Costa Rica 2022

Click READ MORE for a link to our flight status from Miami to Boston. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL1054/history/20220424/0115Z/KMIA/KBOS

Click READ MORE for a link to our flight status from San Jose to Miami. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL2106/history/20220423/2031Z/MROC/KMIA

The COVID test results are in. All 22 of us tested negative. We are clear to enter the USA tomorrow!

We had a flexible, relaxing morning before traveling back to San Jose. Breakfast was any time between 7:00 and 9:00 am and we started loading the bus at 10:00, so the kids were able to wake up whenever they wanted and do whatever they wanted with the morning. One went surfing, a few laid out on the beach, others walked to town, and some just slept in and recovered. It was a beautiful sunny morning on the beach. Today was another transit day back to the capital. We did stop half way and have a nice buffet lunch and then everyone did a lot of souvenir shopping one last time. Upon arriving at our hotel, we all got tested for COVID (PCR, find out results in morning). Then everyone went to their rooms to settle in before dinner. After dinner the kids will just enjoy themselves in the pool or just socializing. We are all winding down and slowly coming back to reality. While tomorrow is going to be a very long travel day back to Ledyard, we do get to enjoy I nice sunny morning by the pool bef...

We woke up to a spectacular morning of sunshine, calm wind, and the sounds of surf and howler monkeys. I forgot to mention that our hotel is on the beach and the national park entrance is behind our hotel! After breakfast we were off on our park tour. Manuel Antonio National Park is the most popular park in Costa Rica. We saw tons of wildlife. It was a bit crowded at times, so we kept moving past some wildlife, like howler monkeys, which our amazing guide Daniel had already shown us several times before. We saw several sloths, which seems to be everyone’s favorites. Probably one of the highlights of the trip was that we got to spend some up close time with a juvenile 3-toed sloth (we had already seen several 2-toed and 3-toed sloths, but not so close). What was so cool was that he was moving quite a bit. At one point we got to see him move from one branch to another. Doesn’t sound like much, but for a sloth, that’s excitement! We ended up at the most spectacular bay. We spent a couple ...

Today was largely a travel day. But, it started and ended with a bang. We were able to hang out and have a relaxing morning at our cloud forest perch, a.k.a. our hotel. The kids did various things to enjoy our final hours at elevation. Some went for a run, others hiked up a trail, one meditated, I think some did yoga, and others just relaxed and enjoyed the epic views. I know a few, including myself, just enjoyed a cup of coffee and the vibe. It was a good morning. We checked out, had breakfast, and proceeded to make our way off of the mountain. It was a windy, yet breathtaking decent. Once we hit the Panamanian highway, we headed south, but with a couple of stops, the second was at an unusual gathering place for the American crocodile. Typically, they are loners, but where this river meets the sea, they congregate. Below is a picture of a big one! Upon arriving at our destination in Manuel Antonio, we checked in and had the late afternoon off. The kids had lunch, swam in the ocean, an...

Today was the big day of the trip, the Monteverde Cloud Forest. We woke up a little earlier than normal and headed to our best breakfast yet. From there we headed up to the cloud forest proper. We rigged up for the zip-line canopy tour and we were off. It’s kind of hard to describe how special this adventure was. One can go on zip-lines in various places, but this was different. We had 15 rides and the longer ones were a full kilometer. It was a bucket list event for all of us. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos. I brought my phone, but it wasn’t feasible to take shots. But, many of the students purchased a professional photo plan, so once they get their electronic photos, we’ll share a few. Suffice it to say photos or not, this was one of the highlights of all of our lives. From there, we took a 45 minute break to regroup, eat, relax, and pack again for our next adventure into the cloud forest. We hiked for over 2 hours in the forest crossing countless bridges, some short, some lo...

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Today was part transfer day and part adventure. We spent much of the morning traveling from La Fortuna to the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Our main adventure today was riding horses into the forest and exploring. It was hard to take photos from the horses, so not so many photos today, sorry. After our ride we enjoyed a little free time in town exploring, then we headed to our new hotel, which is simply stunning. It sits up on the hill right at the transition zone into the 100% untouched high altitude part of the forest. We are at 4,000 feet and are often above the clouds. The kids really enjoyed the horses and are pretty blown away with how nice the hotel is. After checking in, most went for a swim, then we all showered and went out to dinner. Upon returning, some headed right to bed, as we have a long day tomorrow, while others spent a couple of hours outside enjoying the sounds of wildlife and the cool, fresh air. The weather is so perfect here that the rooms don’t have air conditioning ...

This photo sums up our two days in the San Carlos region: magical. Photo taken at night by Robert Campbell. 

We rose earlier today, had breakfast, and then hit the road north to the Nicaraguan border, Caño Negro, and the Río Frío. Upon arriving we jumped right into our boat for the morning and headed up the river. This was truly an amazing experience! We saw countless species of birds, reptiles, and mammals. Some of the highlights were the howler monkeys, the capuchin monkeys, and a sloth! I seemed to take mostly photos of wildlife today, so I include just some of what we saw below. After our morning on the river, we had a nice Costa Rican lunch and then headed home. Half the group was dropped off in the center of La Fortuna to explore for an hour before walking out of town back to our secluded “hotel” (I put hotel in quotes, b/c we have our own private cabins :). The other half came back to the hotel for a long afternoon of swimming, chatting, and enjoying the views of the volcano. The walking group met up with the swim group to round out an afternoon of more swimming, fun, and relaxation. E...

Click on READ MORE to see the full post and photos… Today was another wonderful day. After a buffet breakfast we hopped on our bus for a 3 hour trip north and east to the Caribbean side of the central mountain range. As we reached the highest pass we stopped at a gift shop, stretched our legs, and took in the views (I was so caught up in the beauty of the moment that I forgot to take a photo). From there we descended and headed to our first destination, La Fortuna. As we approached town, the famous Arenal Volcano appeared from the clouds. We arrived and spent an hour exploring the center and enjoying the park. After a feast and a half, we checked into our hotel and headed to “hot springs” up on the volcano. The hot springs turned out to be more than hot springs, there were 28 pools of all different temperatures. The top pools had water slides. Needless to say, the kids were trilled! They spent over 2 hours enjoying. There was even a natural “sauna” where our 4 Chamber Choir members ent...

Click on READ MORE to see the full post and photos… We had quite the day. We met up at the high school at 1:00 am, then headed to Boston. Fourteen hours later we cleared customs in San Jose, Costa Rica, and the fun began. We headed to the city center for food. The kids broke into groups and explored and ate. We all went to the bank to withdraw Colones, the local currency. Then we proceeded to have a guided tour of the city from our tour guide, Daniel. He is amazing. We already started seeing wildlife! Daniel gave us a passionate history of his country and explained all the trip details. After about 3 hours of touring the city we headed to our hotel. The kids still had lots of energy and headed straight to the pool for some fun. We had a nice dinner across the street from our hotel and they all enjoyed cleaning up and winding down after a very long day. Note to parents, it’s 2 hours earlier here. I usually do my posts after dinner, so if you don’t see a post before you go to bed, check ...

We arrived in Costa Rica. It took a little while to clear immigrations and customs. But we’re on the bus and on our way to get some food, see the city, and then go relax at the hotel. 

Click "Read More" in the lower left (or below) for a link to our flight status from Miami to San Jose, CR. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL1593/history/20220415/1437Z/KMIA/MROC

Click "Read More" in the lower left (or below) for a link to our flight status from Boston to Miami. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL1418/history/20220415/0951Z/KBOS/KMIA

 We had our final planning meeting tonight. The final countdown has begun!