San Jose to La Fortuna

This morning, our students awoke in an unfamiliar room in an unfamiliar country with little idea of what lay ahead. While that level of trust and eagerness for adventure is impressive enough on its own, I am truly proud of our students after their first full day as works travelers. Today they met new people, practiced speaking Spanish, saw new sights, helped each other without asking, and got their first taste of what this trip will mean to them. 

Our day began with our 147 students in the same room for breakfast. This is one of the few spaces on our trip that fits our entire group in one room and we took advantage of the opportunity to discuss trip safety, introduce our amazing guides (most of whom our chaperones have known for years), and split in to buses. Our trip to La Fortuna took us out of the San Jose Valley and in to prime coffee country. Our visit to the Doka Estate coffee plantation included a step-by-step tour of the coffee making process along with plenty of tasting and a stop at the gift shop. The visit also gave our students their first glimpse of the abundance of life supported by Costa Rica’s climate and environmentally conscious policies. 

After the students had their fill of coffee and coffee-related education, it was back on the buses to La Fortuna and Arenal, Costa Rica’s famous, cone-shaped volcano. There, we hiked along Lake Arenal and received first-hand experience of Costa Rica’s unpredictable weather as our minimally prepared group weathered a heavy, but warm, downpour. We laughed, we complained, and we all promised to remember our rain jackets next time. Along the hike, our guides explained the balance between the diverse flora and fauna. While we don’t have a running tally from all five buses, the wildlife viewing today was probably the best first day I’ve experienced in Costa Rica. While the Arenal Volcano still hides behind the same clouds that so graciously dampened our hike, our group is in good spirits, well-fed, and too entranced by all the newness to know the view they are missing. 

Our students are now tucked in their rooms with strict warnings of lights out and taped doors. They are excited to be on their adventure and the chaperones are happy to pretend we don’t see the occasional cell phone glow from a room’s window. Our students are tired and we know they’ll be asleep soon. This is good news, because tomorrow is a fun one!