Breakfast was a success. It was a pleasant
piece of toast, and jam. Everyone was
Costa Rican cuisine.
see them walk around. There were swallows
personal, and some macaws as well. In
we passed. Everyone was really fascinated
type of veggies. There were a lot of really
one in English and one in Spanish.
Happy Birthday Anya!
AFTERNOON: written by Nigel & Emerie
After lunch, we had some time to check out the
souvenir shop! There were cute stickers, silly
socks, and anything else you could imagine.
With full bags of souvenirs, we hopped onto the
bus and prepared for a longggggg bus ride to
the next hotel. Most people took naps while
others fought to the death in chess 😟 🧠
After the long bus ride, we arrived at the hotel.
We quickly checked into the rooms and
dropped off our stuff so we could head back
onto the bus to go to the hot springs.
We waded in the very shallow hot springs
and learned that all of them were natural
hot springs!
Then, we ate dinner at a very fancy buffet.
There were many food options and there
was a guy making everyone's pasta
orders and fire bending 🔥!
After our delicious dinner, we headed back to
the hotel to prepare for the eventful day
tomorrow 👨🍳🍫🌴‼️
DAY 4 Morning: written by Trisha & Carmen
For breakfast today, we had an assortment of
fruit and pancakes, topped with delicious
maple syrup.
Then we had to rush to the bus to make our way to Manuel Antonio national park in Quepos. The city was built in the 70s before the environmental movement so the mangroves were cut down to build the town. The government had to stop the expansion to protect the forest and the safety of the town, since it is next to water and could easily flood.
On our way to the park, we saw many local
shops filled with handmade souvenirs.
As we entered the park, we were greeted with
the endless green foliage and sounds of
the forest.
Mrs. Arroyo and Mr. Choubaralian took a
detour with half of the group. We saw
many monkeys, crabs, lizards, birds
and guatusas (like capybaras but cuter)
Ms. Maggio’s group hung out beside the beach.
The Pacific Ocean boasted the most beautiful
shade of aquamarine.
When we reunited with the group, Yonathan led
us on a nature walk through the park, where we
spotted many animals and learned about
environmental policies in Costa Rica.
Yonathan explained that Manuel Antonio
National park was owned by a German
businessman who deforested and made
roads in the park, allowing people to
feed monkeys which were trafficked.
In 1972 Costa Rica claimed it back and
established the first national park.
He told us that in Costa Rica the age of the tree
you cut down is the years you go to jail which
is pretty wild. We also discussed that pollution
in Costa Rica comes from its tech industry
which creates a lot of jobs that benefits the
economy but can pose consequences for
the environment.
We saw a hermit crab along the way!
We learned about the consequences that
plastics have on hermit crabs and other
forms of marine life.
The government is here to serve the
country and its environmental goals.
As an example, a judge sold part of a
national park a few months ago and some
people started cutting down trees.
In response, the whole country protested
in San Jose, compelling the government
to obey. We saw leaf cutter ants and
learned that repellent and sun lotion
makes the ants lose scent and direction
of their track. Female ants do incredible
work! They are farmers and soldiers who
go out to get the leaves, and checkers
who check the quality of said leaves.
The leaves feed the fungus that the ants
eat but if the leaves are sprayed with
pollution then the checkers will reject them.
We saw sloths who eat leaves from cecropia
trees. They choose one part of the forest and
stay there. They defecate at the bottom of
trees to provide rich fertilizer!
There are 3 species of monkeys in the park: White faced capuchins, Howling and Squirrel
monkeys. They move around the trees in groups and if two families encounter, they fight to death.
The trees at the park are prepared to survive a
flood but it’s a secondary forest.
After spending all morning in the humid hot
weather, we had casados for lunch, which
is a typical Costa Rican dish consisting of
rice, beans, salads, plantains and protein.
We also got refreshing fruit smoothies.
AFTERNOON written by WHOOOOOOOOO
After our very satisfying lunch, we got back on the bus to take a short drive to Malecón,
where Jonathan explained to us that the Malecón was built to prevent the ocean from
flooding Quepos. We also learned that Quepos was originally inhabited by indigenous
people but they were colonized by spaniards later on. Now, Quepos has a large population
of Nicaraguans and Columbians.
After that, we hopped on the bus again to take
another short trip to Parque Nahomi, where
some of us first got some delicious cones 🍧
the red 40 slushes were icy and sweet, plus
we were supporting the locals!
We then went to go look at the view, and
Yonathan pointed out that the forests
there are also a good example of primary
and secondary succession due to the
chopping down of trees when houses
were built.
Next, we took another short bus ride to the Central Market of Quepos and walked around.
Vendors sold popcorn, candy, plushies, and jerseys to name a few. Today was a super warm
day and we learned not to buy chocolate unless we wanted chocolate soup!
Then, we took a long (and bumpy) bus ride
back to Jacó, where we talked and shared
snacks. We talked about our plans for
tomorrow (come back for the pictures!)
and reached our next destination, a
supermarket to stock up on snacks for our
trip to La Fortuna tomorrow!
Finally, we had a delicious and satisfying dinner!
DAY 3 MORNING: By Jana & Calliope
We woke up early for a delicious breakfast—
eggs, ham, plantains, cheese, and bread,
with assorted fruits as an appetizer—and a
beautiful morning sunrise.
We then took a long comfy bus ride to La Isla
where we relaxed on hammocks until Mau
met us.
He explained how the land appropriations
on the island worked—all the land within
50 meters of the coast is public domain,
owned by all Costa Ricans. We learned
about why it’s important to plant more
mangrove trees: because the island is so
narrow, it’s subject to erosion and rising
sea levels. Mangroves help stabilize the
land and prevent storm surges and flash
floods from doing too much damage.
