Costa Rica February Vacation 2013 EF Tours

 Left at 2:40 AM  Flight to Charlotte, NC at 6 AM  Boarded US Airways plane at 11:10 AM  Landed in Costa Rica and was greeted by Olman, our tour guide  Boarded our Marvi bus and headed for the Gran Hotel Costa Rica –  Checked in about 5 PM Day 1 – Friday, February 15th

 Learned all about the production of coffee from plant to bean and beyond  Tour was fun and entertaining!  Gift shop and free samples concluded the tour. Day 2 - Brit Coffee Tour

 Zipped through the rainbow!  Thrilling adventure  Waterfall views  12 cables  4 extremely long over 2ooo ft.  Height feet Day 3 - Montverde Canopy Extremo Zip line!

 Planted trees near a school  Visited Cloud Forest rich with plants, mosses, ferns & flowers  Continental divide with tower view of smoldering volcano Day 3-Cont. Tree Planting & Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve

Day 4 - Montverde Elementary School 308 students Pre K-Grade 6 5-hour days, split with lots of homework 25 students per class Students clean the classroom One cafeteria lady cooks meal

Day 4 - Cont. Cabinitas LaFortuna Saw white-nosed coatis on the way. Hotel was short walk from town. We got souvenirs and ice cream at POPS I stayed in cabin #202

Day 5- Arenal Waterfall & Kayaking 500 steps down to the waterfall and then 500 up again! Kayaking was fun. We saw this Great White Egret on the shore as we went by.

Baldi Hot Spring & Spa Mrs. Murphy, Mrs. Cowan, Miss King & Mrs. Fisher Baldi Hot Springs and Spa is located at the base of Arenal Volcano and has 25 natural mineral pure water pools with 12 different temperatures, waterfalls and tropical gardens which are therapeutic.

 On our way to Sarapequi  Stopped at pineapple plantation and Olman explained the process of harvesting pineapples.  A quick visit to Las Iguanas Centro-Turistico Day 6 Pineapple Plantation & Iguanas

 100 students at this school  Principal must also teach and lives at school during the week  All students are taught English  Extra-curricula activities are important here  No nurse on duty  Students wear uniforms La Trinidad School in Sarapequi

 Nature walk  Animals in their natural habitats  2-hour nature walk in daylight  2-hour walk at night with flashlights – Scary! La Selva Biological Station and Research Center Peccary 2-Toed Sloth Fer-de-lance snake Golden Orb Spider

 On the way, Olman explained how bananas grow  Took a 1.5-hour boat ride to Tortuguero Island to our next hotel  Saw crocodiles, birds and animal life along the way Day 7 On to Tortuguero Basilisk Lizard Heron American Crocodile Olman Holding banana seed Baby bananasBoat ride to the island

 Hotel located on the open ocean  Took early morning boat ride to see animals in natural surroundings  Beach sand was black from volcanoes  Saw howler, white-faced and spider monkeys and all kinds of plants and birds Day 8 Vista Al Mar & Boat Ride Jacana White-faced Monkey Tiger Heron Howler Monkey with baby

 Rehabilitates all kinds of birds and animals, including sloths, like Millie.  Leslie & Jorge are very passionate about what they do  They educate visitors about the animals Day 9 Toucan Rescue Ranch Oncilla Harpy Eagle Leslie with porcupine Kinkajou 3-Toed Sloth Moluccan Cockatoo Parrot

 Buffet-style dinner was served  Dancers performed a native folk dance  Spectacular views of the San Jose! Tiqueria Mirage Mrs. Comeau Ms. Paling Mrs. Schofield