2023 Ralston Valley Costa Rica Service Adventure

Program Blog

View Full Gallery

Latest Updates

Costa Rica Farawell

Written by Madelyne Mackinney 
Today we woke up bright and early to start our last full day in Costa Rica. We headed to the Manuel Antonio National Park where we spent a few hours relaxing and swimming in one of the beautiful coves along the park’s shoreline. The rainforest surrounding the beach housed several wild animals in which we got to see. This included a sloth swinging from the forest trees and several monkeys along the beach who stole our fruit we had brought for a snack. The day continued with a zip lining tour through the rainforest of Costa Rica. On the tour we saw more wildlife and were introduced to the view of the rainforest from the tree tops. The next few hours after zip lining consisted of a bus ride where we watched the sun set behind the tall trees that fill the landscape. At last, we arrived at the hotel, Casa Cielo Grande, where we spent our last night in Costa Rica before traveling back to Denver.

Enjoying the beach

Written by Areana Lucero
Today we started a little earlier than usually and said a teary eyed goodbye to our host families. After a bumpy bus ride, we got to see the beautiful costa rican beach where we learned to surf and got a little sunburnt too. After this, we enjoyed a well needed lunch and then headed to the hotel for pool time. Dinner was a taste of home with yummy pizza. The day was long and started off sad, but ended on a great note!

Farewell Day

Written by Chelsey Ressel

Today, from 9:00 to noon we were finished up painting the medical building and when we were done we went down to clean up the plaza in preparation for the party that we were having to celebrate our hard work. It took us about two hours to clean the plaza and when we were done we all went home to get ready for the party.

The party started around 5 and was full of people from all of the families that we lived with and the families that also lived in the neighborhood. The students from the school were also there. We sang happy birthday to people who are celebrating in march and there was a piñata. There was also a big cake to thank us for our hard work. Halfway through the party we read out our thank you speeches to the families and then danced til it was time for everyone to go home.

Los Niños

Written by Lylie Ayala
We started our day off with the kids in the school playing games they seemed to enjoy: duck-duck-goose and tag, to name a few. It was incredible to watch their faces light up with joy and hear the laughter echo on the mountains. Eventually we took our leave and made our way to the service projects. Some people stayed to finish the kindergarten, adding a second coat, while the rest of us headed to the doctors house. We finished up the outside coat while some people started sanding the inside, getting it all nice and smooth. By lunch the first coat on the outside was finished and the sanding was complete. We all ate lunch together just outside the doctors house laughing and sharing our experiences with our host families from the night before. After lunch we started painting the inside and putting a second coat on the outside with everyones help (since the kindergarten had been finished). We stopped around 2 to head down to the soccer field. We played soccer all together with one little boy, Alejandro, whom we met the first day. We switched up the teams 3 times before stopping and heading home before the rain arrived and the sun went away. Saying our goodbyes, we went our separate ways for the night awaiting the final day with our families to come.

Service Project Day

Written by Dora Rubin
Today was absolutely amazing as it was the first day of our service project. Personally, I was woken up by roosters, which was quite the way to start the day. Then we all got together to start our projects. By the end of the work day, we had basically finished painting the school, and the doctors office had a pretty good start. After that we toured the coffee farm (which is where I’m staying with Ryan and Lylie) and we got to see plants, learn about the self sustaining farm, and drink coffee and hot chocolate made from cacao grown there. To go with our drinks, we all made cheese empanadas and they were to die for! The best part of the tour though was when Dylan got to carry around a machete, or milking the cows! After that, everyone went back to their houses, and we had dinner and went to sleep! It was honestly such an amazing day, and I can’t wait to see what the future will bring us!

A Refreshing Splash of water 

Written by Annalise Landon
Today we woke up from the luxurious hotel and ate breakfast in the dinning hall, enjoying good fruit and coffee. Although there were bugs in the cabins, the beautiful view of the mountains made up for it.
After eating breakfast, we hiked up a really long trail and went to go and enjoy Nauyaca waterfall. It was like nothing we had ever seen before, the water was nice and refreshing where we all got to swim in a little lake at the bottom with an amazing view of the big waterfall, we ate some Costa Rica ice cream and went our way to our host families.
We spend the majority of the afternoon and evening with them and got to know them and practice lots of Spanish. They are also kind and the houses and views are beautiful. We can’t wait to see what the rest of our trip in Costa Rica will bring us!

