Zip Lining Photos & Video

Here are some pictures I took of our Zip Lining adventure. The video is of David zipping down the line!

Arenal Hot Springs Video

Here's a neat video of some fun at the hot springs!

Slide Shows Galore

As the days progress and we upload all of our favorites to the Eco-Club Flickr account, I will post slide shows of the trip. They will be works in progress, and I will probably re-post shows as they're updated. Let's see if we can organize an estimated 8,000 - 10,000 photos into manageable representations of our trip. I think we're up to the challenge...enjoy!







This final slide show is a collection of photos we purchased from one of the rafting guides. He gave us permission to use them as we like, so here we go. Enjoy!

Welcome Back

Even though we had an absolute blast in Costa Rica, it is certainly good to be home and enjoy some of my more usual customs (such as watching the RedSox!). I am elated that the expedition to Costa Rica was such a huge success. The students were wonderful, they stayed focused and behaved spectacularly throughout the trip. Many of the boys even took part in some dinner table etiquette lessons along the way, no easy feat considering the appetites everyone was working up.

Reflecting on the trip, it is hard to pick any particular moment or event as a favorite. Sifting through the hundreds of photographs and videos I took myself, the challenge of coordinating all of our students' media seems insurmountable... it will be a challenge left for the other Eco-Club leaders and me to figure out in the coming days before our first "Post-Costa Rica" meeting this coming Wednesday. Students will definitely want to bring a CD, flash drive, or even their camera containing their photographs to school.

Sorry I had to take the videoblog down that was here earlier. I misunderstood those pesky copyright laws surrounding music and educational use. Next time I will have to remember that if I intend to use or show something on the web, the media has to be free to use by the public! I'm not sure the RCA records would have minded anyway (isn't any press good press?) but it's better not to take that chance.

Resplendent Quetzal photo

Here is the photo I got through the guide's scope of the Quetzal.

Mr. Williams

Home at Last

OK, so we got back yesterday and I already miss it. I didn't post yet (I fell asleep on the bus on Friday when all the people who hadn't posted yet were supposed to) so I'm just writing down the highlights now. We had an amazing time at all of our hotels, and our pen pals were amazing. Our guides were incredible, (Thanks so much, Edgar and Roberto!) and we had the coolest bus driver (Thanks to you, too, Olamar!). I can't believe we're home. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wanted to sleep forever after that trip. I can't believe how much we did in those few days! Each day was jam-packed with stuff, and we got to see so many highlights of the country. We also had incredible luck, since we got to see a sloth, a monkey, lizards, bats, AND a quetzal. I'm still reeling from the experience. Thanks to everyone!
-Amanda

Soccer and Pen Pals in the Clouds

Yesterday, we had the best games of soccer ever! We played on the tennis court, which had two small metal goals, and almost everyone played or watched. I hadn’t played a real game of soccer in over a year, so I wasn’t expecting much. But I surprised myself and did pretty well at offense and defense for someone who hasn’t played in a long time. I even scored three goals for the girls’ team in the smaller game! Today, we met our pen pals at the Cloud Forest School, and learned a little bit about their lives here in Costa Rica. We exchanged emails and facebooks to keep in touch. I can’t believe we’re leaving tomorrow!

- Laura

Zip Lining through Costa Rica

Today we went zip lining in the forest and it was really fun! I think it was really fun to zoom into the air but the harnesses were really uncomfortable. I was really exited up until the time we were about to jump and I got nervous, but I started to really have fun. The most nerve-wracking part was when we were standing on the very small stands high up in the trees waiting to plunge to your “death”. Over all, I really loved to go zip lining.

- Christine

Zip Line and Pen Pals

Today we went zip lining. It was amazing, but also kind of scary… well, for me at least. Over all I really enjoyed it! There were those moments, although, where I wished I was somewhere else. Like when I went straight down using a rope from up pretty high, or the last two cords, (both about 150 feet high, and like 1200 feet long), one of which I went upside down on. Also finally meeting our pen pals was great. My pen pal's name is Douglas. It was so fun to meet him. We talked about soccer and school and other activities that we do. I think that today and the white water rafting day were my favorite days in the whole trip!

