I spent my spring break volunteering in Bambu, Costa Rica with Tropical Adventures. On the flight over, I was nervous and excited because this was my first time travelling out of the country by myself and excited to meet everyone in Bambu and experience Costa Rica. When I arrived in San Jose, I was greeted by Manuel who drove me to my hostel, Casa Yoses. The hostel was both clean and friendly, and I enjoyed my night there. The next day Manuel picked me up and drove me to the bus stop where I caught a bus to Puerto Viejo. Isaac picked me up in Puerto Viejo, and we ate lunch and discussed what volunteering in Bambu would be like. His biggest piece of advice was to "go with the flow," and it turned out to be excellent advice.   

Bambu was like nothing I had ever experienced before. I stayed with a family, which really added to the experience. During the days, I volunteered at the retirement center and the school. The people at the retirement center were really appreciative of the volunteers, and it was great spending time with them and getting to know each individually. The school was fun too, and the children were very excited for their English lesson!

After volunteering, it was great to return home to my family and eat lunch with them. After lunch, I either participated in a tour or spent time with my family. I did the Panama Waterfall Tour on my first day in Bambu, and it was a great introduction to the week. Ito and I took a boat ride out to the waterfall and spent a couple hours swimming there. It was beautiful!

I was sad to leave my family at the end of the week, and I would love to return one day. I only spent a week in Bambu, but the people were so friendly and open, that by the end, I felt as if I belonged there. Likewise, I was very happy to volunteer through Tropical Adventures because they really took care of me. Susan practically organized the whole trip- all I had to do was book my flight! Tropical Adventures booked my transportation, housing, and meals; they made it easy for an outsider to get an inside look at Costa Rica.  

Today, we all live in a world full of new technologies and everybody is fond of progress. All of us are looking forward to a brand new car that we can’t afford anyway, just to have  it. We all think that you could not live without the Internet or even without a computer any more.

All of us? Not exactly. If you are looking for a remote place, where 13 years old kids don’t have a cell phone and don’t even care about it, Bambu is the perfect place for you! In Bambu, the only worry will be about what game we can play, who is coming to visit us today or if you will catch a fish! Of course, the absence of these technologies mainly comes from their lack of money, but I can guarantee you that these people are happy the way they live. Their way of life is just different. After an immersion in Bambu, you won’t see life the same way and you will acknowledge that we live with much more than we actually need. That’s why all our volunteers love to go to Bambu. They find peace, calm and friends for life.

 Here are a couple of interviews of kids from Bambu, they answered the question:

Que se acordara más del tiempo pasado con los voluntarios?

(What will you remember of your time with volunteers?)

-“Me gusta mucho encontrar nueva gente y me gusta mucho la clase de francés con Romain, aunque sea muy difícil! Y la muchacha Chloe me enseñó nuevos juegos de manos muy graciosos que podré ensañar a mis amigas de la escuela!” Yerlin, 10.

-“I love to meet new people and I really like Romain’s French class, even if it was very hard!

And the girl Chloe taught me very funny new hand games that I will teach to my friends from the school!”

-“Me gusto mucho la clase de inglés, ya puedo traducir a las canciones de Michael Jackson! Jugamos al futbol y corrimos por todos lados! Además, les ensené como bailar reggaetón! ” Héctor Jafeth, 4.

-“I loved English class, now I can translate Michael Jackson songs! We played soccer and ran everywhere! I also taught the volunteers how to dance raggaeton!

-“Jugamos con todos los niños de Bambu y ganamos a los voluntarios al platillo! Somos más rápidos!” David Josué, 7.

-“We played Frisbee with all kids from Bambu and we won against the volunteers! We were faster than they were!”

-“Nos fuimos a un tour a ver la catarata con Romain, Chloé y mi tío Héctor y Romain me tiró en el agua! Cogimos un bote y comimos sandía cerca de la catarata, la pasamos muy bien!” Steven, 13.

-“We went on a tour to the waterfalls with Romain, Chloe and my uncle Hector. Romain threw me into the water! We traveled in a boat and we ate watermelon, we had a great time!”

