2021 West Side Costa Rica Conservation Expedition

After enjoying our first nights in our luxurious hotel, we woke up at 7:30 and enjoyed eggs, rice, beans, fruit, and bread for breakfast. Then, we gathered into the bus and took an extraordinarily bumpy ride to the Savegre river to begin whitewater rafting.

As we arrived, each person gathered their life jackets, helmets, and paddles. Then, we split into several smaller groups and entered our boats with a single guide who gave instructions. These included, “Forwards,” “Back,” “Stop,” and “Drop in,” to direct us in when to paddle and huddle in the center of the boat to avoid falling off. Halfway through, we paused to eat lunch and celebrate Jensen’s birthday with cake.

Afterwards, we traveled back to the hotel and relaxed until dinner. Everyone ordered their respective meals on the bus, and we arrived at the airplane-themed restaurant. At the end, we celebrated Jensen’s birthday with cake (again) and traveled back to our hotel with the rain clearing up.

Today we woke up extra early to get to breakfast at 6. We had a tight schedule today and planned to leave the Osa Reservation early to make it on time to our surfing lessons. We drove for 3 hours back up the coast for our surfing destination. We arrived at this pretty beach that had small waves, perfect for beginning surfers. After getting a tutorial on how to stand up, we headed straight into the water to try it out for ourselves. At first it was difficult to master quickly getting up while balancing the board too, but after ingesting so much seawater and trying again and again, everyone seemed a lot better than before.

Once done with surfing, everyone showered and changed into dry clothes to head to a quick lunch. After lunch, we drove for another hour to get to our next activity which was zip lining. Zip lining, free-falling, and a Tarzan-style swing, were all included in our afternoon to make sure we kept our adrenaline levels high. Finally our day had come to an end when we then drove back to our new hotel. Shortly after putting our stuff away, we met back outside to drive to a local pizzeria for dinner. Many pizzas later, we drove back to the hotel for a much needed rest after this exciting day.

We woke up bright and early for breakfast at 6:30am. After breakfast, we split up into our two groups and our group, group 1, started heading to the garden area where we helped plant the tea and red mangrove seeds. We started off by combining ocean water with the dirt and debris found where the mangrove trees grow. We then filled plastic pots and bags with the muddy soil and moved them under the mesh tarp. We washed off the seeds, made small holes in the soil of each pot/bag, and planted the seeds. After that, we stitched together the mesh tarps to create shade for the seeds to grow and then headed back to Cabinas Manawanda for lunch, which consisted of beef stew, rice, beans, and juice. When we finished eating, we headed back out to the garden area to fill three wheelbarrows with the tea and red mangrove saplings and were off to plant them in the ground near the other mangrove trees and saplings; on the way, walked across two rivers that went up to our waists. Once arrived, we dug holes in rows in the ground with shovels, planted the saplings, and recorded the height and number of leaves of each one. When we were done planting, we went back to the place we were staying at, crossing the same two shallow rivers. Once back, we all had free time to take showers and relax until dinner time. For dinner, we had chicken, rice, beans, and juice. We then drank some hot chocolate and went to bed.

We woke up bright and early and had breakfast at 6:30. After that we set out to the boats and started to head to the beach and on the way we saw whales in the water. And once we were near the beach we set up the net that catches the turtles. And after around only 10 minutes we caught a turtle. Then the boats took us to the beach where we relaxed for 6 hours. We swam a little bit of the time, then some people played various card games. After six long hours of playing various games and swimming, the boats finally picked us up from the beach to take us back to the beach near our camp.

When we got to the beach it started to rain for about ten minutes until we finally folded the nets. We went to our rooms and proceeded to take showers while some of us walked to the store. We then waited for dinner time until it finally came. We had a nice dinner with chiken, rice, and beans. We finally got some hot chocolate after dinner was over and promptly went to bed.