- Carolyn

Wild Animal Life

Costa Rica contains 5% of the world’s animal species. It’s amazing how many of these we saw in less than a week. We saw a (dead) fer-de-lance, bats, wild rabbits, and many types of livestock and dogs. The bird life was the most numerous, as we saw many small singing birds, huge flocks of vultures and kites, and several toucans and parrots. But my personal favorite was the quetzal, probably the most secretive bird in the country. Costa Rica is full of wildlife we would have never seen at home.

- Brian

Quetzal Sighting

Wednesday, April 22nd

A highlight for everyone today was seeing a pair of Resplendent Quetzals. During our walk through the Monteverde Cloudforest, we heard a male bird calling. However, we did not see this elusive bird. After the walk, we all got onto the bus, and as we were ready to go, another guide came jogging up the road telling our guide that they had spotted the bird. We all walked silently down the road a bit to where there were a few people gathered around a spotting scope. The guide carefully directed our attention to where the bird was and soon many of our group could spot it with their naked eye or with their binoculars. Three feet away from the male bird was the female. The male Resplendent Quetzal is a stunning bird. The male is about 14” tall with long, green tail-like, feather streamers extending another 25”! It is mostly glittering green with a crimson colored belly. It has a distinctive crest with a small, yellow bill.

The guide then kindly offered us the chance to see this remarkable bird through his scope. One at a time, everyone in our group got a phenomenal look at the Costa Rican national bird. The guide then took several of the students’ cameras and took “digiscope” photos of the bird through the spotting scope.

Many bird watchers travel thousands of miles and spend mucho dinero in an attempt to see this fantastic bird. Many are unsuccessful. We got lucky and, due to the generous spirit of that local guide, we all saw a very special “life” bird! Pura vida!

Yoga in Paradise

One of the most wonderful parts of this trip for me has been teaching yoga to students in such a beautiful setting. We will post a few more photos of this soon, but do know that some of your daughters (sorry, no sons!) will come home teaching you a little about downward dog, tree pose, and the famous mountain pose. It was a joy to spend time sharing this wonderful way to start the day with your kids.

Monteverde Pictures

Pura Vida

It is an amazing trip for me, at the biggining because everybody just met on the firts two days, I felt so shy, but them when I had the opportunity to have a close contact with the kids and the teachers, and I knew this was going to be a wonderful and unforgetable experience in my life. Is so impressive how a simple football soccer game, united all the group as a great and unique group of friends, no one was worried about to win, it was just laughs and everybody sweting happiness.
It´s been a great experience, sharing with this friends of Walter Parker middle school, they taugh me that simple things in life, are the most valuable in life.
In our lifes, there are some memories that you keep in your mind, but eventually as the time pass by, days, months, years, they dessapear, however there are special memories that you keep and lock in your heart and it doesn´t matter that years or centuries pass, they will remain forever.
You are one of those special memories and you we´ll be in my heart, thank you so much for the greatest gift you gave to me, FRIENDSHIP, God bless all of you.
Roberto Aguilar Torres.

Fellow Travelers Have Taken Notice...

It has been such a fantastic week traveling Costa Rica with our Eco-Club adventurers. Many people have traveling the country with us have taken notice of the excellent behavior exhibited by the students. Numerous travelers have been following similar paths through the Costa Rican countryside have approached the students and chaperones, asking us where we are from and commenting on how well behaved our young explorers have been. It has been great to hear and an excellent segue to explaining what we do and where they can find this blog. I hope our fellow world travelers have been watching!!!

We return to La Condessa this evening. We should have time then to post some of the wonderful photos and movies our students have been taking!

A Day in the Clouds

Today we went to the Monteverde Cloudforest National Park. We saw millipedes, frog eggs, a great waterfall, a white-nosed coati, and the best of all, we saw a resplendent quetzal.

We also went to the Hummingbird Gallery and saw a lot of hummingbirds in their natural habitat face to face and heard the noise they make when they fly right past your ear.

The final stop we made was the frog pond where we got up close to frogs that were in replicas of their natural habitats.

Now I am on my way to play soccer with our tour guides...Adios!

- Billy

Cultural Adventures

Yesterday we did many exciting things. In the morning, everyone got up at 5:30 to go on a bird hike through the rainforest. We went on a hanging bridge, which was fun, but also very scary. Then we came back and checked our traps that were up overnight for bat guano. We gathered the seeds and brought them back to the lab to identify them. At 2:00, everyone went white-water rafting. We went on many different types of rapids. It was very fun. We took a break and had a huge splash fight. It started as a little joke, then it became girls verses boys, and then it became an every-man-for-himself fight. Everyone got soaked. Then at night, we had a culture night. We learned to cook and dance the salsa. We had so much fun dancing.