Mau then gave us tools to help start
prepping the propagules to be planted—
Ms Maggio, Ms Arroyo, and
Mr Choubaralian got machetes!
After arriving to the mangrove nursery, we
formed an assembly line to transport our
babies from the nursery to more easily
accessible place. Teamwork makes the
dream work!!!!!
We all then split into groups to plant the
propagules we collected yesterday, each
group being assigned with a task. Anya
used her amazing native Spanish skills
to get a free coconut from a local.
Some people cut the tops off of recycled
bottles, very carefully with very dull
knives (Ms. Maggio was the only
one with a good knife)
Others packed the bottles full of dirt,
running into many worms and bugs
And others put the propagules into the
bottles so they could grow into cute
little trees.
After a morning of tiring but rewarding
work caring for the propagules, we
returned to La Isla for lunch. We had
a chicken and rice dish with salad and
chips. We had some free time—some
of us played billiards and foosball,
and others just relaxed on the hammocks.
Afternoon blog: By Emerie & Nigel
After lunch, we met back with Mau and headed back to the nursery to transportthe mangrove trees to the bus.
Then we hopped on the bus and drove to the
place where we would be planting the
mangrove trees. Our bus got stuck in a hole
but everything was okay! Mr. Choubaralian,
Jonathan (our tour guide), Mau (our other
guide), and Diego (our bus driver) used
their super human strength to get it out 💪‼️
Just kidding a neighbor with a tractor came
to tow us out!
We each grabbed a few mangrove trees from
the bus and transported them closer to the river.
Then we split up the roles and began working.
Some people used knives (very safely) to cut
the plastic bottles that the trees were in.
Others used shovels to dig holes and they
placed the trees in them.
We all got quite dirty and muddy but it was
for a great cause. We were able to plant 70
mangrove trees along the river and these
trees will benefit the ecosystem when they
fully grow and develop!
You can see all the plants behind us we newly
transplanted!
We also found a hermit crab while digging!
After we finished the planting, we headed
back to the ranch and washed all the tools
we used.
When everything was clean, we sat down and
listened to a presentation by Sarah, Calliope,
Trisha, and Nicole. They summarized our
conservation project and we discussed how
our work today would contribute greatly to
the environment.
We also saw some more monkeys!
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped
to see the sunset.
Then we drove back to the hotel and had
dinner! We had fish, plantain chips,
potatoes, and salad!
Then we went back to our rooms to get some
rest and prepare for the day at the national
park tomorrow!
DAY 2 4/14/2025 Costa Rica Morning Blog - Written By Dylan and Sophie
We started off the day with breakfast at 6:30am.
We had scrambled eggs, pancakes, and some fruit.
We then checked out of the hotel and hopped
onto the bus to begin our ride to La Isla to
begin our conservation project. We stopped
at a shop along the way to buy some Costa
Rican snacks, and our tour guide, Jonathan,
took us on a walk nearby to see some crocodiles.
After the walk, we hopped back onto the bus
to drive to La Isla. Once we got there, we
stopped at the beach to enjoy the fresh ocean
waves splashing onto our legs.
After enjoying some time at the beach, we
had lunch. We had fish, along with fries
and a salad. We also had some ice cream to
go along with the meal.
DAY 2 - Afternoon Blog - Written By Sarah and Nicole
Right after we had lunch, we walked over to a
gazebo where we did some icebreakers with
our tour guide, Johnathan.
We all introduced ourselves to him by throwing
a ball to each other to call on people. After this,
Johnathan taught us about Costa Rica before
our second tour guide, Mao, taught us about the
mangroves we’d be planting tomorrow.
Right after, we headed to our boat where we
went on a ride to pick propagules, mangrove
seeds, that we could plant tomorrow.
As we went through the river, picking
propagules, Mao showed us the various
organisms living in the river. We saw
a myriad of crabs, different flowers,
and mangroves, but the most notable
were the white-faced capuchins.
Johnathan warned us not to smile at
them with our teeth because they find
it threatening, so it was a struggle to
not laugh at them. While we passed
them, they kept acting like they were
going to jump onto our boat, causing
most of us to panic slightly.
After our boat ride, we went back to the
bus and drove to a supermarket for water
and snacks. We then drove to a spot
where the sunset was extremely visible.
We got many amazing pictures there.
Once we were back on the bus, we drove to
our second hotel of the trip, where we settled
in with our new roommates (except for the
boys) and ate dinner with chicken, mashed
potatoes, vegetables, and jello.
DAY 1 Written By Anya and Veronika
Before our flight we all spent an hour in the
airport. Jennifer played the piano to pass the
time.
Today we spent half the day flying from NY
to Houston and then to Costa Rica. Some
people brought snacks. Other people took
naps.
Overall a smooth flight with not a lot of
pressure on the ears during takeoff and
landing. There were a lot of very nice
views from the airplane window once
we got near Costa Rica
Everyone was pleased to get off the flight
and stretch their legs.
The line at immigration was quite long,
but went by quickly, and soon we were
getting our first tour of San Jose.
We saw an active volcano!
We went and shopped at a supermarket,
getting our first Costa Rican currency.
Everyone was so happy to get the
coins!
We finally arrived at our hotel. We unpacked
and decided to go for a walk around Santa
Ana. We visited the Iglesia de nuestra señora
de Santa Anna church which was built
during the 17th century. Afterwards we
walked around Santa Ana and spent some
time at a park watched some locals play
volleyball.
Then we walked back to the hotel and enjoyed
a great dinner!
We are all excited for the day tomorrow!
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