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For our last day we had to wake up at 4:00 in the morning. The reason we had to do this was because our flight back to the U.S.  left at 7:00. When we woke up we started packing up and getting onto the van to the airport. Once we got to the airport we met up with the others and filled out our little flight forms. Once we were finished with that we went through security. After security was done we got breakfast at a food court. We ate our breakfast and then it was time to get on the plane back home. Before we knew it we were on the plane and flying back. I sat with forest and Hunter on the way back. We didn't talk much and before we knew it we were in New Jersey. We all got on the bus afterwards and back Vermont and it was a pretty chill bus ride. I sat with Jeremiah the whole time and we had a good time. We stopped at one place for food on the way there and then once for a rest stop. At the rest stop we also said a bit of what we were thankful for and also a bit about what we liked on the trip. After that we got on the bus and went home. While we were driving about 30 minutes before we got to Marlboro we were already so excited. And then we arrived. This was probably the most excited I had been all day. Once we were all done saying hi to our parents and loading our stuff into the cars we all went back home.

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On Sunday, the ninth, after we got back from the Continental Divide and the Cloud Forest, we headed to the Medicinal Garden to play a game. The game was a test of our creativity and imagination, and it was a way to get extra points for our flora and fauna game.
We split into our game groups, and we were assigned a plant or  tree. We had to make up information about the plant such as the plant's common name, range and habitat, what it can be used for, and it's relationships with other organisms; but one group was given actual information about the plant. The naturalist who came with us walked around to visit the groups, and told one of the  groups the real information about their plant.
After we had time to come up with information about the plant or tree, we gathered together and went around to the plants and trees, and each group presented their information. Then every group conversed and voted for whoever they thought had the real information.  We got points for guessing the real plant and if people guessed our made up plant was the real one.

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Our class had the privilege to spend the day on the beach on Tuesday April 11, 2017. I very much enjoyed this day, the water was beautiful and so was the weather. I enjoyed the opportunity to spend a sizeable portion of the day in the water. The water was considerably warmer than oceans I had experienced before. As I had only been in the Atlantic prior to this experience. The waves were also pretty large, which I enjoyed.
The majority of our time was spent on the beach/in the water, with the exception of lunch and shopping for some. A few times when the lot of us were in the water, we were called in by the lifeguards for reason of riptide.
Some decided to avoid swimming and some involved  themselves in other activities. Such as horseback riding. The majority of us also enjoyed fresh coconuts and snowcones.
Most, if not all, suffered from sunburns. Some more painful than others. We expected this going in. In the end I think the experience was worth it, even if all we heard is "ow" on the way home.
Moreover I am very grateful for this experience and I hope my peers enjoyed themselves as well.

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A huge thankyou  to Don, who documented our amazing trip!

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Lots of exciting things have happened on this trip, but the one that stands out to me is the hike in the Monteverde Reserve. We split into three groups and each was assigned a naturalist/tour guide. I was with a guide who knew many bird calls. He also told us about the food chain of each animal and the look of them in detail. Throughout our hike we saw quetzals, coati’s, hummingbirds and even a sloth! The sloth was sitting in a tree near the gift shop. He almost blended into the tree. I saw him twice each about a half-an-hour away from each other and he had barely moved spots. We also saw many different types of plants—but I don’t remember the names. They were in so many colors, lot of pinks, yellows and reds.

The guide brought a high powered scope, so we could see the flora and fauna up close. We learned many interesting facts along the way, like that some female quetzals have two males attending to them. If you ever go to the cloud forest, be sure to hire a tour guide.

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FOrest at the continental divide (pacific side) 

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FOrest at the continental divide (pacific side) 

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By Forrest
We went to the Continental Divide. We had to hike there, but it was not that hard a hike because it was mostly little ups and downs. On the way there we saw a coati. It was the closest I've ever been to a coati because  this one didn't even look like it noticed us while the ones at UGA would run away as soon as you started to come towards it.

After we hiked a little bit more than a mile we got to the Continental Divide. It was really cool because on the Pacific side it was really warm and not that windy at all, while on the Atlantic side--only 50 feet away-- it was kinda of cool and there was a bunch of wind. We could also see a very good view. Then we walked all the way back through the cloud forest.

