Costa Rican extravaganza



 
Day 1 - The Adventure Begins

At 6:00am I awoke. I would say that I felt more nervous than excited - a fortnight of constant shopping and counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until Costa Rica had finally come to a climax. The night before had been one of little sleep as the combination of staying up late to watch "Make Me A Supermodel", frantically packing the remainder of my luggage and being unable to sleep from sheer excitement meant that I didn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning. After dragging my suitcase to the car I bundled in and arrived at school. I was surprised to see that I was the last to arrive as Abby and I were pretty certain somebody else would be late ... not mentioning any names (Lauren!)


The hugs, kisses and frantic waving to parents, who were probably relieved to get rid of us for 10 days, happened next before the coach departed to Gatwick. The coach journey consisted of raised voices shrieking with excitement and the chants of "are we nearly there yet?" Charlotte and Lauren kept us thoroughly entertained by singing London Underground extremely loudly and admittedly slightly out of tune, for the duration of the journey.



 
After what seemed like an age we arrived at Gatwick. I got bored from the 60 minute coach journey so what a 10 hour plane journey would be like I dreaded to think. The suitcases were lugged into the airport and into check-in where we were pleasantly greeted with our own personal check-in desk. We chose to ignore the spelling mistake in the school name above the check-in desk! Several curious glances and smirks came our way when we reluctantly removed our jumpers to reveal our Costa Rica tops. These were branded with our surname and number and joke after joke was made over Miss Boyle's shirt and Abby's shirt. Thank God I am blessed with a normal surname! Into security we filed where we were met with queues of people waiting to file through metal detectors and the rest of the endless security checks. Shrieks of glee appeared when we rushed into the shopping area and launched ourselves into the duty free section. Rebecca and I rushed to Starbucks where my breakfast consisted of a large chocolate cream fraupoccino with cream (of course) and a chocolate au pain. Don't ask me how to pronounce it. We sped into the Sony shop to eventually purchase some head phones. Before I did this I couldn't resist complaining loudly at the prices of some of the headphones, I mean who would spend £100 on a set of headphones?



 
Once crammed into the economy seats on the plane we settled down into the very un-comfy seats. This didn't last long though and we had soon all jumped out up and congregated in the aisle of the plane - inconsiderate I know Mr Lobo but we didn't want to get deep vein thromboses now did we! Here we soon began chatting to the group of Americans behind us. We chatted to them for most of the journey and learned that they were from Texas and had been on a school trip around Europe. I have to say the meal on the plane was disgusting and consisted of dried up chicken, a stale roll and, to my horror, mushrooms. However I did enjoy the milk and chocolate cake. The 10-hour journey went extremely slowly and even watching "The Incredibles" was boring.

As we flew into Dallas I noted that every house seemed to have a lot of land around it and to my envy a large swimming pool. We even spotted some ranches and learnt from our newfound friends that this was the land of steak. Just before the plane landed we exchanged stories, with the American students, about our different schools and what we did in our free time. I was amazed to hear that their High School didn't even have as many students as my primary school did - we must really be in small town America.



 
The plane landed in Texas and again we trooped through more security checks before reaching more shops. Here we scurried to Subway where to our amusement the man made us repeat the word 'mayonnaise' over and over again, so much so that the queue behind us soon reached out of the door. The second plane journey was more subdued with most people choosing to sleep through the journey. Once off the plane we exhaustedly collected our luggage, clambered onto the coach and arrived at the hotel. I was relieved to have arrived safely but was not too impressed with our room with its tiny bed and windows that wouldn't close properly. However a close inspection would have to wait until morning as we crashed out on our beds. Day one of the trip was over.


 
Day 2 - The Shanty Town Experience

I wearily awoke at 6:30 after an uncomfortable night. I named what was supposed to be our duvet a dust cloth and concluded that our shower appeared to be larger than the bed. After a closer inspection of our room we realised that the TV remote didn't match the TV, there was a gap at the top of the window and the taps had to be twisted the opposite way to be turned on. I then had a refreshingly freezing shower before tipping my suitcase upside down in search of clothes to wear. Abby and I then trooped off to breakfast where I devoured two slices of pineapple. However I passed on the papaya juice after taking a small sip and announcing that it tasted of watered down orange juice.

