After delayed flights, we all finally made it to Costa Rica, and jumped right into action! We had an orientation full of name games, icebreakers, and discussions about what it means to be a community, then spent the rest of the evening soaking up some Costa Rican culture (or rather, sweating it out) with dance lessons! Dancing Ticos Oscar and Emma taught our whole group how to dance the salsa, merengue, bachata, and the Costa Rican swing! While a little awkward at first, soon we were all laughing as we attempted to master the steps. We ended our first day with dinner on the beautiful beach, Playa Hermosa.

We woke up the next day and ate a typical Costa Rican breakfast of scrambled eggs, rice, beans, plantains, and coffee, then headed straight for the beach. After cooling off in the beautiful water, we played Frisbee and organized a game of ultimate beach soccer — we played on a slight hill right on the shore, which provided a challenging spin on the game as the ball often went into the water. It was hilarious and very fun!

We ate lunch by the beach and then took a boat ride out to a nearby cove for some snorkeling! We spent hours in the clear turquoise water watching schools of brightly colored fish, eels, sea urchins, and a manta ray in their natural habitat! On our way back, we stopped on a white sand beach and discovered thousands of hermit crabs scuttling across the sand. We collected a few and decided to race them, though they weren’t nearly as competitive as us! We ended our great day with a briefing on our host village, Bonanza Norte, and the projects we will be doing there.

We are all very excited to meet our village tomorrow and begin the community service aspect of our trip. ¡Pura Vida!

Until next time,
Leaders Emma and Zack