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The bus ride to Mono Azul (Blue Monkey) hotel from UGA was six hours long. We stopped at a tourist stop and brought food and drinks. While we were driving we saw a lot of cows, horses, and some bulls I think too. I got really excited when we drove past a pasture with around eighteen to twenty horses in it. In all I counted about fifty horses the whole bus ride. We got to a bridge that had crocodiles under it in the water and on the land and the bus driver pulled over so who ever wanted to walk across the bridge to look down at them could. Nikita looked like she wanted to jump in the water with them. She even named a few.  There isn't that much to say about the bus ride but one thing that did happen that we didn't plan was pulling over a couple times because there was something wrong with the breaks. We had to get on a different bus with our day packs and leave our carry-on's on the other bus. The bus with our carry-on's on it followed us the rest of the way.  We finally got to The Mono Azul at about 6:00 PM.

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At the Selvatura Adventure Park we first had to get into uncomfortable harnesses, helmets and gloves with thick leather pads which you used to pull down on the cable to make you stop. The guide gave us a talk about how to brake—or not—and how to position yourself when flying down the cable.

There were thirteen different lines, going from tree platform to tree platform, which were held to huge trees by cables and blocks of wood to protect the trees. At each platform we were met by a guide who usually braked for us, using a pulley system, then switched us to the next cable. These guides communicate by walkie-talkie and one time we were surprised--and so was the guide-- when music came on.

Sometimes we went alone, which was easier because you had complete control. Other times we had to go in tandem in order to have enough weight to make it all the way to the other side.

Just before the last run, we went to the Tarzan swing, which was amazing. With two 60’(?) ropes attached to your harness, you had to jump off a 30’ ft. tower and swing almost to the trees on the other side.

The last run, number 13, was 1000 meters long (2/3 mile) across a valley. The view was beautiful, flying over the tops of trees. It felt like I might fall, but felt good to be alive on the other side. The whole thing was awesome, and the best part of an incredible trip.

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Broden on dinner with the local families

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Broden on dinner with the local families

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On Sunday we went to have dinner with some Tico families.  We split up into several groups so that we wouldn't be too overwhelming.  I was in a small group of Ben C.  Senait, Francie and my mom.
Around 5:00  we set off from UGA down the road .   As we walked groups split off for the dinners.  After about a 15 minutes walk, we came to the house of our host.  A little old lady answered the door and invited us in.  She was a very sweet person who seemed to live alone.   She later explained that most of her family (she had a lot) had grown up and moved on.  After a little bit of difficult conversation, we sat down to eat.  Our host didn't want to eat with us, but we insisted so she at least sat  down.
She made us delicious food, lots of veggies, rice and chicken she cooked over an open fire.
We tried our best to have conversations,  but she didn't speak any English.   We used our Spanish knowledge, and Francie, who translated, to communicate.
In the end it was a great experience for many reasons.  We got to meet someone who had lived in Costa Rica her whole life.  It was interesting to see the way that someone from a very different culture lived.  We found many differences, but also many similarities to our lives.

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Before the night walk  I was looking forward to seeing big animals like snakes but what we ended up seeing were little insects and a scorpion. I liked the way the moon was shining so brightly that we could turn off our flashlights and see pretty clearly.
Ben was our guide and  when he showed us the leaf cutter ants, he told us that they work 24/7 - until they die. We got to see a tarantula in its burrow. The cool thing is that tarantulas are small but can dig big burrows with their legs. The tarantula was way in the back of the burrow.
I hope to go on another night walk and see big animals.

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Today we went to the San Luis community center where we got to choose between three different groups of jobs. I chose the playground clean up where we would lift rocks and level the ground. The rock lifting wasn't hard but the ground leveling was. We were swinging pick axes for little over an hour. It got tiring and my hands were killing. But it was kind of fun. It was satisfying because of how much work we did but it hurt. There was a noticeable difference from when we started till when we stopped. We did that work for the kids to have a flat green play ground .

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We went to the San Luis community center to do our community service and the class/chaperones split into three  groups to do different things. One went out to the playground to pull thorny weeds, shovel soil and move a rock pile. Another helped work in the garden. The third worked in the library.

The library organization job was the easiest of them all. We didn't have to do back-breaking work in the hot sun like the others. The library is located in the main building and it was relatively small, with only two double-sided bookcases. Some of us removed books from the shelves and then had to return them alphabetized by author's last name. We may not have been swinging pick axes in the sun, but the work became repetitive and boring, and our feet hurt after standing for  2 1/2 hours.
While that was happening, others entered the books into the computer's data base, which was more complicated. After we logged the book's title, author and ISBN, we stamped them with the library's logo. Most everyone got the hang of it quite easily, keeping a steady rhythm, except for me. It took me so long to get everything written down, and twice I accidentally clicked on something weird and needed help to return to the document.

