Can you believe today is our last day of FUN in Costa Rica?
We began our morning with a delicious breakfast buffet at Hotel Los Lagos, in La Fortuna. We had a variety of multicultural food choices, such as pancakes, waffles, pepperoni rolls, toast, rice and beans (of course!), heart of palm, chorizo, salad, tropical fruits, and so much more! After breakfast we headed to the Canopy Office to gear up for our zip-lining adventure! Prior to gearing up, we signed our lives away (the waiver) to go on our zip-lining trip! We suited up with our harness, zip-line glove, and helmet. We felt a little awkward with our harness that accentuated our "Kim Kardashian" booties, and shared a many laughs over them. I think our laughs were more of us trying to hide how anxious we were to zip-line through the forest. We headed up the mountain in a bus with our Pirates crew, and a few others to depart on our zip-line adventure. We went through a brief training about how to hold onto the carbon fiber zip-line cable that was about to hold us from 20 - 60 meters (70 - 190 feet!!!) above the ground (sounds terrifying, we know!!). Before we knew it, our training was over, and we were ready to grab hold of the zip-line cable and head off down the mountain! There were many screams, laughs, and probably a few minor panic attacks (ahem, Mary Rose after getting stuck halfway through a cable and needing assistance!) during our descent down the mountain. We had 13 cables to zip through, that covered about 3 km of distance. Some varied between 50 to 500 meters in length. We must admit, the longer the cable, the scarier it was! Throughout our journey down the mountain, we saw an adorable group of Howler Monkeys with their two babies, many different species of birds, various plants and trees in the canopy, and the amazing view of Arenal. After zip-lining, we went back to our rooms, packed up our items, and headed back UP the mountain the view the Arenal Volcano. We made a quick pit stop before our hike to clench our thirsts with some ice cold Coca Cola. Boy, we didn't realize how bad we needed the little caffeine push! Little did we know, we would be walking up VERY STEEP roads, and wondered if we should continue our trek, but we pushed through and made it! We took the typical tourist "jumping" photos, amazing group pictures, and selfies, of course! This was a sight that we would never forget, and that in the long run, it was totally worth it! After our hike back down, we did some souvenir shopping, ate more delicious lunch, saw some amazing iguanas, and then headed back to the hot springs to rest and relax. Before we knew it, it was time to jump back on the bus for a bumpy ride back to Hotel 1915 in Alajuela. Towards the last 30 minutes of our ride, we felt a little restless, and turned on the tunes. We listened to all of our favorite old school songs, and turned the tour bus into a party bus! This made our last part of the drive much quicker. When we arrived back in Alajuela, we ended up eating dinner at Jalapeños, drank margaritas, and ate our last dinner in Costa Rica. We can't believe how quickly this trip has flown by, and the memories are ones that will last forever! Adios Costa Rica! Hasta la vista! Kayla Sager, Mary Rose Yoo, and Kayla Baker
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Our day began bright and early at Escuela Rafael Ecuardus H, in Monteverde proper. We visited with Nina Sylvia and her 1st and 3rd grade students. The students graciously welcomed us and invited us to play soccer, rugby, and baseball with them during recess. We observed the class in action. First graders were learning 2 digit addition while fifth graders were creating posters of aquatic and terrestrial animals. Even with so many visitors watching, students were so engaged in they were learning. Dr. Lee brought 2 robots to leave with the students from Ann McClung from Pitt Pirates Robotics in Pitt County, NC. Students will design their own robot using repurposed materials of their choice. We used a robot made from repurposed cardboard to demonstrate how to operate the robot. Students soon jumped in and began operating the robot on their own. They were such quick learners! We made lots of new friends at Escuela Rafael Ecuardus H. We are very grateful to our friend Sylvia, who teaches English there for welcoming us to her school. Sylvia was a fabulous host and guide during our visit.
