8/16/2017

After a 6:30 breakfast we headed over to the local community center to do our first day of service. Everyone took part in different tasks ranging from wood carving and working to painting. After lunch we headed to the beach for our first surf lesson. After four hours of wipeouts everyone had the chance to get up at least once. Following dinner we were all able to share stories about ourselves and backgrounds and get to know each other. Great day of firsts!!

8/17/2017

Fun filled day on Wednesday. We started the day with delicious pancakes and rice and beans. Then we set out for our second day of service. We spent 4 hours painting and finishing the signs and painting and finishing the trash platforms (to keep out animals). We completed all of the signs and many platforms. We had a nice snack of ice cream and popsicles! Then we walked home for a lunch of beef and rice and beans, with pineapple-mango juice.

Next, we had our second session of surfing. We worked on controlling our speed while on the surfboard, and being able to turn and like turns while on our feet. About half way it started pouring rain but that did not stop us. We continued surfing and having a blast until we had to quit a but early do to the incoming storm. It rained the whole 20 minute walk home but no one complained and everyone kept a positive stride. Following many card games and a dinner of spaghetti, we did our Story of Self part 2, where everyone who had not gone the night before, shared their life story, and we all got to know each other better.

It was a great day and we are looking forward to the rest of the trip!

-Justine

8/18/2017

Today was a very tiring day. Our firs activity was a 4 hour hike, 3 miles up and 3 down. Though it wore our bodies out, ultimately, it was worth it. The view from the top of the mountain was beautiful. After we came back to camp we recovered and had lunch. At 2 we headed out to surf where we had our first lesson in paddling out to the waves. It was a great day!

Day 6 Blog

Today we had fun going white water rafting in the morning, followed by yoga in the afternoon. For some people, this was their first time on the water rafting through rapids. We took an hour or so bus ride to the Savegre River, where we launched the boats. We had a snack on the river and we also “jumped” from a waterfall’s base.

There were three boats, so there was friendly and fun competition between all of them. After the rafting was done we had lunch at a restaurant that overlooked a palm plantation. When we got back to home base where we had our “first” yoga class. That was followed by dinner and a conservation movie called “A Plastic Ocean”.

Day 7 Blog

On our 7th day at Bodhi Surf we woke up at 6:30 for a breakfast of pancakes, rice and beans, pudding, oatmeal, eggs, and a variety of fruit. Soon after we went back to our rooms to get ready for the day. To start off, we walked down to the beach to start surfing at 8:00am. It was basically an all day beach day. We surfed for a few hours out in the green waves and then came in for a snack. Some of us went back out after the snack, some of us just swam, and some just lay on the beach.

At around 4, we went out with bags to pick up plastic all along the beach. Some of the kids from the area came down to the beach to help us out too. Then we showed the kids how to surf and played volleyball on the beach until it started raining super hard and thundering. We packed up our stuff fast and walked in the pouring rain back to the home base. We showered and got ready for our 2nd yoga session.

After yoga we went to eat a traditional American dinner of burgers and fries. Shortly after dinner a group decision was made to do karaoke instead of a movie. Various artists were included during the session.

Group Picture! All here and ready for some fun

On the Tarcoles river checking out some crocodiles as we make our way to home base in Bahia Ballena today! 

August 2, 2017

Hi it’s Drew and Jessie! To start Day 3 we went on an 8-mile round trip hike up a small mountain. Although it was a steep hike the view at the top was beautiful and everyone had a great time looking for wildlife (we saw a sloth!) After a hard climb up, we hiked down which was a lot easier and more enjoyable. Then we walked back to camp and planned for our service for the following day. After dividing up into two groups, each group formed a plan to integrate fun activities and icebreakers for the children that we are being PE counselors for.  After lunch, we got ready to go surfing! We walked to the beach and first got land instruction on how to balance the board. After reviewing the parts of the board we hit the waves and attempted catching a few with the help of the instructors. Although it was very tempting to stand up, we couldn’t at first. However, after getting out of the water and receiving more instruction, we got to stand up next! Everyone was able to stand up on the board! We all had such a great time and couldn’t wait to get back out there. After our first day of surfing, we walked back and hung out for a little before dinner. After dinner, we had Story of Self which is where David and Jenny drew names and whoever got picked got to share the story of their life up until the current moment including why we wanted to do the Costa Rica Sports and Service trip. Some of the stories were deep and sometimes emotional and it was really cool to learn so much about the people that were going to be spending so much time with. After sharing stories we went to the common area and played cards. Shortly after, we went to bed, preparing for an exciting first day of service and more surfing!