Once breakfast was over and we had sorted ourselves out we met up with Eduardo, our guide for the trip. We then took off to the University of Costa Rica. This university is the best in Costa Rica; it also attracts many students from other countries throughout Latin America. It was explained that the students had to earn a certain amount of points before being able to study for a certain profession - for example, you had to earn 95 points to be a Doctor. Miss Boyle pointed out the different types of trees next to us, including one with purple blossoms.


 
Back on the coach we drove to a richer area in Costa Rica. On the way I noticed how much rubbish there was on the floor. People say Britain is bad for litter but compared to this it is immaculate. I learned that the litter was there because many people are so poor that they are forced to scavenge through bins. In the rich area we saw the American Embassy where we gleefully began taking pictures of everything and anything, as good tourists do. However a rather short man carrying a gun soon ended this and told us that we weren't allowed to take pictures of the embassy. We were all relieved to return to the cool air-conditioning of the coach.


 
Our next destination was to see a Costa Rican school. Here we heard many of the children calling us "gringos" which means foreigners. After a quick walk through Costa Rica's answer to Hyde Park we went to visit some shops. The park is a large green, forested area usually known as "the lungs of San José". When we went shopping we attempted to carry out our tasks for the day, which were to find out how much a postage stamp and postcard cost, purchase a piece of Costa Rican food, find out the colours of the flag and national flower and take a picture of something that reminds us of someone.


 
We began outside a large hotel, which was built when Costa Rica was a rich country and this was the first hotel in Costa Rica. By then we had all grown hungry, as Mr Lobo had constantly ignored our pleas to stop at Subway. So we then all went to McDonalds where we struggled to purchase McFlurry's. After a trek up a hill we ended up at a small market. However we sped through it as once we had entered we realised that it stank. Out of the market we found ourselves in front of a huge wall covered in graffiti. We soon realised that this was political graffiti as we spotted the words "Bush" and "Nazi".


 
We got back onto the coach and to all of our delights we went to Terra Mall.
Once off the coach we scurried into the mall and began buying lunch. I ordered a Subway, which I found very difficult, and in the end resorted to pointing at what I wanted. When we had eaten we spent our time looking around the shops and enjoying the arcade. After this we got back onto the coach and were driven through the shantytowns.


 
These were situated on the hills because the land is poor quality therefore cheaper. I was shocked to see that some of the people had to live in tiny houses that were made from corrugated iron or anything that they could lay their hands on. It definitely set a sombre mood on the coach and made us think just how lucky we are. However I felt a bit strange driving through there gawping at the people, as we were the rich people going on a tour to look at the poor people. It is sad that there is so much poverty in the world today.


 
Back at the hotel we spent our spare time writing up our diaries in the room christened by Mr Lobo "the family room". Diary writing soon became everybody's most loathed thing to do as we had to write 2 pages for each day. Diary writing over we took a short walk to TGI Fridays where we all enjoyed a satisfying meal. Afterwards we all presented what we had done for the tasks. Caroline and Louise won in the end with the dragonfly brooch that reminded them of Miss Fox as she wears one. We then returned to our rooms, the end of a second brilliant day.


 
Day 3 - A View Worth Waiting For

Today we had to get up at 6.30am as we were leaving the hotel at 7.30am - after much frantic packing and sitting on suitcases we made our way down to breakfast where I again had pineapple. When we had finished we left the hotel. I was glad to say goodbye to this hotel room as I have smacked both knees on the corner of the bed three times and I now have bruises on both knees. When everyone was on the coach we set off for our first destination, a coffee plantation.


 
Once we had arrived we scrambled down a slope and were then met by row upon row of coffee plants. We learnt that Costa Rica produced the second best coffee in the world, second only to Brazil. Also the coffee was all handpicked and dried naturally in the sun, unlike Brazil where they use machinery.


 
After taking more pictures we were soon back on the coach heading for Poas Volcano National Park. On the way we saw some children practicing for a parade in the street. At Poas volcano we went and saw a video, which was admittedly slightly boring. However we were soon kept entertained when on the walk up to the volcano Eduardo found a Salamander under a rock. When I felt the salamander it was very wet however it soon began to dry out in the hot sun. We also saw a Poor Man's Umbrella, which is a plant that has huge leaves. The leaves on this plant are rough due to acid rain.