Pura Vida!
~Monica, Geena, Emily

Quotes from the Kids

Ray – We had a lot of fun when we stopped in the river and played in the water (during the rafting.) It was really refreshing!

Jack – I LOVED the whitewater rafting, it was exciting.

Sam – I loved the pineapple.

Amanda – The water fights where we were using the helmets to dump water on each other’s heads.

Will – The white-water rafting was a blast ☺

Billy – I loved the white water rafting, but I still can’t wait to go on the zipline!

Laura – Our team totally won the water fight.

Christine – It was fun to learn how to cook and dance at the community center.

Connor – I liked dancing the salsa.

David - I loved the dancing.

Rafting, Dancing and Cooking, Oh My!

Yesterday we all went on a cultural night where we learned how to dance the Salsa and the Marengue. We also learned how to cook special dough-like balls that were full of cheese and drowned in grease from the deep fryer. Mr. Musselman and Ray found out the greasy part the messy way!

Another activity that we participated in yesterday was white-water rafting. There were 5 groups, each on different boats with 4 kids, 1 teacher and 1 rafting instructor. We got to experience the Sarapiqui River up close and the rapids within them. The earthquake that happened a few months ago, however, and the normally bluish water had turned a sediment brownish color. Also, many trees and boulders were pushed down into the river and riverbank as a result of the quake, and the water level was affected as well. But that did not take away from the fun experience as we paddled through the rapids. Everyone had fun and lots of great memories were made on the river.

Jack

(More rafting images to come on Flickr soon!)

Water, water everywhere...is it safe to drink?

Yesterday in the afternoon we got to go down to the river, which I don’t know how to spell. First, we did some physical tests on the water. After observing it we said it looked good. During this process we were distracted by a lot of frogs including one poison dart frog.

Second, we did some chemical tests on the river to see if it was safe to go rafting in. We tested the temperature, pH, Nitrate, Carbon Dioxide, Oxygen, and Hydrogen Sulfides. After testing these six things our data concluded that the water was safe to swim in chemically.

Finally, we did a biological test by catching bugs. When we caught as many bugs as we could we used a scientific equation to calculate if the river was good biologically. It fell into the category saying the river was good but not great. Time for white-water rafting!

Connor

Rainforest Adventure

We had to get up really early yesterday, at about 5 o’clock. We spent the morning in the gardens of the rainforest lodge, but it was a real blast when we finally got out into the real rainforest. We took a long hike where we got to see incredibly dense green forests, but the highlight of the hike was the bridge.

It started raining the moment we reached a long, green bridge that cut through the forest. The rickety bridge seemed to go on forever and was 75 feet up. Twice, we emerged from the forest and were over large, flowing rivers. It was pretty nerve-racking, but an amazing experience.

Ray

Day 2, Part 2: Sarapiqui

La Condesa and Sarapiqui in Pictures

Day 2, Part 1: Sarapiqui

The Internet is (amazingly) available in the rainforest but uploading a 5 minute video is proving to be a bit challenging. So...here it is, in two parts. Enjoy!

Bats in Costa Rica

Today we had a very busy day. Along with all the other things we focused the majority of our time on BATS!!!!! First we learned about the background of bats and how to identify the different species. We also learned how people have a pre-conceived ideas about bats and think that they are icky but they are totally COOL! After our orientation we set up feces collectors to tell how the bats spread the seeds that they eat. We had dinner and afterwards we went back and put up mist net to try to catch a bat to learn about them. Then we switched groups and got another orientation. After we learned all of these things we saw real bats and got to touch them. We got to touch the wings. It was such a thin leathery membrane. Violet and I were afraid we were going to break it. These bats were definitely the highlight of our day!!!
-Meghan and Violet-

Pictures to come soon, but it's almost 10, we've been up since 7 and we have a 5AM wakeup to see what the feces collectors have for us to find! Students are trying to determine whether or not bats are responsible for spreading the seeds of the fruits they eat to clearings in and around the Sarapiqui rainforest and river. The students have hypothesized that these seeds would grow into fruit plants and become the first stage in a succession of a developing rainforest. Tomorrow can't come sooner!
-Mr. Musselman-

La Condesa and Sarapiqui Video

Miss Connolly has put together a beautiful movie including many pictures and short clips the students have taken over the course of the first day. Unfortunately our schedule has been so packed that we haven't had an opportunity to be near the wireless internet long enough to upload the video! We'll post as soon as we can!