8/4/17

Hi it is Lars and Brianna,

We woke up at 5:50 to wake everyone else to have breakfast at 6 AM. After breakfast we had our first service day. We had to be there at 7 AM so we left home base at 6:45. When we got at the school close to our home base we set up the fields where we were going to play. The day before we had 2 groups, one of the groups was going to play soccer and the other one was playing volleyball. I (Lars) was in the soccer group, we started with an icebreaker game to learn the names of the kids. After that, we did some dribbling and shooting drills so the kids could improve. To finish our first hour of service we played a game of soccer together with the little kids. 1 hour later we got the second group of kids, we did the same things with them as that we did with the first group. The second group was a great group of kids! We then did some woodworking and painting to complete some projects for the community.

After that, we went back to home base got some lunch and got ready for surfing. Surfing was great and the waves were nice, we worked on turning which was a lot of fun! After that, we came back for dinner and story of self! By then we were all exhausted and went to sleep!

Yay to adventure time!

July 23, 2017

We started the day with an amazing breakfast made by Maria and Maruja; they are the best cooks in the world! The breakfast consisted of eggs and ham, pinto (rice and beans), fruit, coffee, and toast with butter, but In Costa Rica food just tastes better. After breakfast we walked to the beach and surfed for 4 hours, this concluded our third lesson with Bodhi Surf. Although it has been a short time learning, we have achieved and exceeded great things on this difficult sport. Our surfing instructors not only aid the process of learning how to surf but also made this experience immensely fun ! When we finished our lesson we went back to the lodge for lunch, an activity we also enjoy very much. After lunch, we walked to a park where we all got to give back to this incredible community that we are falling in love with every day we are here, by doing small jobs in that park. Some of the projects we worked on, included: making signs for the roads, painting implanted tires on the soccer court, and constructing garbage baskets. Kids that were playing at this park were influenced by the cause and started to help, this is what community is all about.

We ended the night with a delicious dinner and an extremely informative (but entertaining) class about the dangers of plastic. Being aware of such problematic issue is the inspiration one needs to change for the better and help the world the we live in to thrive not to moribund. In conclusion, we experience a really fun day and learn about an eye-opening complication that’s happening in our generation.

Day 6 by Alex and Griffin

Today was an extraordinary day. We started off by waking up at 6:15 to have breakfast at 6:30. We then prepared for the vans to pick us up take us whitewater rafting. We went through thick rain forest and scenic views, and even had to shift people to the back of the van to make it up the steep hill, but eventually we made it to our destination. We entered the chilly, clear water not knowing what to expect, but eventually we were hitting big rapids and fast currents and everyone was smiling and laughing.
The guides made sure that we only hit the best rapids and drops, always allowing one person to sit on the nose of the raft to hold on for a completely invigorating experience. After we stopped for a brief snack, we were shown a stretch of rapids that we could float down on our bodies. We all left the water with a few bruises on our butts but smiles on our faces. Next we pulled over on the river to take a short walk to a beautiful secluded waterfall, and everyone took turns jumping off the waterfall and climbing underneath the booming water. The last part of the river consisted of everyone pushing each other into the river. We finally exited the river to make our way to a well-deserved lunch.
After returning to the town of El Silencio (which is based upon the Savegre river on which we went rafting), we ate a great lunch made by our river guides Luis, Ronny, and Cristobal. Despite
consisting of rice and beans like most of our previous meals, we could choose between salads, mashed potatoes and other sides in addition to the chicken and rice. From there, we rode the buses back to Bodhi Surf. Due to the fact that most of us are phone-free, this made for interesting conversations in the car! Once back to base camp, we were given an hour to put our things away and recuperate from rafting. From there, we all came together for a relaxing Yoga session led by Bodhi Surf co-owner Pilar. With an open mind, yoga quickly became a fun activity able to help relieve stress. With individuel positions as well as intricate partner positions, our group as a whole was educated about the countless positions and benefits that come with yoga. After yoga and a much-needed dinner that consisted of savory noodles, chicken, salad and pinto, we watched an interesting surf movie called Chasing Mavericks. In order to rest for the big day ahead, we made sure to get extra sleep for a full day of service.

Everyone has arrived and we are headed to Bahía Ballena now!

July 8, 2017

Written by Octavia and Tina

Our first full day in Bahía Ballena was anything but boring. We started out the morning with the lovely wake up call at 6! We devoured a breakfast that consisted of fruit, toast, and rice & beans of course!

After covering ourselves in sunscreen, we hit the beach to start our surfing journey. Somewhere great at surfing right away while others mastered the art of wiping out (Megan & Tina!).
We even learned a Costa Rican dance called the stingray shuffle. We soon tracked back to homebase to eat a lunch that consisted of burritos, rice & beans, and amazing sweet tea!

This Millfield us as we headed to town to engage in service activities. As we picked up trash around town and created wooden signs with environmental messages, we all realize the importance of creating awareness about the consequences of littering. After service we headed to town to play soccer with the locals. They were so friendly and welcoming, but they weren’t afraid about showing us up! Soccer was an activity that really united the group.