 
When we reached the viewing point for the volcano crater we were horrified to find that the view of the crater was covered by mist. We waited for 45-60 minutes for the mist to clear. Mr Lobo announced every 5 minutes that the mist was clearing even though it obviously wasn't. Just before we were about to leave the mist miraculously cleared leaving us with an amazing view of the crater and lake. Everybody was frantically taking pictures but I wasn't able to, as the film on my camera had run out. The Crater Lake was blue and there was vegetation all around it due to the rich fertile soil from eruptions. The volcano is a composite volcano as it had layers that were made up of ash and lava, which were hard and soft. We were also able to see fumaroles, which were emitting green and yellow sulphur. It was noted that the area was sustainable as the developments were not damaging but helping to preserve the area.


 
We then moved onto the butterfly house, in this we found many different species of butterfly. There were also several dead ones scattered about the floor and floating in the pond. We were able to see the cocoons and some of the butterflies that had hatched from them and were hanging out to dry. After looking at the butterflies we went to see the humming birds. These are the smallest birds in the world and they beat their wings 60 times in one second.


 
Our lunch was taken in an airy restaurant and was surprisingly delicious. Ed reminded our table of a hamster when he was eating as he had puffy cheeks. Rachel and I felt sorry for the people and the restaurant, as they had no tips so we gave then some of our colones before departing on quite a long walk. This walk took us to different levels of a beautiful waterfall. The views were amazing and we all got very wet waiting for pictures to be taken. The walk was good but quite exhausting as there were hundreds of steps that had to be taken through the levels of the waterfall.


 
We then drove for a surprisingly short hour and 15 minutes during which Mark was sick! We were all relieved to get off the coach and find our hotel to be beautiful. It was on the edge of the rainforest and was on stilts to keep it away from the bugs. The rooms we stayed in were brand new and we were the first guests to stay in them. We spent the evening in the gorgeous swimming pool having chicken fights.


 
Day 4 - The Action Day

Today has so far been the best day and it has lived up to all previous expectations. It began with another early start and depressingly I have had to get up earlier than I would normally for school, on this holiday. There were looks of glee on our faces as we went down to breakfast because the smell of bacon and eggs was there to greet us. We tucked into the bacon, scrambled eggs and toast and all agreed that it had been the best breakfast so far.


 
After breakfast we all mounted onto the coach and drove to the area where our action packed day would begin. We all heaved ourselves onto different horses and began along the route. I was a bit disappointed when my horse was really slow - however after enquiring with Rachel I learnt just to give it a kick and it would speed up. With this advice I soon galloped my way to the front. The funniest moment of the day was when we went down a steep hill. All of the horses were plodding along at snail's pace apart from Laura's, which seemed to have a mind of its own. Whilst going down the hill it suddenly bolted. Laura was hanging on for dear life whilst the rest of the group just watched and laughed. There was also another funny moment when Abby's horse took her on a detour straight through a purple bush rather than along the track. We noticed that the soil had been heavily eroded due to rainfall. The rain, which recently flooded the area had eroded the soil and deposited it in uneven heaps along the track.


 
Once horse riding had finished we all went to be harnessed up for the zip lines through the rainforest canopy. The harnesses were quite heavy and I began to feel a bit nervous about doing it. However my mind was soon taken off this when we all dug into some fruit that was provided. Once we had finished the instructor went through a lengthy safety talk - however I could not understand half of what he was saying. I began to look at the surrounding area instead. I was able to see clearly the layers of the rainforest. We were standing on a platform on the under canopy. From there I could see the emergent, main canopy and shrub layer. I was the first girl to do the zip line and found it really fun. Lauren and Charlotte kept us entertained by making Tarzan noises as they went down.


 
When a group of us were waiting for the others to catch up Eduardo showed us some insects. They were hanging on the underside of the leaves and were in fact dead. He told us that they came out every five years and laid their eggs under the trees. These eggs then took another five years to hatch. We were also told that the roots of the trees were not below the ground and this was because the leaves on the trees grow, die and decompose in an extremely fast cycle. This means that the nutrients from the decomposed leaves do not have time to go into the soil. The last zip wire was one of the best it took us a short tractor drive to get there and was 300m long. Due to its considerable length we were able to pick up a lot of momentum and reach a high level of speed. The second from last one was also fun because they bounced you up and down. It was also funny because I stopped moving before I reached the end so I had to turn around and pull myself along the wire.


