DAY EIGHT BLOG
Morning blog: WRITTEN BY TRISHA AND LORELAI
We woke up to a beautiful sunrise. For breakfast we had a buffet which was delicious!
Some of the options were: apples, rice and beans, salad, eggs, plantains, and more!
We all had a good breakfast.
Then, we headed towards a town named Sarchí, where we would learn about Costa Rican artistry.
At Sarchí, we went to a place where we learned about Costa Rican oxen carts and the art
behind them. In our tour, we learned about oxen carts and how they are made. One oxen cart
can cost from $3000-4000 and the intricate detailing of them takes a long time. One artist has to
practice for 5 years to design them. In the village where we were, we saw a part of Eloy Alfaro’s
factory, which had previously been used to construct oxen carts. It employed water to move the
drills and gears for the factory. It was really interesting and we learned a lot! We also got to see
some oxen carts and different kinds of wheels as well. They were super colorful!
We also saw a professional artist with 45 years of experience painting oxen carts! It was
really inspiring to see the focus and finesse with which he painted. It was so pretty!
We also saw a mural of what the village that we were in used to look like. It captures the
everlasting impact that agrarian customs have had on Costa Rican culture.
They also had a gift shop where we were! It had lots of cool stuff, including magnets of
miniature oxen carts and even miniature guitars! They were so cute!On our way to lunch we stopped to see the world’s largest oxen cart! It was huge!
We also visited a nearby church, which had a breathtaking ceiling, ornate chandeliers,
and intricate murals. It was decorated very nicely for Easter!
Then we drove to lunch! We had salads, fish, chicken rice and beans, guava juice, and more!
It was delicious and refreshing!
After lunch we went to another gift shop at the restaurant. It was quite large and there were
lots of cool things to buy! They had a lot of cacti and very cute stuffed animals!
Afternoon blog: WRITTEN BY JENNIFER AND ANYA
After lunch, souvenir shopping, and silly photos, we got back on the bus to our next stop, the
coffee plantation!
We explored the plantation before we met our guides Lois and Dina.
We learned coffee was discovered in Ethiopia then traveled to Saudi Arabia. Then it traveled to
Italy where Italians created the espresso and cappuccino to name a few. It traveled to France,
to Martinique, to Brazil then to Costa Rica.
We learned the conditions in Costa Rica are great for growing coffee because there are
mountainous regions that are 64-69 degrees fahrenheit in volcanic (fertile) soil. Other facts we
learned are there are 112 volcanoes in Costa Rica and the best coffee species for gourmet coffee
is arabica.
Arabia seeds are planted in soil. The seeds take 2 months to sprout! After 3 weeks they are
shoots. They’re placed in the nursery then planted in fielEach plant produces 1 crop a year for
25 years. When it is too old, it is dug up to turn into fertilizer.
There’s a belt made of a rope and sack that wraps around the basket and worker. A stick wraps
around the belt to make it tighter on the body. The coffee picker looks for red, ripe beans.
Throughout the plantation were stations where we tried more samples of coffee.
Lois told us there’s a machine with lots of nails that rolls the bean to husk it. He models this for us. There’s a sweet pulp (dark green part of model). There are 2 seeds inside the fruit.
They are dried in the sun.
The seed has a layer outside called the parchment that has to be taken off the seed.
The remaining layer inside is what is roasted to make coffee.
There’s a coffee oven that roasts the coffee. And we learned global warming affects the quality
of coffee seeds; they grow softer and smaller.
Lois gave us some tips on how to inhance our coffee drinking experience.
steep the coffee grounds for 10 minutes before drinking
Brew coffee with warm water (hot water burns it)
Don’t reheat your coffee; it’ll burn. Good coffee tastes good hot, cold, or warm
Veronica and Trisha tried coffee with Lois. They tried drinking coffee with a spoon to
incorporate air.
We learned the flavor you taste the most is the main taste of the coffee. For example
a bitter taste means it’s burnt.
Afterwards we went coffee/ chocolate shopping! Some people went with Ms. Maggio
to see butterflies.
Then we got back on the bus to drive to our hotel in San Jose.
We went to dinner and took pictures of the cityscape.
(Veronika and Carmen recreating the scene from Titanic)
After dinner we watched a cultural dance. The performers wore colorful clothes; the women
had rufflly red and white dresses and the men wore red shirts. The dances and dancers
were incredible!
DAY SEVEN BLOG
MORNING: written by Jana and Calliope
We started off our foggy morning with a nice choose-your-own breakfast buffet with a. Nice choice of eggs, fruits, salads, French toasts, and quiches.
We then drove about 30 minutes to the La Fortuna waterfall, where our local guide Juan explained to us all kinds of interesting facts about the rainforest.
He told us about the special relationship
between farmers and the chiguiro, the
national bird of Costa Rica. The bird makes
a distinctive noise whenever it sees a snake,
alerting nearby farmers of the danger. The
timing of its nesting is closely related to the
onset of the rainy season, letting farmers know
when they should start tilling their fields and
planting crops. The chiguiro stays near farms
because the regular upturn of soil provides them
a lot of worms to eat.