Bambu must be the most relaxing place in the world and people there, the nicest people ever. There is no reason for you to not come and find out by yourself! You can decide to come for a week on a project, or to come for the Holiday Project 2009, of which a part will take place in Bambu too! Either way you will be welcomed! Hope to see you soon!

Tropical Adventures

Nowadays, something is happening to the world. People start to worry about the place we live and feel more and more concerned about ecological issues. It is a good point, but we have to be careful about the way to do it, and be very vigilant about who to trust in.

When you want to travel and to discover a new country, the safe reflex is to get informed about who you are going to travel with and especially if you have chosen to volunteer. Nevertheless, do not think that all ecotourism companies and organizations will provide you the same service quality, it is not true. Some of these are just using it as a business, won’t care about the kind of activities and you will be doing nothing really useful either for the community or for yourself.

At Tropical Adventures, our purpose is your personal fulfillment, the community development and the environmental aspects.

What we can do for you:

First, only come if you really want to do so and if you are highly motivated. We are not offering a sweet and nice hotel with swimming pool and drinks all day long. No, what we can do for you, is provide you with a sense of self accomplishment, a new definition of yourself and something that you probably never felt before. You will meet people from our communities, our friends, and not just business partners. Our host families will do their best to make you feel comfortable and will teach you all they can about the Costa Rican culture and lifestyle.  

We have been providing these projects and tours for years now and you can be sure that every single day will be busy. We have all kind of activities for you, no matter how old you are, if you are in groups or by yourself, or if you came as a family. What we offer you are not simply vacations but life experiences. 

What we can do for the community:

            As I already said, we are not talking about collaborators, but very close friends. Our action, through your help, can help more and more people each year. First, because we are a non-profit organization, the benefits made from programs are going to the communities we are working with. We buy them materials like paint or tools and gifts, this money is also helpful to pay teachers and school supplies. Secondly, the meeting between local people and foreigners is really beneficial for both parts.  You, as volunteers, will teach them English and they will teach you a lot of things about their culture. And last, but not least, the point of our commitment is to fully respect the environment, nature and the culture. We want you to learn how life is here and  why we love it.

Tropical Adventures is not about being a regular company, making profits, selling you a service and taking your money. Tropical Adventures is a community, a way of thinking morally and more than this, we are a family, growing every time a volunteer joins us. We would love for you to be our next family member.

Tropical Adventures

Visiting Alto Katsi
 
Alto Katsi is a small, remote community in the mountains of Talamanca, Costa Rica.  There are about 16 houses and approximately 80 people.  I had the pleasure and priveledge of visiting this community with another volunteer, Chiara Nardi, during the early part of May. 
 
The purpose for the trip was to disperse medicines and vitamins to animals. I had been given a donation by family friends to spend during my internship here and chose to spend part towards animals after speaking with a few people here about how it could best be used.  In communities such as Alto Katsi, where people and their animals live in close proximity, animal health is important.  Healthy animals mean healthy people.
 
So, the supplies were collected at the vetrinarian in Bribri, our bags were packed and off we went…let the adventure begin!
 
Life in Alto Katsi
 
Disclaimer:  It has been a challenge to write this part of my experience because life in Alto Katsi is another reality. I have grown up in one reality and one way of living on the planet. Alto Katsi is a different way of living in this world, going through daily life, experiencing nature. It is not fair to say one way is better than the other or place judgement.  So please read the following, knowing that is written through my lens and perspective on the world and I hope I can do some justice to what was an amazing experience.

Life in Alto Katsi is peaceful, beautiful, serene and surrounded by nature.  It is a hard life for residents as there is not consistent work for those who live there.  Most work daily is a matter of survival:  on their farms producing and cultivating for their own consumption.  Harvest is not a source of earnings and savings, for most it is the source of food.  In these times of food security issues, perhaps this kind of knowledge and production is some of the most sound.  What is poverty?  Who defines development?
 
There is no electricity and no running water.  As someone who has grown up in North American culture, with running water and electricity, I first assumed this would be a priority need for people.  Not so.  Living without electricity means there is a peace that comes from not having neighbors blaring music or televisions.  The people I did speak with who have experienced how life is with electricity said they preferred living without electricty. 
 
