Exploring, shopping, and dancing, oh my!

Whew! Lots of excersise today! In the morning we went to INBio Park, the Institute of National Biodiversity. We saw plants, animals, insects, and a bunch of other cool stuff! We had lunch there, not as good as the Rancho, but still yummy, then on the way home we first stopped at a local market, and some both handmade and not handmade gifts both for ourselves and others. Then we went to a mall, which was surprisingly similar to one of our malls, and did some more shopping. We got back to the Rancho just in time for dinner, then we had an awesome dance party! A little way in, Alex (little Alex from the Rancho) joined us and rocked out to some Michael Jackson with his sequined glove and fedora (the fedora wasn't sequined, just the glove). he got into a gigantic dance battle with Isaac. Very entertaining! They both were going all out, and of course the rest of us loved it! And then there was a battle of the Michael(Jackson)s with Patrick when Don't Stop Till You Get Enough came on. We salsa-ed, hip-hop-ed, and just plain rocked out to mucic from the 70s all the way to 2011! And when we were done, we all were so hot we jumped straight in the pool, with our clothes on, even the adults! A very, very fun last day in the wonderful country of Costa Rica!

best beach day ever!!!

Today was a busy but awesome day. We got up at 5:30 for breakfast at 6, and left on the bus at 7. We got on our boat, a catamaran, the Manta Raya around 8:00 a.m.. It was an great boat ride. The boat was amazing, with 2 hot-tub-sized pools,  2 large nets suspended flat over the water which you could lay on, and free drinks and fresh fruit served! The weather was beautiful, and we all had a ton of fun. And this was just the first boat ride!

When we arrived at Isla Tortuga, a mostly uninhabited island, causing us to have to bring our own food and supplies, we had a little break before we went snorkeling. The water was nice and clear, so we were able to see plenty of colorful fish! Then after another break, some delicious lunch on the beach, and more ocean swimming, we took turns going on the "banana boat", an inflatable craft which looked like, obviously, a banana, pulled along by another boat. Again, very fun!

Then after more swimming in the crazy wild current, we packed back up and got back on the boat. That four hours went by really fast! The boat ride back was equally, if not more fun, filled with lots of salsaing, relaxing, and just plain dancing! They even played Waka Waka! All in all, this day was muy divertido!  

Back to school!

Well, not Cliff Valley, but we did visit two schools today, first a preschool/kindergarten, then we played a futbol (soccer) game with some 6th graders at the elementary school - La Escuela Gabriel Mistral. The preschoolers were adorable, and we all made at least one special friend. Some of us were even able to try their food (muy delicioso)! We got creamed in our soccer game- a lot to one. Sad. And sweaty. But we felt much better after a dip in the pool. And something very special happened to Abe. He got his first haircut in Costa Rica! And it was a very special haircut. I was lucky and was allowed to come along when he got a C-R shaved into the back of his head. Pret-ty awesome, if I do say so myself. Everyone was very impressed.

 After dinner, we had another super fun activity. With the help of Carlos, we all learned how to salsa dance! We all got into it, even the most reluctant ones were partying it up by the end of the class. Muy divertido!

Alajuela

Today we took a tour of  Alajuela, both  on a bus and walking. We even got to do something extra special. Thanks to Aaron, one of the people who came with us and our tour guide, Carlos, we got to visit a stadium in which one of Costa Rica's professional soccer teams was practicing - La Liega. Suzanne even was able to borrow a ball to take a picture of Isaac with it. Then we got back on the bus, drove around a bit, then began our walking tour.

First we went to the market, which was very busy.  They had some...delicious foods there like pig head and cow tongues, lots of raw meat! Then we got some delicious ice cream in some exotic flavors like guanabana or mango (both of which I got, muy delicioso!) Then we visited a large church, and came back to the rancho for some cooking classes. But before that, we had some special activities, both for kids and parents. parents got Spanish lessons, and kids got to play some games with Carlos. At cooking, we made some delicious pina (or pineapple) empanadas which we had for dessert. Of course no day is complete without more swimming, this time in the dark! Very fun.

Volcan Poas

Today we went on our first adventure, Volcan Poas! We hiked up to the crater, and were able to see all the smoke from the water. If you looked really close, you could just see the greenish-gray water. It was an amazing view! The hike was not very hard, but the altitide made it you feel a bit lightheaded. Then we walked through the cloud forest to  Botos Lake. After some delicious lunch at Rancho, and some more swimming, we went out to La Guacimaand took a bus tour. We stopped at a supermarket, and got some goodies, then stopped at a wonderful bakery and got some delicious pastries. Then, after a long day adventuring, we returned to the Rancho for volleyball, dinner, and more swimming.

We have arrived!

We have all arrived safely in Costa Rica, two of us a day early. We all met up at Rancho de Espanol and have had a great time since, most of it spent at the pool. We all agree the food is delicious, though even the carrots taste like fruit! Some of us were taken on a tour of the fruit trees, and brought back some delicious samples for all. Some also explored La Guacima, the little town 15 minutes walk away. And some just stayed here at the Rancho, swimming and playing with our  new friends Anna and Alex, two children we met here. All in all, it's been a pretty good day.

Getting ready!

Hi, my name is Thea! I am currently in fifth grade at Cliff Valley School. I will be your, I guess you could say, “tour guide” throughout our stay in Costa Rica. I will be blogging to tell you about what’s going on here, and posting pictures. Enjoy!

All year, our class has been working towards this trip, especially on perfecting our Spanish language skills. With the help of our wonderful Spanish teacher, Estela Flores, we have been working on our Spanish as well as learning more useful vocabulary that will help us throughout our stay. Cheryl and Marcus, our teachers, as well as Outdoor Education teacher Kate Sidorski, have also been helping prepare for all the amazing things we will see and do.  Personally, I am extremely excited! Ever since I read the past Costa Rica blogs, even before I was officially a student here, I knew I wanted to do this, be in an amazing new country, and being able to tell you guys about it! This trip was actually one of the first things that drew me to this amazing school. I have a feeling this is going to be a great trip. Stay tuned!