oil plantations.
• Your rafting adventure will bring you to Rio Naranjo, where you will get out and
explore the area.
• Afterwards, enjoy a leisurely afternoon at Manuel Antonio Beach
• Note: Be sure to apply sunscreen and reapply it frequently to avoid
sunburn.
DAY 4, July 26
Palmichal de Acosta, Costa Rica
• Depart for the community of Palmichal de Acosta, which has one of the closest
cloud forest reserves to San José.
• At Nacientes de Palmichal, work with your fellow delegates on one of several
different projects ranging from maintenance of the reforested areas, repairing the
rural lodge, to making trash cans for recycling different materials.
• Learn about how earthworms help compost the waste from the Beneficio
Palmichal.
• Tonight, enjoy the rhythm of the music as you practice your Latin dancing.
DAY 5, July 27
Heredia, Costa Rica
• Travel back to San José, where you will visit an orphanage. This nongovernmental
organization is dedicated to providing orphans with a caring home
until they can be adopted by families or come of age to be on their own.
• You will have the opportunity to interact with the children and provide some
donations, or work directly in a service project.
• Continue your journey to Santa Barbara de Heredia, where you will spend the
next two nights in the home of your home stay family.
• Gather to enjoy a welcome dinner with your host family and participate in Latin
dance lessons.
Day 6, July 28
Heredia, Costa Rica
• Today, visit a Recreational Park in Heredia where you will experience traditional
recreational activities, such as sack-races and other games.
• Make new friends and spend time with Costa Rican students while enjoying a
picnic lunch.
• Spend time with your host family and enjoy this truly unique opportunity to
experience the daily life and customs of a real Costa Rican family.
• Remember to thank your home stay family, as this will be your last night with
them.
• Be sure to bring your pictures of friends and family back home, as your host
family will enjoy seeing them.
DAY 7, July 29
Arenal, Costa Rica
• Don’t forget to exchange address information with your host family so you can
keep in touch!
• Continue your journey to the Arenal Area and stop along the way at the town of
La Fortuna, located in the valley of the Arenal Volcano. Bordering the Rio Burio,
La Fortuna is the closest town to Arenal Volcano.
• Participate in a service project which allows you to work alongside community
members to make a difference within their communities. Examples of
social/cultural projects include painting or light construction/maintenance at local
schools or community institutions, building a sidewalk or a bus stop.
• In the afternoon, visit a local school where you have the opportunity to interact
with children and bring donations, such as school supplies. Time permitting, you
can read to the school children before they perform traditional folkloric dances
for you.
• After your hard work reward yourself with as you relax in the Ecotermales Hot
Springs. Here you will find several different pools filled with warm mineral water.
Volcanic hot springs are the result of rainwater heated by magma in the Earth’s
interior and are a natural wonder of the area.
DAY 8, July 30
Arenal, Costa Rica
• Begin a hike through the tropical rainforest of the Tenorio Volcano National Park.
You will arrive at the “Los Teñíderos” of the Rio Celeste, the site where two
streams of crystalline water come together and form a heavenly color blue that
gives the river its name. Along the river you’ll find hot springs, varied flora and
fauna, and a pristine waterfall.
• Ecological trails lead you to the “OLLAS” openings in the earth where you can
excavate healing mud to take a mud bath. Dip into the natural hot springs while
observing the wonders of Tenorio Volcano.
• Continue your hike through the jungle to seek out the volcano’s furnace vents
that expel gases of extreme high temperatures. Enjoy the heat from a safe
distance and marvel at one of Earth’s natural wonders.
• Note: For the hike please bring - long pants, swim suits, towel, hiking
shoes, camera, binoculars, sunscreen, insect repellent and a raincoat.
DAY 9, July 31
Sarapiqui , Costa Rica
• Continue your journey to the Sarapiqui Area
• Enjoy a canopy tour over the verdant rainforest and canyon, traversing cables
and platforms over 90 feet high! Your unique experience will take you through a
canyon where you start from the edge at the ground and after several tree and
ground platforms you end up at a landing platform on the ground, having crossed
the canyon 2 or 3 times.
• learn how to make traditional Costa Rican dishes in a cooking class lead by a
local community leader. Learn about the history, botanical names and cultivation
of each fresh ingredient.
• Your menu may consist of guacamole (avocado dip), batidos (milkshakes),
empanadas (turnovers), Costa Rican tortillas, or patacones (fried green
plantains). Enjoy sampling all of your culinary creations at the end of the class.
• Note: Bring comfortable shoes, long pants, sun block and camera for your
canopy tour.
DAY 10, August 01
Sarapiqui, Costa Rica
• Later today you will explore the Tirimbina Biological Reserve, one of the most
protected areas in the country.
• Take part in an exclusive People to People experience when you learn what it
takes to be an environmental scientist for a day! Learn about cutting edge
research and how scientists around the world are looking at the rainforest
ecosystems to solve complex questions.
• Fall asleep to the harmonious lullaby of the jungle´s night sounds during an
overnight stay in a tent suite. Each suite has its own deck, surrounded by lush
rainforest foliage. What animals do you imagine you’ll hear tonight?
DAY 11, August 02
Limόn, Costa Rica
• After breakfast, travel to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica and arrive in Brisas,
near the historic Port of Limόn.
• Begin your discovery of the reserve with an aerial tram ride through the tropical
rainforest canopy to explore trails found in this unique rainforest habitat.
• View Costa Rica’s National Institute of Biodiversity (INBio) biological station.
Here, researchers are actively working to discover and catalog new species.
• Wind your way through walking trails full of interactive live exhibits including
snakes, butterflies and the world’s largest nocturnal frog exhibit.
• Participate in an environmental research project involving rainforest butterfly
catch and release, and insect identification. After your identification and data
collection project, enjoy dinner at the Veragua Rainforest camp.
Take a night hike down the main road of the Veragua Rainforest property and
listen to night sounds. Keep your eyes open for nocturnal mammals including
kinkajous, opossum and the five different species of owls found in Veragua. You
might also spot some interesting nocturnal insects
DAY 12, August 03
Limόn, Costa Rica
• Participate in a school service project! Enjoy a true People to People day of
activities as you help with projects such as painting the local school, planting
trees and interacting with the local school children.
• Continue your journey to EARTH University..
• Tonight you will enjoy a barbeque dinner with a special folkloric activity.
Note: Please come prepared for your service project with insect repellant,
rain gear, and comfortable shoes. Be ready to help the community, make
new friends and have fun!
DAY 13, August 04
San Jose, Costa Rica
• Learn about Costa Rican agriculture when you visit EARTH University’s banana
farm. Banana farms in the area are managed under the principles of sustainable
production and utilization of human resources. Follow the entire production from
fruit harvesting, handling and packaging to markets in the U.S. and Europe.
• After lunch, depart for San José.
DAY 14, August 05
Depart for the U.S.
• After packing your suitcase for the last time, make sure you have everything you
need for the flight in your carry-on.
• Depart for the San José International Airport.
• Don’t forget to thank your motorcoach driver and delegation manager before you
step off the motorcoach for the final time.
• Welcome back to the United States!
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