Hi there!
This is your Project Director, Zyro, writing from the road. I’m coming back to San Jose after a week visiting all the sites where we’ll be during the program and the first thing that I must say is that I’m more excited than ever!
The landscapes are as wonderful as I was expecting, the people I met are incredibly nice, and our Partner Agency is amazing.
We’ll spend the first half of the program in Monteverde, and so did I with my survey week. I loved this place as soon as I arrived! This mountainous community will welcome us with great views, fresh air, and -most likely- some rain.
The hotel where we’ll be staying for our in-country quarantine has all that we’ll need and more! I hope you’re ready to wake up every morning looking at this view!
During our time in Monteverde, we’ll get to know a lot more about sustainable development through a few different projects and talk to local people about how climate change has been impacting the community. We’ll also have the opportunity to do some volunteering activities and walk through the Cloud Forest and the hanging bridges!
For the second half, we’ll travel across the country in order to get to the east coast. This will take us almost a whole day, so if you know any games for the road, this will be a great time to share them with the group!
And here comes one of the most exciting parts, at least for me. The only way to get to Parismina is through the river, so we’re doing the last part of the trip by boat!
Once we get to Parismina we’ll see right away the contrast with Monteverde, from the landscape and the weather to the development stage of each. This beachfront community will welcome us with warmer -but still rainy- weather and the typical Caribbean lifestyle.
Here we’ll meet our Partner Agency, a community-based organization that has been working in sea turtle conservation for 20 years. We’ll work with them in several activities, including some beach patrols looking for turtle nests!
Finally, we’ll take another boat that will take us to Tortuguero for our last 2 days. This is a small town right next to Tortuguero National Park. In case you hadn’t had enough boats yet, don’t worry, we’re going to have a canoe tour through the Tortuguero channels, and if we’re lucky enough we might see monkeys, caimans, and several other reptiles and birds!
I’m now arriving in San José, so I must wrap up this post, but before I’ll just give you some last-minute recommendations!
1. Make sure you come ready for rainy weather, we’ll be getting wet quite often. So quick-dry clothing will definitely be super useful.
2. Start practicing your Spanish and get familiarized with the typical Costa Rican expressions! (You can find some of them in the PIP)
3. Get ready to enjoy Costa Rican food, with lots of gallo pinto, rice and beans, casado, platanos, and delicious tropical fruits!
I can’t wait to welcome you all in a couple of weeks, and I know you’ll love Costa Rica as much as I do!
Nos vemos pronto! Pura vida!
Zyro