A trip to the jungle

Written by Claire VanDeventer

We started the day off packed and ready to go for our 5 1/2 hour drive to Bella Vida, a retreat in the southern rainforest.
Along the way we stopped for lunch at a beautiful restaurant that was partially made out of an airplane. There we all have club sandwiches, hamburgers, quesadillas and other amazing foods with some fruit juice to go with it.
First, we stopped and got our first view of our home-stays, in which after we started our hike to Bella Vida. Once we arrived at the retreat, we cool off in the infinity pool with a view of the mountains and the ocean. We stayed in individual cabins, all with beautiful views of the jungle.
For dinner, we had arroz con pollo with salad and other sides, and it was delicious. After dinner we had our orientation meeting where we played a name game and learned more about  what the home stays are gonna look like for the next days.
After that, we went back to our cabins and went to sleep for the night.

Lean In

Written by Khiana Nelson
Today we woke up to the sounds of paradise. We began the day greeted with an array of fresh fruit, gallo pinto (a Costa Rican delicacy, a combination of white rice, black beans, tomatoes, and other spices and herbs) and assessments of other treats. While we sinking into the fresh, sugary fruit, we had two cats saying good-morning. Then we embarked on our adventure for the day, white water rafting.
The drive there was like a dream, we went to through thick jungle, wide agricultural fields, and foggy cliffs. When we reached our destination, you could feel the excitement. We got our safety devices and instructions. One of our commands was “Lean in” which has represented the communal feeling from the last two days. The amazing people we are surrounded with, making new connections, and building life long memories together.
 The views and overall ambience of the river was like a movie. The lush vegetation and sparkling water looked like a post card. We saw animals like tucans, sloths, iguanas, and a variety of different birds. In the middle of our passage, we stopped for the sweetest pineapple and watermelon I have ever had. We also had the opportunity to jump from a small cliff into the refreshing water. The whole experience was incredible.
Then, we drive home and ate a delicious lunch, not to mention with the most delicious ice cream I have ever had. We got back to the homely and welcoming hostel, to take a quick dip in the pool before dinner. The day came to a relaxing end, before we drifted to sleep.

Up n down

Written by Jacson Spiwak

Though we had to get up incredibly early, there was still an air of excitement and wonder. We were about to embark on a journey to a mysterious country, the likes of which none of us had ever experienced. But like anything in life, there ended up being plenty of bumps on the road to Costa Rica. We first landed at the Dallas airport, a place which most of us had never been too, with tired eyes and empty stomachs. Our empty stomachs were quickly filled, but our exhaustion did not fade. We soon boarded our second flight, from Dallas to Costa Rica. This flight normally should take about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Safe to say it did not. As we were literally about to land, less than 100 off the ground, our plane suddenly shot up to a 45 degree angle and took back off into the sky. Why? We had no idea for a good 10 minutes until the pilot came over the intercom and explained the situation: there was a rainstorm over the San Jose airport, and we could not land until it cleared. Moreover, we needed fuel, so we would have to land at Liberia airport and then come back after the storm cleared. We were told this would take roughly 30 minutes at most. It took at least twice that. We didn’t leave Liberia airport for roughly an hour and a half. Finally we got back in the air and began heading back to our original destination. We were nearing the ground about to land, and again the plane suddenly shot up back into the sky. We had to wait longer for the storm to clear. So we sat in the air for another half hour, and then FINALLY, we landed.

We got off the plane and headed straight to customs, where our group was split up and I personally was being interrogated by a customs officer, which was terrifying. Thankfully, Señor and Señora Rubin swooped in and saved my butt. We passed through customs and got on our bus, where we headed to the “Rosa de las Americas” hotel. It wasn’t a very long ride, and we got our bags and headed into our rooms. My two roommates and I were very pleasantly surprised. I saw the king sized bed first and staked my claim, while the other two couldn’t have cared less and took the first twin sized bed they found. Jake and I were chilling watching Spanish teen titans go, when all of the sudden we hear Dylan say “Guys this bathroom is sick” We all three squeezed into the bathroom and collectively admired one of the fanciest bathrooms we’d ever seen. After five minutes of that, we headed over to dinner with the rest of the group and we all had either a variation of an “arroz con pollo” dish or a “Casado con pollo” dish, both of which were happily enjoyed. We also found out that Costa Rican Restaurants freshly squeeze fruits to make some of the most delicious drinks you’ll ever have in your life. After dinner, we all headed back to the hotel. My group and I took showers and then passed out, and I’m sure everyone did roughly the same. Overall, the day didn’t start out great, but it sure ended that way.

Top