Today we woke up among the roaring cave at the early time of 6:00. We started a hike shortly thereafter to go to a beautiful natural pool that was deposited into by the natural waterfall. Upon our return from this pool, we were greeted by an amazing breakfast of pineapple, eggs, oatmeal, and toast. Once everyone was finished with their breakfast, we sorted our things and prepared for the hike back down to the bus. We were strapped in for the long ride ahead. On the way to our destination, we stopped by at Marino Ballena, a restaurant where we got to try watermelon smoothies. We also got to go shopping at the nearby BM Supermarket for snack foods and other goodies. After one more stint of travel, we finally made it to OSA to learn about the conservation work we would be doing over the next three days with our new guide, Eduardo. Afterward, we visited the beautiful pebble beach nearby, and swam in the warm water. Once we were finally done swimming, we had our dinner of mixed greens, squash, and rice and beans to end our day.

We woke up and ate breakfast early in the morning. We then got ready to take the boat out to the beach and then proceeded to do so. When we got close to the beach, we put out the net, and then docked for a day of fun. We swam in the ocean for a bit before receiving news that we captured a turtle. We layed the turtle out on the shore and took our measurements. We also had to remove several (97) barnacles from the belly of the turtle. It was a hawksbill sea turtle and it was a juvenile so we could not determine its sex. After releasing the turtle back into the ocean, we all did various things before sitting down for a lunch of rice. There were also a LOT of ants. Once we were done at the beach, we packed up to leave just before capturing a second sea turtle. This one was also a juvenile hawksbill, but it was not in great condition, so we had to take it back to the research camp. After leaving the beach by boat, and being pelted by raindrops due to our speed, we collected the net, and returned to our camp where we would spend the next hour and a half untangling the net in the rain. We ended off the day with a dinner of chicken and rice, and some nice warm hot coco.

Woke up nice and early in our rustic-y cabins up in the beautiful and lushes green mountains.  We had a tasty breakfast and were able to try the sweetest papaya, pineapple, mango, and banana.  Today we were able to explore a family-run Costa Rican coffee plantation and farm.  We learned about many fascinating plants and animals and even fed some.  The group also had the pleasure of milking a cow and caught some chickens!  Once we were finished with that, the family taught us how to make empanadas and treated us to their hot coffee and cocoa.  Later, some of us went to play soccer out on a field while the rest of us climbed some muddy steps to get a glimpse of a magnificent waterfall.  We ended the day with a warm dinner and then reviewed the schedule for the next day.

We started out the day with a beautiful view and a delicious breakfast. Then we met with Rachel and started the long journey down the coast to the Osa Peninsula. We went grocery shopping, stocked up on Coast Rican snacks and more, and then began our long drive through the fog and valley of Alejuela. The views were lush and green, and after a few hours of travel we stopped to shop for souvenirs. Soon after, we pulled onto the side of a bridge to observe some crocodiles dwelling in the river below. Then we returned to the road on the way to lunch, for which we ate an an amazing restaurant with an even more amazing view. After lunch, we got back onto the road, sharing stories, playing games, and spending the time staring out the windows and enjoying the scenery. Later in the day, we arrived at the jungalows in the Osa, had an in depth and very informative orientation meeting, got acclimated to our dorms, and had dinner.

Today we woke up bright and early. After packing our suitcases into our cars it was off to the airport. We all arrived around 7:30 and after meeting up with the rest of our group and going through security we were finally at the gate. We had not seen many of our classmates in over a year so it was nice to chat and catch up on life with them. At 9:50 we boarded the plane and at 10:30 we took off.

The flight to Costa Rica was relatively calm and uneventful, which is good since big events on an airplane are usually a sign that something has gone wrong. Watching the scenery change on the Earth below us was a beautiful sight. The deserts of Mexico gave way to fields and finally the lush greenery of Costa Rica. At 5:15 we touched down in San Jose. After a brief incident involving QR codes we were on our way. Packing ourselves and our suitcases into a bus we drove to our hotel. Along the way we watched as neon lights and convenience stores passed us by. As soon as we set our stuff down in the hotel we immediately dug into the delicious beans, rice, and chicken that was prepared for us. Filled with amazing food we headed to bed, ready to rest and prepare for the rest of our trip in Costa Rica