Día 1, 02 junio 2019: Llegamos a Costa Rica, nos trasladamos del aeropuerto hacia restaurante de la zona de san Joaquín de Heredia, donde disfrutamos de un delicioso almuerzo, luego caminamos un poco por el centro de san Joaquín, conociendo de la cultura y costumbres del tico (costarricense). Caminamos hasta el CPI donde conocimos de las instalaciones y una charla de orientación, también conocimos a las familias ticas y por último a descansar.
Day 1.
Welcome to Costa Rica! After arriving in Costa Rica, the group had lunch at El Jardín Liberia. This place is well known for serving typical Costa Rican food. After that, we departed to Monteverde where the students will spend a whole week immersing themselves in the language and they will learn about the culture and have many fun activities. Before meeting the families, the group received a helpful orientation where the students learned a little about Costa Rica. Finally, each student met their new host family and spend the rest of the day with them.
Day 2 & 3.
We started our day by doing fun activities. Since we have a big group, we divided them into two smaller groups. Group 1 visited Sky Trek to do ziplining.We started riding tram up the mountain and from there we rode seven cables that go up to 328 ft in height and 2460 ft in length. This was a unique experience for the students.After a fun morning the group had lunch at Sabor Tico and the departed to school. Here at Centro Panamericano de Idiomas (CPI) the students will receive four hours of Spanish classes with a 20 minutes break in between. In other hand, group 2 had the opportunity to visit El Trapiche. Here at El Trapiche the students learned how sugar, coffee and chocolate are made in Costa Rica. This wonderful tour helps students to expend their knowledge and also learn more about the economy of Costa Rica. After the tour, the group had a delicious lunch and departed to CPI for their first Spanish class. Finally, the students had dinner with their host families. On Tuesday, group 1 visited El Trapiche and group 2 visited Sky Trek. Each group had the opportunity to visit both places in different days.
Day 4 & 5.
Another canopy day! On Wednesday group 1 visited Aventura. This wonderful place has the longest zipline in Latin America and includes 11 ziplines, 2 thrilling superman cables, where the students literally can fly over the forest, just like superman. Finally, it includes a Tarzan Swing. This was a unique experience for all the students and teachers, they really enjoyed doing canopy. In the other hand, group 2 had the amazing opportunity to visit Escuela Altos de San Luis to do volunteer work. The students from Altos de San Luis prepared some of the most typical dances from Costa Rica. While our students were appreciating the wonderful dances, they also had the opportunity to dance with local kids. In the top of that, they play games and taught English to the local students. Please visit our gallery to see all the fun activities our kids did. After a fun morning both groups returned to CPI for their daily Spanish classes. For dinner both groups assisted to Tree House Restaurant. On Thursday, group 1 visited Escuela Altos de San Luis, while group 2 visited Aventura. As always, both groups had the opportunity to do both activities, but in different days.
Day 5.
Happy Friday! Today is our last day in Monteverde. We started our day by picking up every student from their houses. It was hard to say good-bye to their host families! Once we arrived at CPI the group had a Latin cooking class where they learned how to make empanadas. Finally, they departed to Arenal. At Arenal they will have different field trips.
The UNCG HHS group spent their second week in Monteverde and they loved it! They just came to Monteverde to bring the nice weather back and enjoy the different activities and adventures waiting for them in this wonderful place.
Día 9- LLegada a Monteverde
After spending a wonderful weekend in La Fortuna, students were ready to meet their Familias Ticas. The papás y mamás Ticas welcomed them with big hugs and a lot of emotion. They loved their families!
Día 10- Conociendo Santa Elena
The group walked to Santa Elena for a Treasure Hunt and they were able to enjoy a nice time in the city, buy some nice souvenirs for their families, and discover new things about Costa Rica. After a nice walked through Santa Elena and Monteverde, they went to CASEM to eat a delicious lunch in La Cuchara de La Abuela and enjoy again a typical Casado.
Día 11- Reserva Santa Elena
It was time to connect with nature and to learn more about the species and the nature surrounding us. The group went to Reserva Santa Elena and they were able to see the Quetzal!! They were so lucky! A group of biologists also showed them different kind of birds and share with them their new projects. After a nice hike, students went to the tower where they enjoyed a panoramic view of the reserve and were able to see the volcano.