On the Way to Costa Rica

Welcome to Costa Rica!

It's past 1:00am Costa Rica time and we've just settled into our hotel rooms. It's been a very long day, but after a delay in Dallas, we're all safe and sound in our rooms.

We have lots of video already, but Ms. Nichols and Miss Connolly need to rest, too. We will post again when we can.

Costa Rica's stars are beautiful already, the people are welcoming and gracious, and they make the most amazing food.

Up for tomorrow: Sarapiqui!

Ready to go

It's great to see everyone excited and ready to go! We hope you all have a great trip to Costa Rica!

This is Violet and my volice thread!!:)-Meghan

One-of-a-Kind Orchids

Shopping & Packing

Well, I went out and bought a suitcase today, so I guess I am going to Costa Rica! I then headed over to REI where I bought 6 packs of Gatorade to add to my water, a small, chamois-like towel, sunscreen, bug spray, Nikwax - a waterproofing spray used to rejuvenate my GoreTex shell, and a vest. I wanted something light to wear that had lots of pockets and space to put stuff so I wouldn't always have to be swinging my backpack off and on. I can use this vest for birding and fishin' when I get home.
Then I stopped off at CVS where I picked up some toiletries, Imodium, and Pepto Chewables.
I then laid out all of my "stuff" and my clothing and I think I am in really good shape! I have 7 light-weight, quick drying shirts, both tee and button up style. I have 3 pairs of long pants that are quick drying, 2 of which can be unzipped to make shorts. I also have one pair of decent looking pants to wear on the plane. I have 3 pairs of shorts, 2 that are quick drying and can serve as bathing suits. Socks (3 white, "quick-dry", and 4 white cotton), underwear, a belt, and 3 pairs of shoes - 1 of which is a water shoe. All of the shoes are old, broken in, comfortable, and I don't care if they get wet and muddy. I also have a PolarTec pullover, a windbreaker, my GoreTex rain shell, a Mr. Musselman style hat, an umbrella, a Red Sox hat, binoculars, Costa Rica bird book, a Costa Rican bird list, a whistle with a compass, my Leatherman tool, a small flashlight, my digital camera, and a Croakie for my glasses in case I fall in rafting or am upside down on a zipline!
I'll review the packing list WorldStrides gave us on Monday and then see what else I'll need to get. One week from now we'll be in the air and on our way!
Mr. Williams

What?! Less Than 2 Weeks!?

I can't believe we only have two weeks until departure. I have to say, I can't wait to get on that plane. I took a good look at the hotels this weekend, and the homepage of the Centro Neotropico Sarapiquis eco-lodging caught my eye because of the two links on the graphic in the upper left corner (they're the little boxes in the picture to the left). Check out the Flora and Fauna and Costa Rica pop-up windows here.

At home, I have two orchid plants that have bloomed only once in my care. They're not very hard to keep alive but in general, it's very hard to make them flower. For obvious reasons, living in Massachusetts makes it exceptionally hard for a tropical plant to flourish. I can't express in words how excited I am to see these beautiful plants living in their native environments and blooming to their fullest. Staying at the Volcano Lodge will be an experience of a lifetime.

We are going to one of the most incredible places on earth. Are you ready?

Travel Connection Concerns Be Gone!

When Miss Connolly put out the travel itinerary to Costa Rica a few weeks ago, there was some nail biting about whether or not the hour long layover at Dallas/Fort Worth would be enough time to get 25 travelers through customs and to the terminal for our connecting flight to San Jose. After all, the thought of moving from one terminal to another at Logan is enough to give any seasoned traveler a headache.

Such is not the case however at Dallas/Fort Worth. All five of the airports terminal are interconnected by Skylink, a state-of-the-art monorail system that runs between terminals A-E with short travels times between terminals and even shorter wait times for the trams. The real kicker? Travelers do not have to leave the secured terminals to use Skylink, which means no standing back in line for baggage checks and shoe inspections! I know this puts my mind at ease... the last thing I think everyone wants is an impromptu "airport scavenger hunt" to help make an 8 hour delay layover go by faster!

