Leaving Turtle Trax reminded me of saying goodbye to my senior friends on the last day of school. It’s sad to part but it doesn’t over shadow the memories made and the people you have met. The most admirable quality that I have observed in the people at Turtle Trax is their perseverance. You are…
We boated out to an ecotone, where the mangroves meet the reef to form an interesting combined habitat. This was a short snorkeling trip where the main goal was for the Marine Lab instructors to find a pink algae which ended up being a habitat for tons of different invertebrate species. During the introduction of…
We started the day off with hearty breakfast of Bacon and Pancakes (very delicious) Following that we got on the Nari taking a trip on a survey of the keys. Seeing a hardbottom, patch reef, bank reef, artificial reef, and then the Deep Blue (over 250 feet deep!) Lunch was tacos with a delicious homemade…
I chose to reflect on compassion today because we have been with each other for a little over a week now and our compassion needs to grow as we progress. We have seen many leaders show compassion such as Jungle Mike when he started to care for and take interest in bugs. He took that…
Coral Reef Trip We boated out to the Banana Reef. The Banana Reef is one of many SPA (“no take, no touch”) zones. This protects the coral reefs from the effects of tourism in the area. Coral reefs are essential to the ocean ecosystem. Coral reefs house 32 of 34 total phylums of animals and…
Today is Friday the 25th and it was our day off. First we went to Oscar’s Farm, where we made our very own chorreada. They took us through the whole process including harvesting the corn, removing the husk, grinding the kernels, and frying it. Afterwards we headed to the beach to relax for a couple…
Had our first night patrol last night. Incredible. First group came across a turtle coming up the beach. Stella helped to record all of the data in the Turtle Trax journal, and Cici was the one catching the 94 eggs and placing them in a bag held by Allison to take back to the hatchery….
When they are written here is where you will find the Travel Journal posts from the Summer Search Costa Rica Cloud Forest
Our day began at the break of dawn (aka 8 am). We prepared for a day full of impactful and meaningful events. We could hear Becca and Katrina yell from the heavens to wake up, prepare our meals, and bags for our packed day. We filled up our tummies with foods to fuel us for…
This morning, after one last delicious breakfast in Urubamba, we were picked up by the Llama Pack Project crew. We took a van through curvy mountain roads and saw some incredible views along the way, including towering mountains and fluffy llamas, alpacas, and sheep. We stopped for lunch at Ancasmarka, a pre-Incan ruin site. It…
Here are student responses to the prompt: “insert name here has shown me that ethical leadership means …” Scrapes on my arm, blisters on my hands, and muscle soreness have shown me that ethical leadership means “to toil.” Ethical leadership can be seen as a love, or a struggle, or a frustration; however, I view…
My time in Kenya has helped me realize that I need to have more faith in myself. Jim‘s challenge of not saying: “I’m not that good, sorry.” while working made me have to look further into my actions and how they impact my mindset. If I begin to loosen up, not take myself so seriously,…
One of the most important lessons I have learned from this trip so far is not confusing what I want with what I need in everyday life. I constantly think that I need to have a hot shower, or I need a machine to wash my clothes, but in reality, a cold shower won’t kill…
Arriving in Lima, all giddy and excited for the upcoming journey, we faced some unfortunate challenges. First was the immigration services line that led us to miss our flight to Cuzco. However, despite this obstacle our group was able to grow closer and learn how to adapt to new situations. We had the chance to…
We started the day off, strong with some delicious French toast and fruit. We continued onto the boats to a new community in the mangroves of Bastimentos by the name of Bahia Honda. Our assignment was to paint a newly constructed cafeteria. We got to meet the imfamous monkey on the island, Poncho. We painted…
We had our last breakfast and lunch in San Cristobal, then went fishing and swam in the ocean; we caught one fish, while the other half of the group learned about the history of San Cristobal at the Nobe Cacao farm. We came back and the Basti volunteer group saw the kids for the last…
Today, we woke up to an amazing breakfast of pancakes and fruit. After we fueled up, we boated over to the main island in Bocas, Isla Colon. There, we met Emily, the Give and Surf director and she took us over to the Recycling center. Edwardo walked us through the center and taught us all…
After a late night playing cards, we had an early start where our team prepared breakfast for us in the community kitchen! Following breakfast, we hit the road to our friend Fernando’s farm in the mountains. At the farm, we met Fernando’s cousins, the twins, Javier and Jaime, where we went through the process of…
After a day of rest from traveling, we headed to Cestor Beatriz / Caguas, where we met Gaby on his farm. On the farm, we got to work on various projects, including harvesting mesclun, planting tomatoes, and pulling weeds. All while learning about farming on a slope. Furthermore, we practiced our Spanish and learned how…
Once students begin travelling, this is where you will see their travel journal posts.
Once students begin travelling, this is where you will see their travel journal posts.
Today is our last full day at our home stays. We began by touring the coffee farm behind our houses where we saw animals like pigs and sloths. On the farm we also tried different items like star fruit and mint leaves. We then visited the local elementary school. They performed a few different dances…
Today was our last day in San Miguel with Turtle Trax. Throughout our time here, we have met and learned from many ethical leaders. One of the leaders who has made the biggest impact on us is Juan, who has been with us for every activity this week and also played a lot of soccer…
This morning we went to Jungle Mike’s. He’s an entomologist from the US who moved to Costa Rica over 20 years ago. He showed us around his open-air butterfly farm, and taught us a lot about different bugs in the area. Many of us caught butterflies, and tried eating some termites. He told us that…
The sixth day of our journey started later than the others, with our breakfast being pushed back until 8:00. With this the group was rejuvenated and ready to get after a very fun day. We drove to Playa Coyote where we would finally be able to swim in the ocean. After an hour of driving…
Today we celebrated the anniversary of the annexation of Guanacaste from Nicaragua at the local school. The celebration consisted of listening to traditional Costa Rican music, watching the students perform traditional dances, and learning how to make corn tortillas. We then went on to play a soccer match with the students from the school. The…
At the beginning of this trip i set out the goal to develop the following: gratitude for the experience, humility, and understanding of Bocas del Torro and the people that live here. Gratitude has come to me the most naturally. I am grateful for this experience, for being able to see such a beautiful part…
Our day started with another early morning, our good friend the howler monkey decided it was in our best interest to wake up bright and early at 4:30 this morning. Our cries for help went unanswered and the monkey continued to howl as we gradually arose to come to breakfast. As soon as everyone was…
After two long days of travel and getting settled into our home for the next week, we had our first real day of sea turtle work in Costa Rica today. We started off the morning early with breakfast at the hotel where we discussed the day’s agenda. Shortly after, we left to meet Edgar, the…
Our course instructors have informed us that the group has arrived at the project site. Tomorrow, they will begin working and learning alongside our partner, Turtle Trax. We will share updates from the field as they come in.