Day 1

Group members choosing to depart on the designated group flight will be meeting in the Miami airport and traveling together to the capital city of San Jose. Our flight is a great opportunity to start learning people's names and their hometowns. After landing at the international airport, our leaders will help each student clear customs and collect his or her baggage. Since it has been a long travel day for most of us, our group will stay the first two nights in Costa Rica at a local hostel. After a good night sleep, everyone will be anxious to get up and start our orientation in this foreign country. Immediately following breakfast, our introduction to Costa Rica will begin with a fun day of Spanish language and cultural instruction. "Pura Vida" or "Pure Life" is the national saying amongst the local Costa Ricans. After spending just a few days in this Central American Country, it is easy to see why people take such a simple approach to life.

Days 2-3

Over the next two days we'll engage in some informal Spanish Language instruction before venturing off to Arenal National Park. There we'll run the gamut of activities as we engage in a little day hiking around the volcano, caving, floating on a safari boat trip in a wildlife preserve, and soaking ourselves in a naturally-fed hot spring. This is really a wonderful introduction to Costa Rica's diverse landscape. Arenal is the most spectacularly active volcano in Costa Rica. Many people visit the park at night to watch the lava flows and red-hot boulders firing out from the volcano glowing in the nighttime sky! This perfect cone is visible from almost anywhere in the area. Located on the northern edge of the Tilarán range at the east-end of Lake Arenal, Volcán Arenal National Park's elevation ranges from 3,200 to 5,440 feet. The Volcán Arenal had its largest eruption in modern times in 1968, blasting lava and molten boulders from three separate craters to form a new one knocking nearly 165 feet (50 meters) off its previous elevation! While in the area we'll also have the distinct opportunity to observe local wildlife as well. Hopefully we'll get the chance to see the white-nosed coati, howler monkeys, deer, parrot snakes, fer-de-lances, and boa constrictors. Following our visit to the Arenal area we'll spend time preparing for our first service portion of the trip in the remote and rural Savegre Valley.

Days 4-8

Upon arriving in Savegre Valley we'll first familiarize ourselves with our new exotic surroundings. We'll set up our tents, enjoy a delicious hot meal, and discuss the upcoming service portion of our trip. The highlands village is accessed from our campsite with a short walk. There we'll be assisting the local community in a number of ways. Our group will hire a foreman from the village who will provide us with the necessary tools and instruction that we'll need to successfully complete our projects. This year we will be focusing our efforts in a number of areas including assisting the community painting several school buildings, teaching English to the students enrolled at the school, and helping build a teacher's residence building. An incredibly fulfilling venture, by the time our summer service work is complete, we'll have made quite a dramatic impact on this special community. Additionally, we'll also be involved with the local school. Our first day there, the students at the school will welcome our group by performing songs, skits, and music for our group. Last year we helped build a community room for the school as well as some various other painting and restoration projects. While at the school, we'll have the opportunity to interact with the kids and locals when we eat our lunches, as well as play soccer with the students during their free time. Each day will begin with a wonderful and filling breakfast followed by a morning walk to the village. Upon arriving at the village we'll engage in service work until our lunchtime break. After lunch, we'll work until the late afternoon when we return for dinner at our campsite.

Days 9-11

Next up will combine exciting surfing instruction with meaningful community service. Here, our professional surfing instructors will introduce us to this exciting sport in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean. With big wide stable boards, you will be amazed how quickly one can pick up surfing. The beginner beach breaks provide rolling waves that one can ride for several hundred yards. Before you know it, you will be "hanging ten" in Costa Rica. Giving back to these beautiful beaches and the Sea Turtles that live there, we'll learn about Sea Turtle ecology and habitat, conduct nightly beach patrols and participate in beach preservation projects. Collecting data that will be used in worldwide studies on Sea Turtle migration and habitat is an excellent way to immerse even further in this new environment. This is an especially amazing opportunity to work with one of Costa Rica's greatest natural treasures.

Days 12-14

First, we'll embark on our fantastic rafting trip down the mighty Pacuare River, through virgin forests and steep gorges towering above the riverbanks. The Pacuare offers some of the finest rapids in Latin America, as well as an exciting ride down a breathtaking tropical river that winds deep inside one of Costa Rica's most impressive primordial rain forests! After everyone is briefed on safety measures, our remarkable rafting voyage down this renowned river begins. Untouched wilderness stretches out in every direction as your raft squeezes between huge boulders and runs long stretches of powerful rapids. The thick undergrowth provides shelter for jaguars, ocelots, monkeys, sloths and a myriad of species of colorful tropical birds. Costa Rica adventures don't get any better than this! During these final days in Costa Rica we'll return to San Jose where we'll have an opportunity to explore this thriving downtown area. One last chance to soak in the culture as we visit museums, historic spots and restaurants before we meet for our end of the trip banquet. Our departing banquet is a time to celebrate the magic that we just experienced with our new friends from all over the United States. It's also a time to revel in our accomplishments and reminisce over good times. On our final day we'll depart from the San Jose Airport.

 

Please Note: This is a sample day to day itinerary based on service projects we have done in past years. Our service projects are put together carefully each year working with the local communities to find projects that will provide the greatest assistance for those in need. In order to be sure we are working on projects that will be both meaningful and substantive, the exact projects for each year are decided in late spring. Due to the dynamic nature of the needs of the communities, last minute changes are always possible, but they will be replaced with comparable ones.