The 2024 Trip to Costa Rica was beyond anything anyone expected. Throughout the trip, students experienced several different aspects of Costa Rican life! The culture is rich and the people they met on the way had a lasting impact.
The first destination on the trip was Estacion las Tortugas, a remote property on the Atlantic Coast that houses biologists and woodsmen from Costa Rica to protect the Sea turtles that return every 20 years to nest on the beach. They had to take a bus and a 20-minute boat ride through the jungle to reach the beach. During the stay, students patrolled the beaches searching for poachers and turtles inching up the beach to nest. During the day, they ate food made by a kitchen staff using plants and animals raised on the property. They also went out on the boat during the day to see howler and white-faced monkeys along with sloths and iguanas in the wild.
After the stay at the station, the students traveled to La Qunita Sarapiqui further inland, and went rafting on a local river. During the rafting journey, they stopped to cliff jump, body surf the rapids, cut open pineapples, and ride the rafts in the front like a rodeo! What a great experience! In addition to rafting, they stopped at a bat preserve to see some of Costa Rica’s 120 species of bats up close.
On the final days of the trip, the students stayed at a local resort and got to ride the water slides and relax in the hot springs beneath the massive Arenal volcano. During the day, they hiked along the foothills and got close to the magma flows to see natural volcano activity and the animal behavior around it.
On the final day, students took a bus out through the jungle to go ziplining through the canopy. One of the ziplines was a kilometer long and almost a kilometer off the ground at some points. It was just like flying! In the tress, students could see monkeys and macaws resting while the class zipped by.
Costa Rica offers so many rich experiences and cultures to any traveler who goes. Ecoteach allowed the class to experience the country from a more authentic perspective without the tourist attractions and more connection to the people and activities in Costa Rica. If anyone has the chance to go, I highly recommend it!