 
After the excitement of the zip wire I moved onto what I was most looking forward to - the white water rafting. After we had all kitted up we were given another lecture about safety, which again I did not understand half of. This time I entertained myself by watching the stampede of ants. There were hundreds of them crawling along in a long line carrying leaves. I thought it was even funnier when they began attacking Ruth?s trainers. Once on the rafts we had great fun, we had a really great instructor called Hansel and we spent most of the time trying to get the teachers as wet as possible but we were not very successful. When we jumped in we also tried a bit of synchronised swimming. When we get back to England me, Ruth, Merida, Abby, Rachel and Rebecca are going to join a synchronised swimming team because we were so good! Our instructor taught us the Costa Rican phrase 'pura vida' meaning 'pure life' and we used our paddles to make the tune "We will rock you", which we shouted out really loudly! We also stopped along the river at a rope swing, which we all had a go on, jumping into the river with it - even Miss Murphy entertained us by having a go!


 
There was a lot of geography along the river we saw two frogs, which we nearly killed in our boat. We also saw how the river was faster on the outside and therefore the rocks were eroded more there. We also noticed that the river had few fish in it and this is because due to flooding mud has been carried and deposited in the river making it polluted. During the white water rafting Ruth was the only person who managed to fall in accidentally and this was right at the end when we smashed into a massive rock. After white water rafting we had a really nice lunch.

Diary writing was great fun that night even though Mr Lobo made me sit in the corner for talking too much - in my defence I was only trying to make the torture of writing 2 A4 pages, when we could be having fun, a bit more exciting!


 
Day 5 - A School Day to Remember

Today I woke up feeling really ill and tired. I put this down to not drinking anything yesterday apart from at breakfast. I made an attempt at packing my stuff however this was unsuccessful as I folded all my clothes up in a pile but ended up knocking them all over. I went down to breakfast but couldn't bring myself to eat anything as I felt really sick and had lost my appetite. After breakfast we took a short walk to where our boat trip would begin.


 
The sun was beating down on us and you could feel it burning your skin. Today was definitely the hottest day so far. I was relieved to get under the shade of the boat, as the heat was so intense. I felt a bit sick at the start of the boat journey because firstly I was still dehydrated and secondly the boat driver kept on revving his engine and spinning us around. During the boat trip we were able to see all of the beautiful scenery along the river. We were also able to see many of the different species of animals. There were lots of iguanas that we spotted along the river, one of which decided to climb up the side of the boat right where I was sitting. It took Eduardo a good five minutes to prise it off with a stick; during which it tried to whip him with its tail!


 
We also saw howler monkeys that are black and high up in the trees; they also make a horrible screeching noise. I saw a crocodile in the river that was basking in the sun and a sloth hanging in the tree. We also saw some white nosed bats hanging in a hole in a tree however I was not able to see them. When the boat trip was over I nearly fell off the boat when getting off as I hit my foot across the edge of the step.


 
The next thing we did was to head off to the school that we were going to visit. The school visit was one of the things that I had been looking forward to the most. This was because I thought that it would be interesting to see the school and meet the children and we were going to be able to help them by giving them football tops and money. I felt a bit apprehensive going up to the school, as I wasn?t sure what to expect or what the kids would be like. When we arrived we went into the school, which consisted of one room with two chalkboards and about twenty wooden desks. The six people who took GCSE Spanish then made a short presentation to them in Spanish. They told them where we are from and a bit about our school.


 
After this we handed over the cheque, football tops and other gifts people had bought. All of the children seemed very grateful for their gifts. This made all of the fundraising and collecting worthwhile. We then went outside and had a huge game of football with the children. It was so hot that I gave up playing and went inside; in the end the children won about 8-1. Inside the school the teacher showed us how to play a game with a ball and small metal spiky things; I was hopeless at it.


 
The teachers then brought out lots of fruit such as watermelon, mango, pineapple and coconut. It was hilarious watching Mr Lobo attempting to cut up a coconut. Louise made friends with a really sweet girl called Emily. Our school visit soon came to an end and I was very touched by the whole experience. I was also very proud that the money Year 10 had raised, which was altogether $3207, was going towards building a new school building.


