The Hamlin School Costa Rica Adventure

Day 1 ------ Arrive and Drive to Turrialba Hotel (Turrialba Hotel)

Turrialba Volcano

We will be meeting you at the airport and making the drive to your first hotel which is in the Turrialba area. Here you'll have great views of the smoking Turrialba Volcano.

Before arriving at the hotel you'll be driving through the capital city of Costa Rica, San Jose. As you drive, your guide will give an introduction to the history of Costa Rica from pre-Columbian to present day.

At the hotel we will all meet for dinner and we'll give an orientation of what to expect during the week and some of the educational standards we hope to include during the course of your Costa Rica Trip. (Meals: Lunch & Dinner)


Day 2 ------ Travel to Sitio de Mata & Homestay Activities(Homestay)


The day will start early for those of you that want to go looking for birds in the morning with the naturalist guide. We will all meet for breakfast after birding or sleeping in an extra hour. After breakfast we'll take a nature hike and spend the morning learning about the rainforest and gaining a basic understanding of it. We'll be discussing how it functions and how we all depend on the rainforest even though we might not live in it.

After the morning in the jungle we will go to Sitio de Mata, the homestays. This is always a  highlight of the trip as you will be staying in one of the most beautiful villages that is surrounded by breath-taking views. The only thing that can compete with the scenery is the simplicity of the people and their welcoming smiles. When we arrive we will eat lunch together and each student will be introduced to their homestay family. We''ll then go to the homes where you will have time to get to know your family and make friends with the neighborhood kids.

Learning about Sugar Cane

In the afternoon we'll meet back up for some dance classes. We will be learning how to dance the salsa and merengue which are the most common moves in Costa Rica. After the dance we will have a cooking class where you will learn how to make your own tortillas and be able to make the ever so famous GALLO PINTO. When all cooking is done we'll add a few more ingredients and dinner is served. We' ll all eat together and then put the music on for some practice of what we learned in the afternoon.

After the dancing is finished we will have a meeting getting some feed back and reflection of what the kids think of the homestay. We will ask the differences of living in a rural village in Costa Rica and where they live at home. (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)

Waterfall Rappeling

Day 3 ------ Community Service & Waterfall Rappel (Homestay)

Howler Monkey

Today every student will have breakfast in their homestay. We will meet up after breakfast to do our community service activity. This is a chance for you to give back to the community and do a little work during your visit. The community service will last the good part of the morning and then you'll go back for lunch. After lunch everyone will have an hour of downtime. Then we'll gather back together for journal time and another briefing on village life.

Today we will also take everyone to a nearby canyon and do waterfall rappelling. This is often the kids' favorite adventure of the week as they get a chance to walk down two beautiful waterfalls.

Sitio de Mata Student Map

After our meeting the kids will have time for a soccer game with the locals. This is another favorite event of the trip. After the game everyone heads back to their homestay and gets ready for the evening activities. The village will be putting on a show of local cultural dance and food. We will see around seven different dances and folklore that the local kids from the village have prepared. After the show the eating and dancing begins. You will be an expert salsa dancer by now!

When the dancing is finished we will give a quick briefing getting everyone ready for the 2-day adventure of whitewater rafting. (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)


Day 4 ------ Enter River 2-Day Adventure (Pacuare Tent Camp)

Rafting with Costa Rican Resource!

Today we will enter the famous Pacuare River. Listed as one of National Geographic's top five rivers on the planet, this is some of the best scenery you will find on the planet. The river is filled with waterfalls and canyons from start to finish.



We will begin our day leaving the village around 8am  and make the 30 min. drive to a small area called La Cruz. Here we will put in the river and begin our two days of rafting. We will raft for around two hours and then stop for a river lunch. The river lunch will be some of the best CRR-River-Guide cooking you can imagine. After the lunch we will begin to talk about the indigenous population of Costa Rica. The area where we will be having lunch will be on the reservation of the Cabecar Indians. We will also talk about the how the indians treat the land on one side of the river and how others treat the land on the other side of the river.