I found the evenings, after the sun went down and the rooms were lit with lamps and candles, became a sacred time of day for me.  People speaking quietly in Bribri in the room above where we had set up our tents, watching fireflies outside, or learning new words in Bribri.  Everyone went to sleep early, everyone woke up early.  Chiara’s best friend was the family rooster, who was very punctual each morning at 3:00amJ.
 
The source of water for everyone is the river.  The river is to bathe, to drink, to fish, to wash dishes, to wash clothes,….From what I could tell, most houses are located very near the river, perhaps a five minute walk.  On a particularly rainy, muddy day I was feeling grateful that the non-running water situation was temporary.  However, that said, the novelty of this beautiful river did not wear off during my four days there.  Beyond the novelty, however, are people who live here daily and it is not a temporary situation.  It is one full of economic, educational, nutritional challenges as well as limited access to basic needs.
 
 
The Balsa
 
Everyday is an adventure in Alto Katsi…crossing rivers on foot and on horseback, watching with great amusement and pigs, goats and cows were being chased and lasooed to receive their injections, battling mosquitoes, navigating muddy paths, bathing in the river, the kindness and generosity of the people we shared with and last, but certainly not lease the grand finale:  the balsa.
 
How would we get back to Bambu?  Horse?  Bus?  Hmmmm….  Justo told us on Saturday that we would get back by “Balsa” on the river.  I did not know what a Balsa was, but I understood via river so I assumed boat.  Then later on Saturday Justo told us that he and Diego would get up early on Sunday to make the Balsa and that we would leave together after that. 
 
         **Rebecca is thinking “MAKE the Balsa??!!  Ok, what is a Balsa?”
 
Think Huck Finn. Think six Balsa logs tied together with rope. Approaching the river and seeing the Balsa, my first thought was fear.  What the hell were we in for? 
 
Then the fear subsided as I saw the expertly crafted basic transport, the knots, the design and built by people who know the river as well as I know my childhood streets and roads.  Not only that, but a bench had been crafted and tied together for Chiara and I to sit on so we didn’t get wet.  I felt peace as we launched off and was very touched by the thoughtfulness, care and time that was put into this. The ride back to Bambu lasted a little under two hours and it was beautiful.  When we reached the riverbank at Bambu, the knots were untied, the logs were set loose and all that remained of the beautiful Balsa was the rope - to be saved for another use and another day.  There is a lot of wisdom, knowledge and expertise here when it comes to living with nature.
 
I feel most grateful for this four days. Much love and thanks to Diego, Justo, Marina and their family for being such kind and thoughtful hosts, and to Chiara who was a great traveller to share this intense experience with.

Rebecca Uncles, intern for Tropical Adventures

In our special December newsletter we spoke about the floods that happened in Costa Rica and Panama in November.  Thousands of people lost their crops and livestock in the floods and others had to leave their homes and go into temporary shelters.  Indigenous people in the Talamanca area where we have several projects were some of the worst hit.  Many lost crops that they will not be able to replant or harvest any produce from for a further 18 months, meaning they have been left without an income source for food, clothes and living expenses.  This is a particularly critical time in ensuring the people affected receive on-going help as many of the immediate relief efforts have subsided.

In addition to the support we are giving in the way of donations of food and clothes to some of the affected families, we are going to be partnering with Children Incorporated - a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the maintenance, support, education and welfare of needy children all around the world.  We will be working together with them to help support the people on the indigenous reservation post-flood and to create a more sustainable income in the form of a co-operative that will allow community members to come together and support one another in economic activities aside from banana or plantain production.  We are currently researching, together with Children Inc., the possibility of creating a chicken farm co-operative.

After getting the project going, we'd also be helping them with setting up distribution and marketing of their products, including the creation of an area farmer's market. Our plan covers sustainable income, disaster relief, assistance to children and elderly and will help many people who can't harvest any more crops for 18 more months.  In addition to this, we are hoping to be able to employ an intern in the area to help us research and develop this and future projects that will help people in the Talamanca indigenous area.

