2023 Ranney School Costa Rica Conservation Expedition
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Saying goodbye to Costa Rica
An Adventurous day!
Written by Andy C.
We started the day with an early breakfast and departure from our hotel. The bus ride was two hours to our next destination, which was zip lining. We went on many different zip lines throughout the rainforest, and the scenery was magnificent. We then went straight to lunch after starting the day off with an awesome adventure, and directly after we checked into our new hotel. We then took another bus ride from the hotel to the Baldi Hot Springs. We went on water slides and into hot springs, and it was one of the highlights of the trip. We then had a buffet style dinner at the resort at the hot springs, and then headed back to the hotel and wrapped up the night with an activity that involved writing letters to our future selves about our experience on the trip. Finally, we settled in for the night after a very adventurous day.
An adventurous and busy Sunday
Day 5: Experiencia the Rainforest of Costa Rica
Day 4: Exploring Costa Rican Rainforest
Day 3: Flavors of Costa Rica
This morning, we woke up and ate breakfast at around seven. For breakfast we had french toast, rice and beans, sausage, and eggs. After a few hours we started our chocolate tour. It started with us crossing a long hanging bridge to start a hike in the woods. We stopped to see a few animals like bullet ants and howler monkeys and many different plants. Eventually, we got to the chocolate plantation where we learned about the process of making chocolate all the way from scratch. We tried the chocolate in it’s different forms and it was bitter so we got to add ingredients on our own. After the chocolate lesson we hiked back and left for lunch. Then, we went on our way to learn about different plants and a natural medicines. We were able to try the different things even though some were very different and did not taste good. At the end, we got to drink coconut water which was good for hydration. Then, we got back and had dance lessons. No one expected to get that tired from dancing but we all had fun. We had a few hours in between then and dinner. Finally got dinner we ate in the hotel and chose from a menu which was delicious!
Day 2: Rafting Adventure Day
Written by Avery and Lola
We started the day off at 7am where we dropped our luggage off at bus. Then we met for breakfast, the choices were beans and rice (gallo pinto), cereal, eggs, fruit and bread. We then headed off on a 2 hour bus ride to go whitewater rafting. All was well until our bus had a mechanical issue and we had to pull over on the side of the road. It was all okay though because everyone got to play games, hang out, and have snacks while we waiting for the new bus. Once the new bus arrived we had to move our luggage. Then we drove 40 more minutes we arrived to white water rafting where we rafted, jumped off a cliff into the water and ate delicious fresh pineapple, mango, and watermelon. After rafting we went to lunch where we ate casados. Once we finished eating, we checked into our hotel and got settled before learning about bats. Finally, we ate dinner and headed to bed.
Day 1: Traveling to Costa Rica
Written by Lucas and Alex
Today we woke up early and had a small breakfast at the airport. We got on the 5 hour flight from Newark to the Juan Santa Maria airport. We were introduced to our tour guides Diego and Karen here. Then we went to Las Delicias Del Maiz for a delicious meal as our lunch. After that we headed to La Rosa De America and went into the pool and relaxed until we ate dinner. After we were all exhausted so we called it a day.