Pacuare Tent Camp with CRR

After the lunch we'll raft to the camp-site which is around 40 minutes more of exhilarating rapids. When we arrive to the camp site everyone can get their things into their tent, take a shower, and relax on the camp grounds surrounded by nature. When early evening comes we will all meet at the social center of the camp. This is a beautiful area with hammocks looking downstream. We will use this meeting time to talk about the water supply of the planet. Quite the fitting subject considering where we will be sitting. In the evening it is another fine meal from your CRR river guides. (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)



Day 5 ------ Enter Bribri Reserve & Stay in Indigenous Village (Bribri Village)



Today you will raft the most scenic and adventurous part of the Pacuare River. We will then take out and drive to the Bribri Reserve. At CRR we are always very conscious of the environment and the way mankind is treating it. We feel there is no better people to learn from than people that have lived in harmony with the Earth for as long as they have existed. The Bribri Indian tribe is the tribe in the Talamanca Mountains on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. They are fighting to keep their traditions and knowledge alive and we feel through our ecotourism practices we can help them in their efforts to keep their thousands of years of knowledge from disappearing.

Today each student will sleep under a thatch roof and enjoy the indigenous life for a night. (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)


Day 6 ------ Community Service and Indigenous Culture Activities (Almonds & Corals)



Get ready for a day full of some of the most amazing culture you can imagine. Today is a great day of getting deep into the culture while being surrounded by natural beauty and learning about the Bribri Tribe. We will be visiting areas and villages with thatch roof structures where they do ceremonies celebrating different beliefs and traditions. We will drink the blood of the god's as we see and try the famous Cacao fruit which is the original chocolate milk!

One of the best parts about leaving the reserve is that we will opt to not take the bumpy road out but we will float down a lazy river on inner-tubes. This is a magical experience floating down the ancient sacred waters of the Uren River. This is an area where you will see no tourist. We often invite the local indigenous kids to join in the fun and it is a great time for all. We will end our stay at the beautiful Almonds and Corals Lodge which is one of our favorite eco-lodges in all of Costa Rica.

Community Service Project - Here in the village we have time to do plenty of work. There is much need in the indigenous communities and we can devote half or full day to doing a project. (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)

Two-toed Sloth

Day 7 ------  Surf Classes (Almonds & Corals)

Bribri 

Today is your day to take some surfing classes. We'll go to the nearby beach of Cocles which is a beautiful white sand beach and everyone will have a chance to learn to surf, play in the waves, or relax on the sand. In the evening it is back to the hotel for dinner or maybe visit a few of the nearby souvenir shops. (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)

(Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)


Day 8 ------  Wildlife Refuge (Beach Ecolodge)


Today we will take a two hour hike through the rainforest. Here you will see more wildlife than you can imagine. The best part about this trip is the local guides we use. Omar and Tino are two local Afro-Caribbean guides that give you a complete understanding not only of the biodiversity but also of the importance of the Afro-Caribbean culture. They are energetic and the kids love them. It's a must when visiting the Caribbean to have such a rich culture experience as with Omar and Tino. In the afternoon we can have some optional snorkeling. Lunch will be at a nearby place that serves rice and beans cooked with coconut milk which you can only find on the Caribbean! (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)

Day 9 ------ Travel to Arenal Volcano (Casa Luna Lodge)


Today is a travel day. We will leave after breakfast and head to the Arenal Volcano. This perfectly cone-shaped volcano is one of the most scenic spots in all of Costa Rica. We will be staying in the Casa Luna Lodge which has excellent views of the volcano. When we arrive you will have time at the pool and we will have some activities planned for the kids as we do during most of the down time. (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)

Day 10 ------ Zipline & Farewell Party! (Casa Luna Lodge)


It's zipline day and you'll be zipping on the best one in all of Costa Rica.  Not only do the cables hang 700ft high but you also have amazing views of the Arenal Lake and Volcano. In the afternoon we will recap a full week of fun, adventure, and CULTURE! (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)

Day 11 ------- Fly Home!

Today we will make the two hour drive back to the San Jose Airport. (Meals: Breakfast)