In addition to this, Children Inc. will also be helping us to set up a Sponsor-a-Child program.   We are very much looking forward to working together with Children Inc. to further extend our support of Costa Rica's under-resouced indigenous people.  Keep posted for further info!

Read more of our past newsletters here.
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It is only 32 days and counting until our first Christmas Project.  The lights and decorations are starting to go up all around Costa Rica and we are working really hard to ensure all the events are a day to remember for all the community members who will be taking part.  We want to make sure we put a smile on the face of everyone who attends - children and adults alike.  This year is set to be much bigger than last year and we are in much need of donations in the form of supplies (decorations, arts and crafts and gifts for the children) and money to buy these supplies and yummy food and drinks for everyone.  Please contact us if you would like to get involved in any way - we greatly appreciate every tiny amount of help that we receive.

This year we would like to be able to invite all the children from Cocles School in Puerto Viejo to come to the Puerto Viejo Christmas Party.  Cocles is a beautiful location - set back away from the beach and the lapping waves of the Caribbean Sea.  It sounds idyllic but the reality is that the school is so understaffed that pupils are only able to attend school for around 3 hours per day.  In Costa Rica, lack of schooling has a very negative effect on the long-term career prospects and money-earning potential of many of the children. Many children do not continue in school after 6th Grade as they go to work to gain extra income for their family household or they lack the ambition to continue with school studies.

Our goal and the goal of our volunteers at Cocles, as well as teaching English, is to mentor and act as role models to the children to encourage them to be interested in their studies and enable them to want to continue learning after they finish primary education.  Being able to speak English is a skill that greatly enhances career prospects in Costa Rica and without our volunteers, the students at the school would receive no English tuition at all.  English classes simply do not take place when there are no volunteers at the school.

 Today our Director, Isaac Garcia, is in Puerto Viejo to meet with the school head teacher to find out if we can invite all the school children.   It would be wonderful to see all the children there and we hope they will enjoy the fun and be inspired by the efforts of ourselves and our volunteers.  Following that meeting, Isaac has a big meeting with the Puerto Viejo Development Association Board.  This consists of 15 community leaders from the Puerto Viejo area.  Amongst other things, he will be presenting the plans for the Puerto Viejo school Summer Camp and discussing with the board the possibility of having the event in the town cultural center which is larger than last year's venue and will allow us to invite more children from the community.  Isaac will also be visiting some local business in the area, including some of the main hotels and restaurants, many of which are run by foreign ex-pats.  We are hoping many of them would like to donate to our two events in Puerto Viejo and help us out with materials for the events.

Also over the Christmas period, we are very much looking forward to welcoming a group of students from the  Central Michigan University.  As well as participating in our Christmas Projects, they will also be staying at the beautiful Camaronal Reserve and taking part in our Turtle Conservation Project there.  This project is particularly understaffed and in much need of volunteers to help protect the endangered sea-turtles from becoming extinct by ensuring their eggs are laid in a safe place and do not get poached.  This area is quite rustic and very remote but all the volunteers we have had there have had a wonderful time and usually wish they'd stayed longer.  You can read what some of our past volunteers have written about their experiences at Camaronal here.

Our friends from Michigan will get to fall asleep to the sound of the lapping waves, experience the rugged beauty of the area, see live turtles laying there eggs and above all - work with some amazingly friendly, dedicated and knowledgeable people.  In particular with this project, we are very grateful to Danilo Gabb, our friend and indigenous leader who runs the Indigenous Cultural Center in Bambu over on the opposite side of Costa Rica who will be lending us enough tents to host everyone from Michigan.  We are so lucky to have such great friends who are willing to help us and our friends on other projects out!

As always, please contact us if you would like any further information on our projects, what we do or to see how you can help.

Please also join us on Facebook and/or MySpace.

Pura Vida,

Sarah

As crazy as it sounds, we’re already preparing for our Tropical Adventures’ Christmas Projects. This is happening for two reasons: For starters, we have a big demand on people interested in participating in the big Christmas parties that we provide for our communities, and second, because it’s time-consuming organizing these events. We really need to start now to have everything in order by December.

