2023 Ranney School Costa Rica Conservation Expedition

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Saying goodbye to Costa Rica

Written by Mia and Victoria
This morning, we woke up and drove to La Fortuna waterfall. There we had to walk over 500 steps to get to the swimming area. Although the water was a bit cold and had current, we had a lot of fun. After this, we grabbed a quick lunch and went shopping. At the shop they had a variety of products, including traditional art. Once we were finished, we went back to the first hotel we stayed at, had dinner, and prepared for an early morning. Overall, the trip was filled with fun moments and unforgettable memories.

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

Written by Jack and Gavin
Today, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. There were many options such as pancakes, eggs, and yogurt. After breakfast, the group hopped on the bus and headed back to the La Selva Research Station. We learned a lot about our carbon footprint. We split up into groups of 5 and went out into the forest. We used a compass, a map, and measuring tape to locate and measure the DBH(diameter at breast height) of different species of trees. After collecting this data, we returned to the building. We used this data to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide these trees sequester per year. After that, we had lunch at a local restaurant and we saw a group of macaws in a tree on our way out. We went back to the hotel for a rest, and then we headed to the pitch to play a soccer match with the locals. We may have lost, but we made many new friends. After the match, we had dinner at a local restaurant. Then, the group went on a night hike through the rain forest, where we saw many different animals such as iguanas, snakes, and bats. Finally, we headed back to the hotel and got some sleep.

Day 5: Experiencia the Rainforest of Costa Rica

Written by Dev and Connoly 
Today we woke up at 7 and ate a traditional Costa Rican breakfast with some American elements buffet style, we then swiftly hopped on the bus and made our way to the rainforest where we were divided into groups of four. In these groups with our guide we ventured into the rainforest and we participated in a scavenger hunt looking for different species of plants in the rainforest that matched the clues given. For every item found the guide gave the person who spotted it a button. At the end the person in each group with the most buttons won some candy. We then went to lunch where people ordered a variety of Costa Rican food. Excitingly, it was time to go to the waterfall. It was a sight to behold and we swam for a while until it started to rain. The rain got increasingly harder forcing us to go back to the hotel and wait for dinner at 6:30. Dinner was at the hotel and we had a great meal consisting of many foods, most notably the yuca, which is essentially a tree root that tastes like a potato. Then we headed to our rooms with a 10pm curfew and got some sleep.

Day 4: Exploring Costa Rican Rainforest

Written by Micah and Alivia
Today we learned more about the ecosystems of the Costa Rican rainforests. First, we started off with an early morning (breakfast at 6:30!) and left our hotel for La Selva Biological Station, where we took both morning and afternoon hikes in the forests with the Organization of Tropical Studies. We saw a wide variety of animals, including two types of monkeys (spider and howlers), colorful birds, poison dart frogs, and tons of insects and bugs such as the fascinating leafcutter ants that often crossed our path. During our time there, we endured the heat and humidity of this tropical area and even made time for two rounds of Mafia. After that, we arrived at our next hotel where we had some free time before a pizza dinner. Post-dinner, we had even more free time to explore the new area before heading back to our rooms and going to bed.

Day 3: Flavors of Costa Rica

Written by Justin B and Sean

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.

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