 
Back on the coach we drove to a nearby pineapple plantation where we made a brief stop. As we were pulling away we saw some of the school children that we had seen that morning. It was really good to see that they were waving and smiling and also wearing their football tops. We then went on a 2-hour coach trip towards Arenal Volcano. We had a brief stop to buy ice creams before arriving, and here we spotted some huge iguanas. When we reached Arenal volcano we jumped onto a boat and took a boat trip right up to the front of the volcano.


 
The scenery was spectacular. However I was distracted from this for half of the journey because Abby jammed my camera's batteries in the wrong way round and nobody was able to pull them out, so there might not be many pictures in the rest of my project. When the boat trip was over we drove to our next hotel where we would be staying for 1 night, we each had a separate chalet with 3 double beds.


 
Once we had all unpacked our luggage and got changed we headed off to the hot springs. On the way there we stopped the coach and could just about make out the volcano erupting. When we reached the hot springs we found them to be very relaxing and, not surprisingly, hot! There was even a slide that we could enjoy going down. There were at least 7 different pools and we managed to spend a little bit of time in each of them. Some of the pools were absolutely boiling however some of them were quite cold. We soon had to leave the hot springs, even though none of us wanted to, and go to have dinner in the restaurant.

The food was delicious and they even made you your own pasta with whatever ingredients you wanted in it. Marc must have had at least 4 helpings! Before we left we went into a gift shop where everything was a rip off - however I did buy a Toblerone. When we got back to the hotel we all went to sleep almost straight away, as we were so tired however our room was a bit slow as we were trying to pack all of our stuff again.


 
Day 6 - Rest and Relaxation

In the morning, after an agreeable breakfast, we departed for yet another hotel. This hotel was the Best Western Jaco Beach hotel and was supposed to be one of the best hotels in the area. The coach journey down there was quite long however led by Charlotte and Lauren we were kept entertained by a little karaoke session, which even with your Ipod on full volume you could not drown out. We also stopped at a gift shop where everybody scurried about buying last minute presents for friends and family. We were also able to see some more crocodiles in a river below us. At the gift shop there was a small area where they had some wildlife that we were able to see and I was able to hold the bird - even though it did bite me.


 
It was a bit chaotic when we arrived at the hotel because the hotel had allocated certain people to be in charge of the rooms meaning that some people were split up from their friends. The rooms at the hotel were not amazing but the facilities were. There was a gorgeous swimming pool and the hotel looked out over the beach and sea. There were also tennis courts, table tennis, table football and a pool table. For the rest of the day we were allowed to do whatever we wanted around the hotel. We all headed for the swimming pool eagerly wanting to get in and cool down from the sweltering heat. However Mr Lobo wouldn't let us in until there was a teacher present. We were dying in the intense heat so we all made a ring around the pool and the second that Mr Lobo gave the word we dive-bombed into the pool. Marc insists that he made it in first however I reckon that I was the first one in the pool. We all spent the remainder of the day relaxing around the pool recovering after our previous busy schedule. In the evening we were kept entertained as we watched a teacher v pupils tennis match from the balcony. However I don?t think that the man in the room next door to us appreciated the cheering that we were giving to the pupils playing.


Day 7 - Water Aerobics with Poser

Today we all got up quite late and strolled down to breakfast. We were a bit annoyed that you had to pay extra if you wanted a hot breakfast but were delighted by the smoothie making man. He let us choose whatever fruit we wanted to make a smoothie with. We chose strawberry, pineapple and yogurt. It was gorgeous.



 
Everybody then spent the rest of the day relaxing and doing what they wanted to do around the hotel. Most people headed for the swimming pool however a few got up really early and went on a crocodile safari, which was an additional fee. At lunch time Ruth and I trooped down to the bar where we ordered a plate of chips each. When they eventually came we ended up using at least 35 sachets of ketchup, between us, to eat them with! The waiter came over at least 4 or 5 times to clear up our mound of ketchup sachets. To Ruth's amusement I even managed to spill my coke all down my front. The rest of the day was spent in the pool and chatting to friends on msn.