Although it is a lot of work for a small foundation such as Tropical Adventures, last year we created four big beautiful events. The first one was our La Flor Christmas Party. For those of you who have been in La Flor, you know what a beautiful town this is. The fresh air, the spectacular view of the charming Orosi Valley, the endless vegetables gardens, the humbleness and sweetness of the people, the innocent vibe of this place is just indescribable. All of our volunteers have left this project with tears in their eyes.

What we did last year here was amazing. The place where we hosted the party was beautiful and big enough for all the guests. The day couldn’t have been more perfect; they sun was brighter than ever and the endless mountains were witnesses to this fun party. We hired a big inflatable bouncy slide to entertain 185 people (kids, host families, teachers, volunteers and friends.)  We also had ice cream, hot dogs, drinks, pop corn, lots of games, gifts, music, nutritional evaluations for the kids and their parents, and at the end, a big piñata (Frosty, the snowman) full of candies. It really was a glorious day.

See pictures here: http://www.tropicaladventures.com/gallery.php?g2_itemId=2389.

Two days later we were in the Puerto Viejo Area. This is where Tropical Adventures started. Our very first project was here (teaching English in the Hone Creek and the Puerto Viejo elementary schools.) This is where we have been for three years already; our heart is in this area. Beautiful host families have supported us with loving care for our volunteers. Puerto Viejo has been our dream as a foundation and it has been the place where we’ve seen the biggest change as an organization.

For this party, we asked one of our dear friends if we could use his hotel to host the party, Kaya’s Place. The place was perfect. We decorated the entire place with balloons, lots of games for the kids, great snacks, drinks, excellent support from the hotel staff. It was a party on the Caribbean Coast. The ocean was in front of us and the tropical breeze was refreshing. We didn’t have a piñata for this party, but we had live music and an excellent fire show.

All of our Puerto Viejo friends were present that day. Good times.

See pictures here: http://www.tropicaladventures.com/gallery.php?g2_itemId=2773

Our third Christmas party was on the Bribri Indigenous Reservation in the town of Bambu. It was a sunny December morning in Costa Rica. We arrived there around 10 in the morning full of gifts, food, great enthusiasm and party decorations. When we arrived, Sister Blanca was finishing the daily morning exercises with the residents in the activity room. We were trying not to disturb the residents with our presence when we got there (we wanted to be respectful of their space), but Sister Blanca encouraged us to play music and start the party immediately, so we did. The residents were extremely playful that day. We all started to join in and play with them. We danced, played with bubbles, balloons and typical Costarican games. We provided a lot of food (fruit cocktails, drinks, lunch, ice cream, pastries, coffee, tea and shakes). We gave away gifts at the end, thanks to all the donations we received through the year from all of our supporters. It was a fun, satisfying and beautiful day. This party was different;  it was more about sharing with the residents and just “being there,” if you know what we mean.

See pictures here: http://www.tropicaladventures.com/gallery.php?g2_itemId=2391

Our last party was hosted in the big Cultural Center of Bambu, also on the Bribri Indigenous Reservation. It was a rainy day and we seriously didn’t know if we were going to make it all the way to Bambu. The small rivers on the way there were transformed into big rivers. Two of our cars were damaged that day trying to cross the rivers, but we made it in one piece! When we got there, everyone in the community was waiting for us. So, they all helped us out with the decorations.

In total, we had seventeen folks volunteer with us for this party. It was quite the scene! If you can imagine, we had the majestic cultural center surrounded by the rain forest and lots of kids everywhere waiting for the action. For this party, we invited all 75 of the students from the Bratsi School, host families, teachers, retirement home staff, neighbors and friends in general. All of our guests had a great time; it really was one of those unique experiences in life. Just getting there was a lot of work, but it was so worthwhile. The most fun games ever, great surprises for the winners, ice cream, candies, hot dogs, drinks, cakes, great gifts for all the kids donated by the Schneider family, toothbrushes for everyone, great food packages for the host families donated by the company Magui, and the big finale, the Piñata, which was devoured by the kids. It was the best time ever.