Arenal Volcano

As a geologist, I can not describe how excited I am to see the Arenal Volcano up close and personal. Being able to see flowing lava will be a first for me. I have been twice to Mount St. Helens in Washington State, a volcano that erupted in 1980, spewing an ash cloud that extended across much of the Northern plains of the U.S. and was detected in trace amounts around all around the northern hemisphere. My first visit was in the early 1990's. Logging trucks were still clearing away trees from the surrounding countryside that had been downed by the volcano's horizontal blast (see video below.) I visited again in 2005. This time there were no more logging trucks, but instead smaller plants and grasses had begun to regrow around the volcano's vacinity, the first step to replenishing the once fertile soil that covered the region.



Both Arenal and St. Helens are known as stratovolcanoes. Stratovolcanoes are cone shaped volcanoes that have alternating periods of large explosive eruptions and lengthy, more slow flowing eruptions. Mount St. Helens is currently in a quiet period, with pressures slowly building underneath the surface. A year ago St. Helens experienced a minor eruption relieving some of the building pressure without a giant explosion. Arenal's current eruption has been going since 2000, when a violent eruption destroyed some nearby villages and even killed some natives before the eruption took on its more quiescent nature of today. Both volcanoes are along the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and are a result of subducting oceanic crust underneath the North American continental plate. See clips of the erupting Arenal Volcano in the video below.

Costa Rica expectations

I am really getting psyched about this trip! There are so many things I am excited about possibly seeing and doing. The Arenal volcano, plants of the rainforest, mist nets & bats, white water rafting (I have never been before), wild monkeys, walking in the tree tops, and of course, the birds! I would love to see a Resplendent Quetzal along with many other of the Costa Rican birds.

Mr. Williams

Techno Thank You: The Wonders and the Blunders!

Two weeks ago, the Eco-Club was welcomed with open arms to the Harvard Herbaria, where the wonderful assistant curators gave a tremendous presentation on herbology and the vast collection of plant specimen from around the world housed and preserved on the Harvard campus. Students learned about plant classification, co-evolution of plants and animals, and saw a number of exotic and fascinating plant forms from Costa Rica and other central american countries.

To thank our new friends at the Harvard Herbaria, the students took time out of the April 1st Eco-Club meeting to record thank yous and reflections on their "favorite moments" from the field trip. It was a privilege to oversee the taping sessions and a delight to hear first-hand how much they had all taken in from their experience. I was excited to pool all the recordings together and combine them into one big thank you to publish for the world to see!

To my horror I was reminded later that day of how technology giveth and technology taketh away! I still feel the experience was rewarding for the students, and will help them when they go to record their own video clips while in Costa Rica, but this time around a simple over-sized thank you card might have sufficed! (sigh) We all have our off days...

See what I mean by watching the video posted here:

The Exotic Costa Rican Experience

We are excited to go to Costa Rica because...

• I'm thrilled to go zip lining through the Monteverde rain forest.
• I want to see new types of frogs at the Monteverde Frog Pond.
• I can't wait to learn about Costa Rican culture and customs.
• Seeing the Arenal volcano erupt will be amazing.
• I'm looking forward to swimming in the volcano hot springs.
• I'm excited to go white water rafting.

- Sam, Jared, Christine, Carolyn, Bobby, Monica

Me Encanta Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a very beautiful and diverse country and we're excited to be traveling there. Here are some reasons why:

1. I'm looking forward to seeing wild monkeys and toucans.
2. I'm excited to see (but not touch!) the tapir and volcanoes.
3. I can't wait to go back again to see the things I missed.
4. I can't wait to experience a different culture.
5. From the pictures I've seen, it looks very beautiful.

- Emily, William, Brian, Meghan, Violet

Five Reasons We're Counting Down to Costa Rica

Here are some of our thoughts before embarking on our adventure:

• I am ecstatic about going white water rafting in the Sarapiqui River!
• I'm looking forward to seeing the rain forest from above on the zip line.
• I hope the volcano erupts while we're there!
• I would like to see the colorful birds in the dense rain forest.
• I am excited to see the monkeys and frogs.

- Ben, Amanda, Laura, David, Billy