After our visit to the school we headed back to Monteverde Biological Station for our trip debriefing. We discussed what we learned, the highlights of our trip and how we plan to take all that we have experienced and learned about climate change and it’s effects back to our classrooms. Monteverde Cloud Rain Forest has been an amazing classroom for us! Once our debriefing was over, we said goodbye to Emily and the Monteverde Biological Station which has been our home for the week. We loaded up our bus and headed northeast to our next stop, Arenal Volcano and Los Lagos Resort. We could see Volcano Arenal from a distance and marveled as we got closer and closer to our destination. When we were almost to Volcano Arenal, our driver pulled the bus over to the side. We could see people staring and pointing into a tree. We soon found out that a sloth had literally stopped traffic. We joined the rest of the sloth’s fan club to get a view. After seeing the sloth, we felt that our trip to Costa Rica was now finally complete! Finally, after four hours of travel on winding unpaved and paved roads we arrived at our next destination. The clouds above the volcano cleared and we got our first view up close and personal of Volcano Arenal. We quickly unpacked and headed to the pools and spa to experience the warm waters of Los Lagos heated by geothermal energy. After trekking through the rainforest, our agenda said it was time for some rest and relaxation! Eye opener of the day: These teachers have very little resources and no technology in their classrooms but their students were still engaged. The students were independent and were on task at all times. ~Lauren, Kelsey, and Rachel Bugs, Mud and Palms..Oh My!!!Our last day at the Cloud Forest started at the bright hour of 6:15 am. Now listen, we are all on summer break and we realize that this is a graduate class, however, anything before 7 am between the months of June and August is still pretty darn early. With that being said, this wake up call did present us with the new experience of bird watching. It’s not as boring as it sounds. Whether you are a novice, moderate, or expert bird watcher, the task is all the same. You look, you listen, and you find, therefore, anyone can do it. We spotted more than just flying specimens. Just to name a few, we saw an Agouti (Costa Rica’s second largest rodent), multiple House Wrens, the Magnificent Hummingbird, and a Coati (Costa Rica’s version of a raccoon).
And folks, this was all before breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, if consisted of French Toast and the traditional Gallo Pinto (rice mixed with beans and a side of eggs). After breakfast we prepared for our first field experience. Our task: find as many Geonoma spp. as we could at different altitudes and count how much moss and lichen they had on them. Sounds simple, but it ain’t! Gathering our wits materials and a group photo, we set out to the forest. Each group was responsible for their particular elevation range. Low groups were assigned 1,500 m to 1,600 m, medium 1,600 m to 1,720 m, and the high elevation group from 1,720 m to 1,850 m. Keep in mind that 1,800 meters is a little more than a mile and that some stretches of the path can be up to 80 degrees in slope. You add in some mud, faux roots, and unstable ground, you got yourself an adventure to say it nicely (Thanks Emily!). It was a new experience that immersed us into the life of a field scientist. Mad props to all the groups but especially the high elevation group that made it to the Continental Divide. Simply said, at this place when it rains, water can go towards the Carribean or the Pacific. You know, like when a roster lays an egg on a roof, which side does it fall on? You can take the girls out of the South but you can’t take the South out of the girls. Just for context everyone left at 8:10 am and the high elevation group didn’t get back until 12:02 pm, thirty minutes after everyone else. To say the least, we saw, we did, we all conquered. Lunch had never tasted so good, nor a cold shower! For lunch we had Arroz con Pollo and fresh made corn tortillas. Following the meal, we broke into Jigsaw groups and created presentations based on the data that we collected from our morning field experience. You know, those Geonoma spp., have a lot to say about climate change. No seriously, they do. It’s all about the moss, lichens and that moisture. The presentations were made and given and we then had our last lecture on the effects of climate change on Costa Rica. The rest of the evening was what we (and the clouds) made it! You’ve never experienced a storm until you have witnessed the dancing lights and strong “booms” from inside the clouds! Until manana! This blog was brought to you by… The High Elevation Team (Blair, Beth, and Victoria) ADDRESSING MISCONCEPTIONS
Exploring Bajo del Tigre and Downtown Monteverde.
