Deal Costa Rica 2018

This is just a quick post to say our group is safe and happy in La Fortuna! I will update and post pictures later this evening.

If yesterday's lack of a post is any indication, our second day in Tortuguero and our first (and only) day in Sarapiqui have been a whirlwind! I will try to make this post quick as our current hotel's tree house-like, rustic charm leaves me exposed to mosquitoes in the common area and the safety of my netted room calls. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Tortuguero is accessible only by river boat and bush plane so our students spent a great deal of time viewing the rain forest from the water. Morning rains meant for a relatively short howler monkey wake up call and an unwelcome additional dose of humidity. The cool breeze on our racing river boats was a welcome change and the students saw a laundry list of incredible plants and animals while touring Tortuguero National Park. A river boat full of Deal students races to be the first to see a monkey A basilisk pauses just before escaping our adolescents by running across the water The caiman seemed less conc...

Today's journey took our students from the comforts of San Jose to wilds of Tortuguero National Park on the Caribbean coast. Our journey took us via bus through the mountains surrounding San Jose and down to the fruit plantations Cariari, where we boarded a shallow-draft boat to complete our journey. Tortuguero is not accessible via roads, but the 8 mile river trip went quickly as our students searched the shores for wildlife. Below are some snapshots from the day:   Freshly harvested banana bundles block our path as they cross the road via an impressive cable system  One of our boats between the hotel and the village of Tortuguero  The cool breeze was a hit as it is the closest to air conditioning we'll get until the end of the trip  Exploring the village of Tortuguero  Walking along the Caribbean beaches (part of a sea turtle sanctuary) on our way to the village  Surprisingly, the volleyball courts were, initiall...

8th grade students at Deal took two long and tedious flights that consumed the energy of most and the entire day. (One flight was from DCA to Fort Lauderdale, and the other from Fort Lauderdale to San José.) At the last few minutes of the second flight, we finally saw Costa Rica, which was when these pictures were taken. - Sydney While we soared over the beautiful terrain of San José, we encountered some dangerous wind in our direction. Our pilot had no option but to continue onward. The plane bounced tumultuously. A gasp of pure fear enveloped the plane. We looked down again at the land where our stomachs had fallen to their demise; it seemed so close, yet so far. Those eager for the bathroom squirmed in agony, constrained by the glowing seat belt sign. Those icy, chilled drinks that seemed so tempting before were now the cause of our extreme fear of an accident. As we looked around at the tranquil passengers seated beside us, we pondered in utter confusion, was this only a dre...

As of 3:40 pm Costa Rica time, we have ~80 of our 118 students safely love n Costa Rica with the remaining group on their way from Houston! The travel day started way too early at DCA, but has been smooth and easy thanks to Ms. Cuffee’s excellent planning and our students’ maturity and flexibility. If the start of the trip is any indication, we’re in for a great journey! Tonight’s plans include enjoying our current hotel’s gorgeous pool, eating dinner at Denny’s (you read that correctly), and turning the lights out promptly at 9:00 pm to prepare for an early morning. Our second flight arrives about 9:30 so they’ll eat then rush to bed after a long day of travel! Tomorrow we make our way to Tortugero, an unforgettable rainforest preserve on the Caribbean coast only accessible via river boat and bush plane. As they don’t make 140 passenger push planes, we’re in for a long, but scenic, river cruise! The accommodations moving forward will be more rustic  as we leave the ci...

Welcome to the Alice Deal Middle School 2018 Costa Rica travel blog! We’ll do our best to make updates every day and include tons of fun pictures, but please know that our internet connection may be spotty in some destinations and we may miss a day or two. As Ms. Cuffee says, sometimes no news is good news, right? We look forward to seeing everyone bright and early tomorrow as we kick off our adventure from DCA (especially those of you on the early flight!). Until then, here is a snapshot of our itinerary and videos from previous years: The 2016 Adventure The 2015 adventure Hasta mañana!