 
To our amusement we saw one of the hotel workers standing around the pool with his sunshades on and volleyball under one arm. We christened him Poser as he was standing there thinking that he looked ultra cool! It was hilarious when he came over to us and tried to make us join in one of his water aerobics classes. Abby and Nicola took part in the whole of the class however the rest of us gave up half way through as we were laughing too much! In the evening we all went and enjoyed a meal at Pizza Hut before returning onto the beach to watch the sunset. Most of the group then went on a walk along the beach however a few of us decided to stay at the hotel. Here we played cards and then gave each other dares if we lost. We then all went to sleep after a very relaxing day.


 
Day 8 - More Rest and Relaxation

Today was another day spent lounging around the pool and beach and basically doing whatever we wanted. In the late afternoon we all had to pack up our things again and leave to return back to the first hotel we had stayed in, Hotel Bougainvillea. None of us wanted to leave the hotel and its beautiful swimming pool as we had such a great time there. However we all got back onto the coach and returned to our original hotel. We were all assigned our original rooms and Abby and I were very pleased to see that they had attempted to redecorate our room. There was a new duvet and cladding on the ceiling and they had even put up a new shower curtain!



 
That evening we returned to TGI Fridays for a final meal. However the service wasn't very good when we got there. This was because our starters arrived after we had finished our main course and Merida had to wait an hour and a half for her food. Therefore we said that we didn't want to pay the included tip. After a lot of discussion the manager gave us what amounted to a 20p discount! Back at the hotel we all congregated in the family room for the final time and here we all gave our coach driver and Eduardo our tour guide some of our money as a tip. They had both helped to make the trip a very special one.


 
Day 9 - Goodbye Costa Rica PURA VIDA!!!

Today we had to wake up very early - so early I can't even remember what time it was! After rubbing the sleep from our eyes we threw on some clothes, put our suitcases on the coach and got onto the coach for the last time. We then wearily waved goodbye to the hotel and headed off to the airport. When we arrived at the airport we formed a queue at the check in desk and due to the fact that there were 30 of us the queue was quite long. However a few grumpy old men thought that is was alright to try and push in front of all 30 of us because they couldn?t be bothered to wait in the queue. Mr Lobo and Miss Boyle soon put them straight and they trudged back to the end of the queue! After we all eventually made it through security we headed to Burger King where we had our breakfast and we then all mounted onto the plane. However before we got onto the plane Rebecca, Abby and I couldn't resist going to Starbucks to get another fraupaccino. When we got onto the plane we found that we were all dotted around the plane again. Abby and I had seats one seat away from each other. Luckily nobody came and sat between us so we both stretched out our legs along the empty seat.


 
The flight soon came to an end and we landed in Miami. When we were going through the security checks a big fat woman kept barking at us to get in certain lines and she was really rude! Once through security some people went to a shopping mall in Miami and others stayed in the airport to take advantage of the duty free. I chose to stay in the airport where we headed for the perfume shop and spent our time buying the latest perfume. However we had to wait until we went through to the gate to pick it up. We then went to speak to a man who was a luggage wrapper. If you paid him he would wrap your bag up in blue plastic. We wanted to know what the point was in this and he told us that people did it for security reasons. We then asked why were we all told to take the padlocks off our suitcases so that they could be searched when people were allowed to wrap theirs up in blue plastic. He had no answer for this! Our time in Miami airport was soon up and we made our way down to the gate.


 
Due to the fact that we had to go and get our perfume we told Miss Murphy where we were going and we went down to get it. We had to wait ages at the perfume shop so much so that we were about 10-15 minutes late meeting everyone at the gate. However we thought that this would be okay as we were still in plenty of time to get the plane and Miss Murphy knew where we were going, but when we reached the gate we received a bit of a telling off from Mr Lobo for being late! However we all made it onto the flight and we all had got our perfume! When we got onto the plane I was surprised to hear the British accents of the air hostesses as everyone apart from the people on the trip had had American or Costa Rican accents. On the flight home I watched the first half of Spanglish 3 times and listened to my mini disc. However I couldn't get to sleep as I felt really cramped in my seat. I resorted to spreading my legs out in the aisle and this allowed me to fall asleep for a little bit. However I was rudely awakened by the air hostess stamping on my foot as she wheeled the trolley by! When we landed at Heathrow I felt a little sad that a trip I had been looking forward to for so long had come to an end. However it was an amazing trip of a lifetime that I will never forget.

Thank you Mr Lobo, Miss Boyle, Miss Murphy and Mr Coulson for letting the trip happen!