All of these jobs helped the center and the community around it.  We helped create a place that the locals will want to go to to have fun. Even though some of us did strenuous work, everyone feels like we made a difference.

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April 8th
Today we went to the San Luis Community Center.  While we were at the center we split into three groups to work on different community services.  I was in the gardening group.  Most of us started  by raking leaves into a bag, while two of us went and cleaned caca de vaka.  After the majority of the group was done with raking the designated area, two of us went to help with moving rocks and one of us went to the library and everyone left over went to move sticks.  After we moved the sticks  and joked about caca de vaka we went inside and ate snack.  Then we finished raking and ate lunch.  Because some of us were tired we left about an hour early.
Most of the gardeners thought we didn't do much but Ramon (the person we were helping) said that our work was very valuable and greatly appreciated.

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April 8th
Last night my group went to the medicinal garden, led by the naturalist, Jeremy. We saw a King toad and, I think, a Leopard frog. We also saw a green, shiny beetle that would not get off me until I pushed it. Before we saw leaf-cutter ants and a cool bug that was black and orange. Walking at night is very quiet, and very cool even though we didn't see any large animals in the garden.
On another night walk on the hill trails, we saw a white-faced capuchin, a tarantula, three coatis and the naturalist caught a resting blue-morpho butterfly.
Night hikes are best when quiet and in a group. I will definitely try this at home in VT.

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Day 4Vlog

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The Bat museum was a pretty interesting experience. We were all educated in the hearing, sight, and agility skills that bats have. We also learned that many things we think we know about Bats are just myths. They are not blind. Bats are actually quite far from blind, in fact their vision is superior to humans. All of the bats senses are superior to humans. After learning of the bats we got to go into a dark room with the bats who were behind a window. Most were humming bats and fruit bats. It was an educational experience.

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Bat Museum: Monte Verde

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San Luis school visit

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We went to a local Costa Rican school  where they performed a dance for us.  The girls were wearing big fluffy beautiful  dresses, while  the boys were wearing a white shirt with a sash and sandals.  The dance was based on taming bulls.   Then they played some music.
We then interviewed the students with simple questions.  We asked what their favorite color was.
Then they taught us a game called mattamanos.  It was pretty much like kickball with your hands.
The school we went to was awesome. The kids were sweet and I hope to go back to the school again.

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Everyone woke up around 5.m. on the day we went cow milking. Sadly we didn't have to actually leave until about 6:30a.m. The night before , we split into groups of who'd rather do what, cow milking or bird watching. Whatever you chose, you'd do the other one the next day. I chose cow milking for the first day which meant that I had to wake up earlier than the bird watchers.
We all went to the barn that was just down the road from where we're staying. The first thing that the group noticed was the smell. Since we're from Vermont, we're all pretty familiar with the smell of manure. So we  were expecting it to smell like poop. Once we got close enough to the barn, we realized that there wasn't any sort of odor. When we arrived a naturalist explained why this was.
Outside, on the side of the building, was a sign (see picture of Lilly) that showed all the things they do there besides milking cows and taking care of pigs. The reason that there was no smell was because in order to clean the barn they use a homemade fungus cleaner instead of chemicals. Inside the barn there were barrels filled with it. The naturalist who guided the activity told us that it was fermented vinegar with molasses. They spray the building with it around every week and it eats up all the bacteria and manure, rather than letting it sit there rotting and creating a smell.
After milking the cows, which I was really bad at, we were shown The Biodigester. The Biodigester was what the people at UGA depended on for food. It consisted of a balloon-like bag filled with methane from the cows. This was hooked up to a pipe that led to the kitchen which they cooked the food using. It was a really interesting way to use greenhouse gasses efficiently and for something other ruining the planet.

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Jeremiah packs a bag with soil. These will be used to start tree seedlings.