Just a few days after this party, the Segehuis family visited Costa Rica from Canada to volunteer with us. They brought more than a hundred backpacks, with all the necessary supplies for the school year for each one of the kids on the Indigenous Reservation.

See pictures here: http://www.tropicaladventures.com/gallery.php?g2_itemId=2871&g2_navId=x013d6dd9

This year we’re going to be adding a Christmas party in Guanacaste (Camaronal, Hojancha, Monte Alto, Barra Honda and the Monkey Park Animal Refuge.) This has been our first year working in the Guanacaste Province, and it has been a tremendous start for us in this area.

Last year when we did these types of events for the first time, we were kind rolling with the punches and going with the flow. We were receiving endless calls from individuals and families who kept asking for our plans for the holidays as an organization, so we came up with the Christmas Parties and the Summer Camp in Puerto Viejo. We received a lot of support from friends and volunteers with lots of donations and gifts. Past volunteers such as Phyllis and her husband came for the second time to volunteer with us. Almost all of our past volunteers sent Christmas presents for their host families, and we already have people in Puerto Viejo asking us for the Summer Camp in December.

This year, it is our decision to continue with this legacy of beautiful work. We’re planning on hosting five big Christmas parties. This is how we want to spend our holidays, bringing joy where is needed and doing something great for these communities. They deserve it. If you are a past volunteer, and you’re reading this, you know what we’re talking about.

There are no words to describe how wonderful it is to celebrate with these fantastic and loving people. If you feel you are called to share your time with us and others this holiday season, know we’d love to have you join us!

Happy Holidays in advanced to all of you!

Tropical Adventures Family.

Self Discovery Through Exploration

My Testimonial Markus Berres

My name is Markus and I’m from Zurich in Switzerland. After more than two months now with Tropical Adventures, I really don’t know where to start. Let’s try at the beginning ….

When I was back home looking for something different to do with my upcoming holidays, I knew it would probably involving volunteering at some point. Then I surfed the Internet a lot. Somehow, I can’t remember how I found out about Tropical Adventures, but when I found them – I knew right away that was the program I had been looking for. 

It looked like a good mix of travel to places with some tours and adventure and, it had the volunteering component I was looking for. Because all my arrangements had to be kind of last minute, I was a little worried it wouldn’t work out. But after a couple emails and telephone calls, everything seemed to fall into place. Roberto from the office in Costa Rica answered all my questions promptly and clearly.

When I arrived in Costa Rica, I was met by their driver, Manuel, and was immediately taken very  good care of. After spending a night in a hostel near the airport in Alajuela, I was escorted once again the next day by Manuel to the bus station to go to the town of Puerto Viejo. Everything was already taken care of, and Manuel helped me find an ATM and take care of any needs I had.

My Spanish is very limited, so I was a little worried what would happen but again, all for nothing.  Just   when I exited the bus, my coordinator, Mauro, was there to take me to my wonderful host family. The first week I kind of stayed in my own little paradise, teaching English to kids in the Cocles Elementary School, which I went to with the bicycle I rented for the week. First I thought, "Bicycles here? That’s crazy in this heat!" Yes, I sweat like never before, and the road conditions are everything else but bicycle-friendly, but soon I learned to love my bike and the freedom it afforded me.

The kids in the school where fantastic. Since I'm not good with Spanish, and English is not my first language, and I never been a teacher, again I was worried. But not only did the kids learn English from me, I learned lots and lots of Spanish from them. They even recognized me when I passed by the school 8 weeks later – that was a wonderful feeling – and for me it showed that my work meant something to them as well. That’s the experience I was looking for when I planned to volunteer.

I spent the next 2 weeks in Bambu, a little community on the Bribri Indigenous Reservation. There I worked with the kids from the Bratsi School and in the retirement home. It was completely heartwarming just to see how much both the young and the old people enjoyed our company. They got really attached to us in those 2 weeks while we were there.

This time we didn't stay with a host family, but instead we stayed at the Community Center with Danilo (our local host). The place is amazing. It’s really just like a tree house. The whole community there was wonderful, the traditional food, the way of living. Everyone got so attached to the place, I just couldn't believe it. But after the 2 weeks were over, all of us had tears in our eyes when we were leaving.