Juan also showed us a very interesting video
of a sloth giving birth that his friend had
captured accidentally. He also gave us tips on
how to safely and naturally preserve food and
alleviate symptoms of certain illnesses with
chemicals found in the rainforest.
After walking down the exactly 500 steps
to the waterfall, we WADED in the
extremely cold water, attempting and utterly
failing to catch the fish that lived in the
shallows. We were cautioned not to go too
close to the waterfall, lest we get caught in
the current, washed down the river, and
dashed against the rocks.
After WADING for about 45 minutes, we
started our intense leg workout, crawling
back up the 500 steps to get back to our
bus.
We then headed to our lunch place with a
giant adjoining souvenir shop. Lunch was a
delicious meal of dishes we had picked 3
days prior, including quesadillas, burritos,
pasta, and nachos.
After lunch we took a look at the overpriced souvenirs at a shop next to the restaurant.
We headed over to the place we were going to go kayaking and some people were so tired from the steps in the morning they took a nap 😴
Kayaking was successful! No one fell out of their kayak though there were a few close calls.
After kayaking we were able to have some free time at the hotel before dinner, where some of us were able to complete our ice bucket challenges
For dinner we were able to pick a salad and entrée from the hotel restaurant— all the options were amazing and Dylan loved the salad!
DAY SIX BLOG
MORNING: written by Sara and Nicole
We stumbled to the breakfast buffet after a
long day of activities the day prior. Many of
us were late due to thefact that we got
helplessly lost trying to navigate the gigantic
(but beautiful!) hotel campus. The food was
scrumptious, featuring scrambled eggs,
sausage, rice and beans, pancakes, salad, and
more. Yum! Everyone was very happy with the
variety. While we were waiting, Ms. Maggio had
us sign a waiver for the zip lining we would do
later today. Yikes!
Once we were finished with our
scrumdiddlyumptious breakfast,
we all got into the bus, ready for
a day of fun. Once we arrived to
zipline, we were fitted into our
harnesses and taught the correct
techniques and signals.
Some people chose to have their pictures taken! You'll get the full collection in a bit... but here are a few highlights!!!
AFTERNOON BLOG by Sophie and Ella
After the very fun cooking class, we had a
buffet style lunch with the salad and tortillas
we made, as well as the vegetables we
picked on the farm tour!
We also saw a biodigestor, which was a cow,
pigs, and chickens
After lunch we met up with Jhonny again to go
on the chocolate tour. He first showed us their
cacao plantation and we learned that the trees are
shorter because it’s easier to grab the cacao that
way. He also showed us the smallest cacao seed!
Sara then harvested one of the cacaos by cutting it
by the trunk. Johnny cut open the cacao and we got
to try some of the seeds, which did not taste like
chocolate at all. Johnny then brought us back to the
room where we would be making chocolate, and took
us through the entire process! He taught us that cacao
seeds need to be fermented for about a week, dried for
about 10 days, and then roasted on low fire.
We then took turns grinding the seeds into cacao nips
with supportive music in the background!
The cacao nips still had some cacao shells in them,
so we removed those shells by creating winds to fan
the shells out. After that, we went to a different grinder
to turn the cacao nips into cacao paste. We competed to
see who would complete the task the fastest (with a little
rigging involved). Now that we had the cacao paste, we
could make our own chocolate and customize it to our
taste! For our seasonings we had salt, cinnamon, sugar,
coffee, condensed milk, turmeric, and coconut. We all had
lots of fun and can’t wait to try our chocolate 🍫
We headed to downtown Fortuna after working hard on
our chocolate to shop around! Jana bought a soccer ball
and some of us started playing soccer in central park!
The game within our group eventually turned into a game
of us against other kids. We were brutally destroyed by
them, but it was really fun!
The soccer game came to an end because we had to head
to dinner. We went to a very fancy restaurant where each
of us had the meal that we chose earlier. There was also a
disco ball! 🪩 🕺
After (not) partying at the cocktail bar we headed back to
the hotel to get a good night’s rest before tomorrow’s day!
DAY FIVE BLOG
MORNING: written by Veronika and Lorelai
Breakfast was a success. It was a pleasantportion of rice and beans alongside a
During our free hours between breakfast and
the bus ride, we got to see a pair of macaws
on a nearby almond tree. We got to look at
them through Mr Choubaralian’s binoculars.
We got onto the bus around 8:15, headed to the
crocodile tour. It was a short drive there.
On the crocodile tour, we received a pamphlet
with a list of different birds to identify on the
We got to see a big crocodile up close and
We even got to see some homosapiens
on the river!
Our tour guide explained why crocodiles are
At the end of the tour we got to see a real
After the safari, we hung out by the gift shop
We got back to the bus and drove to El Jardin,
the place we would have lunch.
For lunch we had to pick a protein, rice, and
At the end, we got to celebrate Anya’s birthday
Happy Birthday Anya!
AFTERNOON: written by Nigel & Emerie
After lunch, we had some time to check out thesouvenir 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
headed back to the nursery to transport
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!
