Beach Day

Today was quite the relaxing day.  A little bit of trails through Manuel Antonio National Park brought us to a beautiful beach.  The Pacific Ocean rose up to meet us in a beautifal cove that protected us from the strongest of the waves.  A few daring raccoons and curious monkeys kept us on our toes.  There were a few pink faces at the end of the day despite repeated warnings about the importance of massive amounts of sunblock.  Yet another reminder that people learn from experience.  Unfortunately, they gotta burn to learn.

Tomorrow we plant mangroves!

I leave you with a picture that we should all look at every Wednesday afternoon.  Enjoy!

Bus rides and beaches and crocs, OH MY!

There's nothing like a beach and a frisbee to bring people together. A long bus ride and several games of contact don't hurt either. Today we crossed the continental divide from the north, Caribbean side, to the slightly dryer central pacific coast. Just south of Jaco we stopped at a small, rural grade school and met the children. They danced for us and the students threw around a football that one boy had. With 54 students, only a few teachers, and minimal funding, they do the best they can with what they have. It puts into perspective how lucky our students are to have the opportunities they have. Asking what she needs, the principal/teacher/counselor said simple things: shoes, notebooks, textbooks, pens, pencils, basics that facilitate the learning process. Simple things that make a big difference. I took her information and told her we would be in touch. Hopefully we can foster a lasting partnership and help in whatever ways we can.

Instead of a 2 hour hike in Carara today in the hot hot weather, we instead went on a crocodile cruise down the Sarapiqi river.  We'll go to Carrara another day. Our tour director, Margel, is very responsive to the needs of the group.  We watched as our guide, Santiago, walked right up and fed raw chicken to 3 different crocodiles.  Que impressivo!  Video forthcoming once the rest of the pictures upload to the Picasa album.

Playa Bejuco, our new hotel for the next 3 nights, is quite nice and only 100 meters away from black sand beaches of the Pacific Ocean. (FYI, black sand comes from the surrounding volcanos, which is awesome!).  This was Matt and my first time seeing the Pacifico, so we high-fives accordingly.

Tomorrow: Manuel Antonio National Park

Look for the helpers.

Today I am glad for wifi and social media. Even though bad news spreads fast, our inter-connectivity also allowed families to touch base and make sure loved ones were safe in a matter of hours. Our thoughts are with all the families involved with the tragedy today.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping,'" ~Mr. Rodgers


Today was a day of highs and lows. Literally.  The morning found us zip lining in the shadow of the Arenal volcano. We made our way through the treetops platform to platform, cable after cable, inevitably discussing potential and kinetic energy, friction and velocity, waves and tension. There's another physics teacher with the Cambridge group as well :). Afterwards, we learned about the Melacu tribe in northern Costa Rica of only 650 struggling to preserve their culture and way of life. Their numbers are declining and it makes me think. As the world becomes a smaller place, and we feel ever more connected globally, what are we losing? What is sacrificed in the name of progress and market forces?  How might we maintain cultural identity without resorting to isolationism?

As our morning sailed from high platforms to low platforms, our afternoon included a 500 stair climb down to the bottom of La Fortuna waterfall. As water dropped straight down a vertical 75 meter cliff into a small pool and subsequent stream, we were struck by the beauty and power of nature. Students played frisbee and skipped stones in the water, and many braved the perimeter of the chilly misty waterfall itself (not TOO close though). Feeling like I was on a set from Lost, I couldn't help but fear for places that are equally as beautiful, but in danger. Land is being cleared for grazing cattle, pineapple farming, etc without regard to how much is cut where. Where and how do animals migrate through the area? Exposing more forest may mean drying out more forest, which means less moisture in the air, which means less precipitation, which means less water to use for hydroelectric power (currently the source of 80% of Costa Rica's energy). Nature's problems are our problems whether or not we have the foresight or political will to do deal with them.

Even when environmental problems seem daunting, impossible even, Mr. Rogers is right. We should look to the helpers. Earth University, INBIOparque, local universities, local non-profits that are taking action, raising awareness, and making a difference in whatever way they can.

Look to the helpers, and then be one.

As the toads go, so goes the world

We spent the morning at INBIOparque and explored the immense biodiversity found in Costa Rica. A country with 0.03% of the land area in the world accounts for nearly 5% of its biodiversity. Toads are actually one indicator of climate change. As the temperature changes, they move to different climates. So what? They're just toads. Their disappearance has ripple effects throughout the rain forest, upsetting the delicate balance that exists. A delicate balance that is a house of cards ready to come down. How do we mitigate the effects? How do we get back to the symbiosis we once had with nature? If nothing else than for our own survival.

On the way to La Fortuna, traffic was quite heavy and our bus driver Jose displayed his expert skills again squeezing us through places I wouldn't even take my Prius. Evidently there was a strawberry festival and everyone decided to park on the debatably 2 lane mountain road. It was quite the strawberry jam (thank you for that Maria). We napped a bit, stopped for lunch, took a group photo at La Paz waterfall, and entertained ourselves with word games.

The evening found us relaxing at the Baldi hot springs. Geothermally heated at the foot of the volcano, several pools of warm and downright hot water relaxed the day away.

At the end of the day I am left reflecting on our own social instincts. The take away lesson from the morning was the environment's inherent and essential interdependence, a delicate balance that allows life to thrive in such rich and beautiful ways. Similarly, it is our own interdependence we hope to cultivate amongst each other because it is only together that these problems can be solved. It is only together that we can create the solutions. Most importantly, it is only together that we can implement those solutions, make them a reality, and rekindle the interdependence with nature from which we have strayed. Otherwise we too will follow the toads looking for better climates.

Glocal Challenge Cambridge: Hot Springs in Arenal!

Glocal Challenge Cambridge: Hot Springs in Arenal!: Hot Springs in Arenal!

This a blog written by the group we're traveling with from Cambridge.  Great kids, great chaperones.  Check it out!

Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!

'twas the night before tour
And all through Hotel Colaye
Not a student was stirring,
Cause traveling tired'em out, yeah!

After a successfully uneventful two flights, we have arrived in Costa Rica!  We met our touring partners, 10 students and 4 chaperones from Cambridge, MA and hopped on our very nice coach bus expertly guided through the streets of San Jose by the one and only Jose, bus driver extraordinaire.  Margel Valentine, our equally talented tour director, gave us the play by play for tonight and tomorrow, and we arrived at Hotel Colaye shortly after 11pm with a sandwich, cookies, and a juice box (mixed fruit flavor here means banana, mango, and pineapple) waiting for each of us.  Students enjoyed a few minutes in the open patio before adjourning to their rooms for a midnight curfew.  Jon Blachley from EF Tours (you met him at the first info meeting) is traveling with us as well, so for those keeping score, that's 8 chaperones for 23 students.  I like these odds.  :)  

4 room checks later, I can report that all are safe and sound and tired.  Tomorrow we go to INBioparque, a biodiversity center, and La Fortuna where we'll have a chance to swim in the hot springs!  7am comes early, so that's all for tonight.

Adios!  Pura Vida!
Jon Jasinski

Vamanos!!!