The tours we did together here are something I will never forget. The 2-day trip over to Panama, just mind-blowing… I thought I’m kind of fit to walk for a couple of hours. We have some pretty strenuous mountains back at home. Here the first part was easy. Hiking for 2 hours on a good path, sometimes in the shade from the trees, sometimes in the hot sun. And let me tell you, it gets hot. I had plenty of water, at least I thought so, for the first four hours. Then the path began more and more to disappear into the jungle, and walking got harder and harder, especially because most of the locals coming through here come on horses. So the path was super muddy from the horses’ tracks and the rain (it was the rainy season, but so far I had not seen too much of it, luckily).

At one point I had to sit down, and Isaac started feeding me with crackers, our guide told me our destination wasn't more than a 15-minutes walk from here. Then for me...luck! A man and his daughter on a horse came by. The girl, maybe 12 years young, must have noticed my condition and offered me her horse for the rest of the way. Usually I would have declined, but not this time. I was happy not to walk the rest of the way (which was 25 minutes on a horse.) The little girl walked the whole way, like it was nothing, practically flying from rock to rock. Later we found out what we just did in more than 4 hours, she does every day to get to school...in less than half an hour!!!How crazy is that? Now I know I have to do more sports, or working out. But all the hard work was absolutely worth what was waiting for us. The pristine, tropical and nearly undiscovered waterfall close to the very small cabin we stayed for the night -- that’s what you never find on your normal “all inclusive holiday.”

The next week I spent at the Camaronal Sea Turtle Project. It was completely far away from civilization, as you might imagine. When we arrived there my first thought was: "Oh my god....noooo!" Now in retrospect, I think I would absolutely want to stay at that place for 1 or even 2 months. Domenica, Julian and German -- the project staff from MINAE (Ministry of the Environment) are the most welcoming people one person could possibly imagine. My Spanish improved a lot in the first couple of weeks, but here I really had to practice it, and it was easy to speak to them after opening myself up to the idea. And it was not only the little small-talk that tourists usually have with the locals; we could speak about anything. But especially everything about the project interested me – and the knowledge they have about all of the projects and the animals and the surrounding area is just astonishing.

My next week of volunteering took me to the Monte Alto Natural Reserve, another great project managed by MINAE, and in serious need of volunteer help. Here we helped build paths, plant trees and flowers, as well as helped in the kitchen. One thing I did here one day that I did not expect to do was helping to fix toilets. No, no. Not the nasty kind. The kind where I could show off all my plumbing skills. (No...I don’t really have any. Back in my real life I’m a chef in a hotel!) And yes, by the way, the toilets work again.

My sixth week in Costa Rica was spent in another national park, Barra Honda. That would be the week where I definitely got my wish for physical labor fulfilled. Besides taking wonderful tours and walks in the area, the number one project for the park was to make it nice and to prepare everything for the big celebration in August (National Parks Day). That meant we had to dig a lot. Since they were expecting lots of rain -- and rainwater in masses destroys the street and especially the sides of the street -- we had to place 70 centimeter cement pipes on the side of the road near the main building to keep the water from eroding the street.

In that week, I must have sweat out my own weight a couple of times. This all sounds probably like too much work. But it wasn't at all. The work hours were usually only in the morning from 9 to 12, and the rest of the day we were free to do whatever we wanted. For example, the town of Nicoya is only a 400 colones bus ride away (less than 50 cents), and it provides all that I wanted and needed. And then there was enough time to spend at the pool from the nearby Barra Honda Hotel and to enjoy a good book.

Monkey Park was originally going to be my last project. It is an animal rescue center. It's a nice place to see animals that live here in Costa Rica which would usually be hard to see in the wild. The stay in the park was nice. They provided a very good home, and the food there is delicious. I got "gordo" (fat)!

Like at all the projects, nearly at all times a project coordinator or Isaac (one of the directors) himself was present, or came on a regular basis, if for nothing else than just to see that we we’re all okay and to bring us some snacks. The women (the number of them seemed to change on a daily basis) who were responsible for the project at Monkey Park really work hard to make the place what it is. And having been part of that is a nice memory.