Who needs an alarm clock when the cloud forest is wide awake at 5 am? We awoke to the sounds of many birds, insects, and other animals that were ready to start their day. We enjoyed a traditional Costa Rican breakfast of Pinto Gallo which is rice and beans, scrambled eggs with ham, fresh fruits, and bread. After breakfast many of us took to the porch to sip our morning coffee and see the beauty of the eye level clouds. Our bus arrived and we ventured off to the Children's Eternal Rainforest. We separated into two smaller groups but before we could take off on our own paths we were greeted by multiple white faced capuchin monkeys (we can check that off of our bucket list)! It was so excited to see them jump around from limb to limb and snack on fruits from the trees. **Fun fact these monkeys eat more than just bananas they actually are omnivores that eat both fruits, seeds, and insects. The next creature that we say lurking around the forest floor was the agouti which is a common large rodent found in Central America. Then for the rest of our hike we observed many different species of tropical plants, trees, birds such as the tucan, motmot, tucanette, and the three-wattled bell bird. Once we completed our hike we headed back to biological station for a traditional lunch of rice, beans, fresh vegetable salsa, and grilled plantain. After lunch we attended a short lecture on climate change and analyzed temperature and leaf wetness data of different elevation rainforests in the area. After we presented our data we decided to take sometime to explore downtown Monteverde. We hiked from the Biological station to the heart of the city. We went into some local jewelry, art, and souvenir shops. Every where we went we were greeted with positive vibes and the expression of "Pura Vida". Several members of the team also decided to indulge in some wonderful Costa Rican ice cream like Higo Leche Condesada, Guabana, and even the tradition Vanilla with Chocolate Chips for only 2 dollars or 900 colones. After finished our sight seeing we took a taxi-cab back to the biological station. When we arrived back at the station it was time for dinner, and you will never guess what we had...Hamburgezas con Queso aka- CHEESEBURGERS! Once that delicious meal was finished we attended another lecture on identifying differences in biodiversity related to elevation. After a day packed this full of excitement we are all extremely ready for a goodnights rest. However, we will be back up ready to explore tomorrow. Hasta Mañana Group 3: Kayla Sager, Kayla Baker, and Mary Rose Yoo Into the clouds of Monteverde we go!
Today we took a four hour drive to special destination we came all the way to Costa Rica to visit! Our day started at 6:15 with some traditional and non traditional breakfast at Hotel 1915. We loaded up to head North to Monteverde. On our journey north we made a pit stop at a small local beach, covered in black sand that was nestled up to the Pacific Ocean. After our brief stop we loaded back up for the last part of our trip. We saw evidence of the major agricultural activities in this area, farming of cattle and coffee beans. We traveled through Santa Elena (the town) and Sero Plano (residential area). Monteverde officially begins where the pavement ends (and it is a bumpy ride!) after we were settled in and just finished filling our stomachs with another great meal, we headed out on our first hike of the trip. Into the cloud forest we go! Within yards of the start of our hike we were greated by a very vocal toucan. This hike was 4-Miles uphill. There was a ton of beautiful sites, distinct sounds, sweat and slips! We stopped several times throughout to hike to observe the beautiful nature. We came back to the station and learned about the culture and history of Monteverde. Then our next meal consisted of more amazing food and great conversations. We wrapped up our night with a night hike searching for sloths and under creatures. Sadly no sloth yet but we are determined to not give up until we find one on this trip! Now we are sitting on the porch enjoying the company of our incredible team. Todays blog was brought to you by... Kelsey, Lauren, and Rachel Internet will be spotty. Keep a look out for updates but don't freak out if they are not prompt.
WE AIN'T IN THE STATES ANYMORE!!! We are currently in Alajuela, Costa Rica. It is the neighboring town by San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. As soon as we arrived we meet our CIEE guides, Veronica and Emily, who will be enormous assets during this trip. First things first - we needed to eat. Costa Rica is two hours behind everyone back home - by noon it had been a long day and nourishment was needed. Our guides brought us to our hotel...which we will get back to in a minute. Then they took us to a Tex Mex restaurant which was DELIOUS!! And the people were the kindness considering the language barrier. Spanish is EVERYWHERE- definitely brings home a brand new respect for our ELL (English Language Learner) students. CITY Driving out of the airport you will never believe what we saw...WALMART, McDonalds, and KFC. Oh and Uber can still get you where you need to go. The people that live here take great pride in their city and the cleanliness of their streets. This takes us to the people and their culture... CULTURE Like we mentioned before, cleanliness and conservation is a HUGE deal here. Trash is not everywhere and trashcans are rarely full (or anywhere close). It isn't because people aren't using them, but the people seem to recycle more and are more aware of their trash consumption. While taking in the sights of the city we came across a plaza with dancing and musica (again spanish is everywhere). The locals did NOT let any of us shy into the background and welcomed our participation in their PURA VIDA (pure joy). For two authentic Costa Rican songs, we grooved, we spun, and we two stepped! Dancing with the stars has nothing on us or the locals. Now that we have finished our fifth meal of the day and over 13,000 steps/6 miles later we are tired and ready for yet another meal at 6:15 a.m. This trip is not weight watcher friendly! Everyone is excited for the next leg of our journey to Monteverde! Peace out Cub Scouts! Today's blog has been brought to you by... Group 1: Blair, Beth, and Victoria Amazing educators from EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITYS Science Education Department are on the way to Costa Rica.
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