Around 5:30 am, we took an early morning boat ride to explore more of the canals and to get the opportunity to see more wildlife as the sun was rising. Sadly, one of the animals that we saw during our boat ride was a bird with plastic trash stuck around its beak. Although our tour guide tried to coax the bird to come closer to the boat so he could try to free it, the bird was too shy and flew farther away. In spite of that, we saw a lot of birds, an emerald basilisk, and some bats hanging by the pier (pictured below).

This second picture shows how perfect the trees were reflected in the water in the early morning.

After lunch, we took another boat ride to Tortuguero National Park and spent a few hours chatting with the locals and exploring the shops in the area. As the sun began to set, we took a walk on the beach on our way to visit the Sea Turtle Conservancy that was also located in the town and needless to say, the landscape was absolutely stunning.

The first picture is from sunset on the beach, the second is from a quaint youth hostel in Tortuguero and the third picture is one of the many examples of street art/graffiti that we found that advocates for environmental conservation.

Although we did not see any live sea turtles at the Conservancy, we attended a fascinating lecture about the history of sea turtles in Costa Rica and how the ecologist Archie Carr was able to change the mindset of people from using sea turtles for meat to protecting the species. Although Costa Rica is home to four main types of sea turtles (Leatherback, Loggerhead, Hawksbill, and Green Turtles), adults are still at risk of poaching and sea turtle nests are often disturbed by wild dogs and birds looking for food.

Today was the start of what would be many early mornings. Since we’d be traveling all over the country during the 10 day program, it was essential that we’d arrive to every new location in a timely manner. Our destination was Tortuguero, a small town on the Caribbean coast that was connected by winding rivers. On the way to Tortuguero we also drove through the Braulio Carrillo National Park which such a cool experience because it was my first time being immersed in an actual rainforest.

Here is a picture of the views from the National Park and then a picture of our group!

A little while later, we finally made it to Tortuguero and we took a boat to our hotel, La Rana Roja (the red frog). Our hotel was literally situated in the middle of the rainforest and it was complete with a gorgeous pool and bar. Despite the cockroaches and the early morning sounds of howler monkeys, the two nights we spent there were amazing. We had a lot of free time to explore the paths around the hotel and we also took a night walk to study the local tree frogs.

Both of these photos were taken during the boat ride on the way to our hotel

The first photo is one of the views from our hotel and the rest of the photos are of some of the local flora and fauna 🙂

May 21st, the day of arrival to Costa Rica and a day that I had been eagerly anticipating ever since I found out that I got accepted into the program back in January. My first flight was extremely early, I arrived at the Columbus airport around 4am for my 6am flight to Fort Lauderdale.  I was fueled by pure excitement so I didn’t mind the lack of sleep. My first flight to Florida and my second flight to San Jose were both pretty uneventful; I wasn’t able to sleep on either of the planes because I wanted to soak up the views outside my window seat. I finally arrived to the San Jose airport at around 11:30 (which would’ve been 1:30 in the U.S. due to the 2 hour time difference) and although I was hungry and exhausted, I was very, very excited. I was quickly greeted by Mario, our EF tour guide and I got the chance to reconnect with other students participating in the program in a little cafe outside of the airport. It was there that I got my first taste of ‘casado’, a typical Costa Rican meal that consists of rice and beans, plantains, a small salad, cheese, and some type of protein. Needless to say, it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had since I didn’t get the chance to eat all day. After we got the chance to regroup, Mario and our bus driver Henry took us to the hotel we’d be spending the night at and we were debriefed about the plan for the next day.

Here’s a picture of the beautiful pool from the Quality Real hotel in San Jose.

Hello All!

In three days I will be traveling to Costa Rica, a country rich in biodiversity and well-known for its sustainability efforts. I have always cared deeply about the natural world and I am very excited to experience everything that this country has to offer! Although this trip is only 10 days long, our itinerary will be packed with incredible excursions to cloud forests and national parks, a white-water rafting excursion, a crocodile river boat ride, and even a trip to a sea turtle conservation center! Needless to say, I am very excited. Our group has spent the past week and a half learning about the different regions in Costa Rica and studying local conservation methods. I think it is fantastic that we will be able to apply what we learned in the classroom to the sites that we will be visiting!

Pura Vida!

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