One of my jobs was to transfer the caterpillars out of the Butterfly Garden every morning so that they could not feed on all the plants faster than the plants could grow in there. So for that purpose there is an assigned place called, “the feeding house.” And then I had to check if there were some larvae hatched and then bring them back as "butterflies" to the "Mariposarium." This is one place where someone like me goes literally photo crazy!

The next 2 weeks I went to travel on my own to Panama. I needed to be in Panama City at a certain time. And that’s where the team of Tropical Adventures really helped more than I could have expected. They helped me with my hotel, and even delivered my bus tickets to me. The many small things they did for me made my trip easy and enjoyable and were just examples of how dedicated these people are to the work they do. It also made me feel really appreciated. I felt like I was in the best hands possible here, so I decided to come back for six days after my Panama-trip to do some more volunteering.

So now as I write this, these last six days here in the La Flor Project are nearly over. I’m super happy about my decision to teach English in a tiny agricultural community. I feel completely welcome and like I'm doing something worthwhile. After a few days here, I get recognized on the street from everyone; I’m not at all a stranger.

I can’t possibly fit all my experiences and feelings in these few words, but to everyone who enjoys traveling, some adventure and meeting endless amounts of friendly people, I say, "come and experience it for yourself!"

In the end, it was all the small things that made my trip with Tropical Adventures so priceless. (Geesh, I hope not to sound too much like the MasterCard commercial!)

Pura vida!

Markus Berres

We’ll be honest, the first day traveling to a foreign country where we barely speak the language is stressful to say the least; however, our weeks to follow in Costa Rica were definitely worth the few hours of confusion. We began our adventure in Bambu, a remote indigenous reservation where the natural beauty of Costa Rica can truly be savored. We were immediately welcomed into this small community by locals and fellow volunteers alike, and immersed ourselves in the rich culture.

We volunteered week days at the community retirement home and elementary school. Though very   different, both volunteering opportunities were fulfilling and eye-opening.  During this week, though there were no restaurants or shops, we were able to fill our spare time with neighborhood fiestas, swimming with the kids at the local swimming hole, and unforgettable tours. One day we were actually able to take a small boat over to Panama, where we swam in an astonishing waterfall right in the middle of the rainforest; these sights were truly remarkable.

Although we didn’t stay with a host family, we felt we got the best of both  worlds living in the Cultural Center; we were able to eat our meals with the family that lives there and gain the experience of living with a family, while maintaining the freedom of staying in a hostel (Note: granola bars, snack bars, etc. are a VERY good idea to bring....that way you won’t have to spend all your money on food/snacks when  you’re hungry, since you eat your meals whenever the host family cooks, which is on their own schedule). Also, Danilo (the head of the center) is one of the most energetic and fun people you will ever meet.  After our week in Bambu, we wished we had more time.

We then traveled by bus to Puerto Viejo, almost the polar opposite of Bambu. Puerto Viejo is a much more tourist-y, mini-city area, and we instantly fell in love with its beautiful beaches. While staying there, we also volunteered as  English   teachers at the local elementary school, but it was an entirely different experience. Overall, we really felt a bond with the students and got very rewarding responses…we truly sensed an eagerness to learn. The kids particularly enjoyed games, especially where they can compete on teams. They also really loved stickers, or any little prizes you may offer, for the end of class.

   Aside from teaching, we were able to discover the nature aspects of the area through activities such as kayaking, snorkeling and zip-lining. While we were apprehensive about a few of these adventurous ideas, we felt very safe overall and wished we had time to fit in more tours. We also made time to explore souvenir shops and local restaurants in Puerto Viejo.

What you give when you volunteer in Costa Rica is an incredible contribution, but what you learn and   the experience they give you is far more rewarding  than any gift possible to give. This trip may have been initially outside our comfort zone, but the memories and sights we are able to walk away are truly unforgettable.

Rebbeca Miller & Katherine Licciardello

Rhode Island, USA

To see a video of Rebecca and Kate teaching English at the Rio Negro Elementary School click here:

http://www.new.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=70222030121&oid=4562147589