Pura Vida! Conservation Learning Meets Fun on a School Trip to Costa Rica

This past May, a group from Northwood School joined Global Family Travels for a once-in-a-lifetime 12-day educational trip to Costa Rica as part of Northwood School’s L.E.A.P. program, an annual elective offering unique educational experiences abroad. This trip, guided by the company’s Learn, Serve & Immerse principles, allowed participants to connect with local communities, cultures, and Costa Rica’s natural environment.

From serving on a conservation program on the Pacuare River to learning about cultivating Costa Rican cacao, Northwood’s group, engaged in location-based education everywhere we went. Follow our transformational journey in this blog! 

Pacuare River: Conservation Learning Meet Fun on a School Trip to Costa Rica!  

After we arrived in San Jose, we focused on settling into our new environment. Bright and early the next day, we loaded the bus and drove two hours to the headwaters of the Pacuare River. We then rafted an hour and a half down the river, our stuff packed in dry bags, to our accommodation for the next 3 nights — the Rios Lodge. Upon arriving at the lodge, we sat down for a delicious lunch, after which we were shown our accommodations, with shared dorm-style restrooms and shower facilities. Amenities of the lodge include two picturesque waterfall swimming holes, a ropes course, miles and miles of trails, and a covered deck with hammocks and bookshelves, where we hung out for several nights. 

After a restful night's sleep to the sounds of the rainforest, we set off to engage in our first service activity and hike of the trip, this one being a mile straight up a mountain. When we reached the top of the ridge, we were met by a representative of the Rivers and Forests Alliance (RAFA). Named after the founder’s father, the organization strives to regrow the rainforest back and engages in tree-planting and river health operations. We made roughly 250 mud balls packed with micro-fungi and a special kind of Japanese rice that the micro-fungi could consume to mature. After 3 weeks in an incubator, the micro-fungi in the mud balls will be thrown into the Pacuare River as part of a ceremony to help clean pollutants.  

After returning from the ridge, our group split up into two groups. Some of us went ziplining, while others went on the creek walk and then switched off. I started on the creek walk. Our guide, Jorge, walked us straight up the middle of the creek, clambering over multiple rapids and small waterfalls as we hiked up to a deep swimming hole. The ziplining course itself was incredible; spanning the Pacuare River at multiple locations at heights of over 100 feet, it was a thrill every step of the way. 

On our final full day at the Rios Lodge, we picked up float tubes, hiked upriver to the neighboring Pacuare lodge, and rafted back down. The group found a section on the river we looped, with people taking time in the water too. After an early downpour ceased, the group ate dinner, but I and another student joined Jorge on a night walk, up the hill behind the lodge. We didn’t spot any snakes, but we did spot a scorpion on the side of a tree, a species Jorge said he hadn’t seen in 6 months.

Departure day from the Rios Lodge was action-packed right from the get-go. After loading our larger bags into dry bags, we boarded our rafts and set off down the class III and class IV rapids. To give you an idea of how terrifying this felt at the start, the first two lines we rafted down were called “Rodeo” and “Cemetery.”  On a river known for its rapids, these two names terrified me, but we got through just fine!

La Fortuna: Volcanoes and Water Slides 

Once back on land, we embarked on the 4-hour journey to La Fortuna, so named because it survived an eruption from the adjacent Arenal volcano. Arenal’s surroundings are known for their geothermal activity. Our first stop after checking into the hotel was the Baldi Hot Springs, a resort featuring four water slides, each of them more terrifying than the last. The most popular slide was labeled as “La Tormenta”, which had a sign saying it was extreme and that you couldn’t go on it if you were over 55 years old. The shortest person in the group tried it first, and it seemed mellow. Then, we heard screaming expletives echoing up the tunnel. It turns out that the slide suddenly drops, then whips you against the wall of the slide and ejects you into the pool. The result is that riders on the smaller side sometimes come out sideways or upside-down.

Monteverde: Chocolate and Wildlife in Costa Rica 

After Arenal, we departed for our 3-hour drive to Monteverde, the coldest part of the country we visited. It was the only place where we didn’t have air conditioning and we didn’t need it. After arriving, we went on a chocolate tour, exploring how chocolate and coffee get cultivated and made. Afterward, we hit downtown Monteverde, where we spent the evening eating and having a good time. We ended our day with a night walk, where we saw several tarantulas and tropical birds. 

One last experience before departing for the coast was a beautiful hike up to the top of a ridge, where we climbed a fire tower, which offered a commanding view of the surrounding area, including the Arenal Volcano to the northeast. After descending, we boarded the bus and drove for about 5 hours to Playa Flamingo, an area on the Pacific coast of the country.

Tamarindo: Turtle Conservation and Surfing on a School Trip to Costa Rica

We spent the entire next day on the beach. In the morning, we took our bus to Tamarindo, where half the group got a surf lesson with a pro for $50 each. The other half decided to spend $15 each to rent a board for 4 hours and just goof around in the waves. I was part of the latter group. Despite my entire chest and back being raw and red, it was still a good time.  

After our time on the beach, we drove south to the Verdiazul Turtle Conservation Area, where we learned more about conservation education travel. At Verdiazul, we were taught about turtle breeding behaviors and conducted a mock search for turtle eggs using buried ping-pong balls and metal probes. During this activity, one of the hockey players on the trip lost a metal probe after practicing his golf swing with it, spending the next 30 minutes looking for it in the ocean. We drove back to Tamarindo Beach, where half of the group met some French tourists and played beach volleyball until it was time for our group to go eat dinner. 

On our final day in the country, we went on what I thought was the coolest experience of the trip: a morning catamaran ride. We rode out to a cove where we jumped off the side of the boat and used snorkels to view all the tropical marine life in the rocks and corals below. After goofing around in the ocean for a good 2 hours, we returned to the Flamingo Marina, boarded the bus, and began our 5-hour drive back to San Jose to prepare for our early morning flight home the following day. 

Learn, Serve, and Immerse in Costa Rica with Global Family Travels 

This school trip to Costa Rica, guided by Global Family Travels and supported by their principles of Learn, Serve & Immerse, was more than a trip—it was a journey of personal growth and a step towards becoming responsible global citizens. The learning aspect encompassed the entire trip. We delved into conservation on both ends of our journey, explored the cultivation of crops like cacao and coffee, and studied Costa Rican geology and biology. Whether it was making mud balls for the RAFA group or learning about turtles with the Verdi-Azul group, we committed ourselves to conservation service at various stops during our trip.

Our days were filled with diverse activities that brought our group closer to the heart of Costa Rican culture and its natural beauty. We were able to meet locals who were happy to assist us with any questions we had throughout the various meals of the trip. Cultural immersion was a major component of the trip with almost every experience we had. Our immersion can be summarized with two words that encompass the culture that we experienced for two weeks: “Pura Vida!” 

Global Family Travels offers educational travel opportunities for students and faculty from any institution—from high school through postgrad. To get more information on our educational trips, contact us today and subscribe to our educational trip mailing list or our overall mailing list!