living in the JUNGLE, Costa Rica

Erica Miner
Mar 14, 2015
2 min read

Arriving at the San Jose airport feels like years ago! Not the usual San Jose airport in California thats seen my face quite a few times, but the one in Costa Rica. Funny enough I actully did leave the San jose airport in California, to fly to the San Jose airport in Costa Rica.

Our four-week trip all across Costa Rica was fully packed with adventure, jungle, beaches, arroz y frijoles (rice and beans), mosquito bites, and life lessons. We Changed location almost every few days. The longest we stayed in one location was the 6 days we sent in Orosi, with our home stay families. Their were two groups between the 9th and 10th graders but I was lucky enough to be with team Omega, obviously the best group :). I have gotten to experience and see so much on this trip that all the memories kind of turns into a vibrant blur of craziness. I had to look at the itinerary while writing this and when I read all the places we went to I thought, "oh yah, we did that" or "right, we went there". All the memories of the beautiful sceneries, how the fresh air smelt, how the food tasted, came flooding back and it feels weird because the memories feel like a dream. Being back at home I tend to question if what I just did or where I went really all happend. It somehow feels fake but real at the same time. Also after living and traveling with the other students and teachers/staff of TGS, when I come home I feel that they're are not alive anymore, just because I don't see them everyday. It's a weird transition coming home.

My trip overview:

Arrival- Long transfer from San Jose airport hotel to UGA campus.

1. UGA Campus- where 11th and 12th graders would study for the semester in Costa Rica (Location: Monteverde)

2. El Establo hotel- Zip lining/cloud forest hikes (Location: Monteverde)

3. Home staying with the Ticos ft.Mayoya (Location: Orosi)

4. Glamping/River rafting/Waterfall and natural pools (Location: Pacuare River)

5. El Zota field station- Observing Monkey (kapoochan, howler and spider monkeys) primitive behavior/hiking (Location: near Cariai)

6. Punta Mona off the grid, organic farm and Center for regenerative design and botanical studies- gardening/sustainable living/herbal walks/salad harvesting/coconuts/nature loving hippies/ cacao truffle making/mud baths/beach swims/hammocks/relaxing/lofts and princess bed mosquito nets (Location: between the jungle and ocean, Limon right above Panama border)

7. Las Cruces biological station- practiced field research/hikes/star gazing/leaf preserving (Las Cruces)

8. Campanario- dolphin watching(bottle nose, spotted, spinner dolphins)/ocean swimming and learning/ocean critters/snorkeling/sugar cane juice making (Drake bay)