Día 12- Escuela y clase de cocina
On Thursday, students had the opportunity of going to a local primary school and to share some time with the students. They learned about the educational system in Costa Rica and talked to the speech-language therapist. Kids really enjoyed their company and they were able to ask and answer some questions and to play some soccer with them! Unfortunately, they lost :(
Día 13- Life Monteverde
The group felt very excited about Life Monteverde since they heard about it and the experience was definitely not disappointing at all! They explore the “finca” and got to try the delicious food and, of course, the coffee. They did some volunteer work at the farmer by planting trees and vegetables.
Fin de semana- Aventuras
The weekend was full of adventure and adrenaline: canopy tour, waterfalls, river tubing, horse riding…
The group definitely enjoyed the weekend and the wonderful weather by taking part in some adventure activities in nature. On Friday, the had the opportunity to soar across the spectacular cloud forest in Monteverde, the views were astonishing!
On Saturday they said bye to their wonderful Familias Ticas in Monteverde with some sad faces, but ready for the adventure in Flamingo beach! On our way to Flamingo, we stopped in the waterfalls and in Hacienda Guachipelin, where we ate a delicious lunch and got some energy for the adventure! In the afternoon they learned how to ride horses and how to ride the rapids! It was such a nice afternoon for the whole group.
The group already arrived at Flamingo and is looking forward to enjoying their last days in Costa Rica.
Pura Vida UNCG
The UNCG HHS group spent their second week in Monteverde and they loved it! They just came to Monteverde to bring the nice weather back and enjoy the different activities and adventures waiting for them in this wonderful place.
Día 9- LLegada a Monteverde
After spending a wonderful weekend in La Fortuna, students were ready to meet their Familias Ticas. The papás y mamás Ticas welcomed them with big hugs and a lot of emotion. They loved their families!
Día 10- Conociendo Santa Elena
The group walked to Santa Elena for a Treasure Hunt and they were able to enjoy a nice time in the city, buy some nice souvenirs for their families, and discover new things about Costa Rica. After a nice walked through Santa Elena and Monteverde, they went to CASEM to eat a delicious lunch in La Cuchara de La Abuela and enjoy again a typical Casado.
Día 11- Reserva Santa Elena
It was time to connect with nature and to learn more about the species and the nature surrounding us. The group went to Reserva Santa Elena and they were able to see the Quetzal!! They were so lucky! A group of biologists also showed them different kind of birds and share with them their new projects. After a nice hike, students went to the tower where they enjoyed a panoramic view of the reserve and were able to see the volcano.
Día 12- Escuela y clase de cocina
On Thursday, students had the opportunity of going to a local primary school and to share some time with the students. They learned about the educational system in Costa Rica and talked to the speech-language therapist. Kids really enjoyed their company and they were able to ask and answer some questions and to play some soccer with them! Unfortunately, they lost :(
Día 13- Life Monteverde
The group felt very excited about Life Monteverde since they heard about it and the experience was definitely not disappointing at all! They explore the “finca” and got to try the delicious food and, of course, the coffee. They did some volunteer work at the farmer by planting trees and vegetables.
Fin de semana- Aventuras
The weekend was full of adventure and adrenaline: canopy tour, waterfalls, river tubing, horse riding…
The group definitely enjoyed the weekend and the wonderful weather by taking part in some adventure activities in nature. On Friday, the had the opportunity to soar across the spectacular cloud forest in Monteverde, the views were astonishing!
On Saturday they said bye to their wonderful Familias Ticas in Monteverde with some sad faces, but ready for the adventure in Flamingo beach! On our way to Flamingo, we stopped in the waterfalls and in Hacienda Guachipelin, where we ate a delicious lunch and got some energy for the adventure! In the afternoon they learned how to ride horses and how to ride the rapids! It was such a nice afternoon for the whole group.
The group already arrived at Flamingo and is looking forward to enjoying their last days in Costa Rica.
Pura Vida UNCG