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Trapiche - sugar cane processor

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By Merou
After our mid-day meal we began to make our way to the two coffee farms near by. Our class was split in half and one group went to one coffee farm and one group went to the other.  The farm that my group went to was run by a woman named Elysia.  She has two kids, one who works at UGACR and one who is twelve.  She and her husband used to run the farm together but in the past two years her husband passed away leaving her alone to run the farm. She mainly grows coffee and sugar cane.  She started by talking about the land....She explained that originally 25 families shared the land and had a coffee cooperative. Each family had a twenty-five year lease for their land, and were given the choice to renew lease for additional twenty-five years or leave the cooperative. Many more families have joined the cooperative over the years and are now growing more variety. Currently the members of the cooperative are pushing for land ownership. The families have worked the land for many years and now they want to own it. After talking with Elysia for awhile, she led us up a small hill to see her coffee plants. She told us how to properly take care of a coffee plant. She told us the basics of how to run a coffee farm. When planting a coffee bush you take the pulp off of the coffee berry and choose the largest and most healthy looking beans to plant. They start the seedlings in little plastic bags and after about two years they are large enough to be planted in the ground. The coffee plant needs to be pruned about every fifteen years. To prune the plant, you basically just cut down the bush, leaving about six inches of the trunk above ground. From that trunk, grows about two little hijos . In order to keep the plants alive you have to take all the berries off by the end of the season. Harvesting season is only a few months but they feel long to the people working on the farms. Harvesting takes all day mostly everyday. When taking the berries of the bush, in order to get good coffee, you need to make sure to only pick the dark red berries. At the end of the season it is very important to take all the berries off of the bush no matter the color of the berry. To get a good coffee harvest, you have to keep the birds away from the bushes. Elysia prevents these animals from taking her crops by planting many other fruit trees as a distraction. On her land she has banana trees, citrus trees and sugarcane as well as her coffee. Sugarcane is also an important part of her. Though she does not make any profit from the sugar, she uses it to remind her of her ancestors. Her husband, who died within the past two years, used to be very passionate about the sugar cane process. It was a tradition to have sugar cane production on his farm for many generations and for Elysia, she wants to hold on to that part of her husband for as long as possible. Even though they don't make money by squeezing the sugarcane, her family uses it for almost all of their sweeteners. Producing sugarcane also is a way to bring the neighbors together for a day every once in awhile. Because of how difficult it is to get sugarcane juice, it is important to be efficient when using the trapiche. Sugarcanes are tough and fibrous so in order to get all the juice you can get from the cane, your trapiche has to be strong. Elysia's trapiche is powered by cows or horses. On the day when all of the neighbors get together to mass produce sugarcane juice, all of the neighbors bring their horse or cow. They then alternate between the different horses and cows from the neighbors. After getting the juice out of the cane, there is still a lot to be done. Like maple sap, cane juice is often boiled down. It is boiled down and then poured into molds to harden. When doing this, some people mix in mint leaves before the substance has hardened but leaving it plain is just as delicious. When it has hardened it is called dulce de mesa. From there you can either break it into little pieces or shave it into more of a "sugar". Elysia had prepared different kinds of sugar cane sugar for us to taste. She gave us raw sugar cane and dulce de mesa with mint as well as it plain. She then taught us how to use her trapiche so we could make cane juice. After all taking turns smashing the cane, we had a lot of juice. We then got to try it and compare it to the other different things you can do with sugarcane. My personal favorite was chewing on the raw sugarcane. After having a chance to buy merchandise from Elysia it was time to go see the roasting part of the coffee and then back to UGA to conclude our day.

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By Jeremiah
Today we learned about carbon offset. Carbon offset is when the carbon cycle gets messed up. We were lectured by a man named Earnest. He is a naturalist who uses spy cameras up in trees to take pictures of animals. He told us about what climate change does to an ecosystem. He showed us that if one species is wiped out because their home was destroyed that it has a chain reaction with other species. For instance, if bears get wiped out in Alaska then the salmon they eat will overpopulated. Then there will be too many salmon and whatever they eat will be decreased. He also showed us how in the last 150 years global temperatures have spiked than ever recorded. Since we flew here we made a rather large carbon footprint. So we planted trees since trees breathe in CO2 and breathe out oxygen. We ended up learning a lot more about global climate change.

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Traveling to  San Luis by Senait
After a long bus ride we had a hectic and nervewracking  time at the airport. We had to go through security and listen and follow directions carefully. We had a long wait at Gate 95 and then another wait (2 hrs!) on the plane before taking off.
We were on the plane for 7 hours total (a whole school day!) Then we landed in San Jose, the Capitol of Costa Rico. After going through customs we got on a tour bus for the 3 hour ride to UGA. It was bumpy and a it scary. We arrived  at 3a.m. I fell into bed and thought, "This is OK!"

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By Don

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By lilly

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By Amelia

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By Sarah

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By Nikita

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By Hunter

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by Broden

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Packed and Ready for Costa Rica!

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By  Merou