July 9

We kicked the day off with a fried cheese breakfast. Later, we had the chance to learn how to kite board and surf. The day consisted mostly of pool surfing, yet Colin constantly reassured us that this was a necessary step in the progression towards becoming Kelly Slater (11 time surfing world champion). After a tasty lunch consisting of even more chicken, we moved to the beach, where Ptufo taught us kite boarding basics and safety. After the skills were taught and the lingo was memorized, the group continued their body surfing extravaganza. Returning to shore with trunks full of sand and Josh with a crab clung to his nipple, we retired to the ecolodge exhausted. Day 3: a success.

Over and out,
-Cassandra and Mac

July 10, 2017

By Megan & Marco
Today was a wild ride to say the least. We started out with an average Costa Rican breakfast at 6:30 sharp. At about 7:30 we boarded two vans that took us about an hour and a half away to go whitewater rafting!

Unlike whitewater rafting in in the States, most of us thought it to be much more relaxed in rules, though they were prepared with a safety crew.
Giving each person a chance to ride in the very front, this inevitably lead to numerous wipeouts-all in good fun of course!
After a few rapids we stopped to eat or snack. The guys collected huge leaves on the way to our destination for us to use as plates! Our snack had pineapple (as usual) and fresh guacamole with chips! ¡Muy delicioso! We floated and road a few more rabbits until we came across a waterfall. The waterfall area seems so surreal, which cost us all to immediately rushed underneath it! After we left the waterfall the road a few more rapids in the part of for lunch. Lunch was amazing! On our way back to homebase one of our vans broke down which forced us all to pile into one van for about 3 miles!
We ended our day with a refreshing yoga class led by an amazing instructor. We finally ate dinner and watched – some slept through – a very interesting movie about the pollution of plastic in our oceans. The day was definitely an adventure and we all can’t wait for tomorrow!

By Megan & Marco

Day 6

We started the morning with breakfast at 6:30. Following that and sunscreening, we got ready to go down to the beach. We had our third surf lesson and it was a blast! We worked on paddling out to bigger and better waves.

After surfing, we went back to Bodhi Surf (homebase) for a delicious lunch. Then we got ready to go to our first service with the kids. After a 10 minute cab ride, we arrived where the kids were camping. We played a name game and then help them put up their tents. We played with them until we left at 9:00.

The time with them consisted of fun and tiring soccer, crazy running around, lots and lots of piggyback rides, passing the frisbee, and playing with the jump rope. Later when it started to rain, we played in the mud and had mud fights. We all painted little cardboard surfboards before returning outside for more play time. Before we knew it, it was time for a dinner of chicken and rice, chips, and iced tea. After everyone finished, we played in the rain while the staff was making a dessert of s’mores.
We then said “¡Hasta mañana!” and headed back to Bodhi Surf. Once we were back around 9 we fell asleep right away after an amazing day.

By Kaia & Ezra

The group is here, ready for some adventures!

 

June 27, 2017

We started the day with a surfing lesson. During the lesson, we focused on standing and balancing. Also, we learned how to turn while in the standing position. Then after surfing we had a traditional costa rican meal for lunch. After lunch, we did community service. Some of us cut wood to make signs to place around town. Meanwhile, the remainder of us picked up trash and marked down places to put the signs using a GIS application . After community service, a myriad of us sat under the yoga platform & talked & bonded with one another. Lastly we ate dinner and then we gathered finished sharing our story of selves presentations.

– Mecca

June 28, 2017

Today was by far our favorite day on this trip. We started off the day by waking up the other campers gently unlike other leaders of the day who had more interesting ways to wake people up. Then after breakfast we had community service. During this time we decided to not only give back to the community but also focused on sustainability by creating posters. We all worked as a team each of us doing different things. Some people cut the wood others drew the letters onto it, and I carved the letters into the boards. After service we had lunch then went surfing. Although the waves were big and challenging we all had a blast nevertheless. During this time we took a break in the water splashing around and jumping into waves it was the best. After this we head back to the base and ate dinner. After dinner we had a cool presentation on a local person who made handmade surfboards. Ending our day of fun we headed to the yoga room and chatted bonding with the other campers.

Martina & Andrea

Thursday June 29

Today was one of our busier days. We started the day off with a 6:30 breakfast and went right into a hike through the rainforest at 7. Despite the heat and all the hills we had amazing views along the way including the sighting of a sloth. After our hike we went straight to the school in the community where we had a quick snack before running gym class for the kids. Running gym class included basketball, soccer, gymnastics, volleyball and frisbee. Everyone had great time connecting with the local students. Once all the kids had returned to the school we were served with their typical lunch meal. The meal consisted of beans, rice, cheese, and plantains on corn tortillas. As everyone finished lunch we returned to the base where we had about a 2 hour break to relax before a soccer game with the locals. The soccer game was played on a turf field where local kids and adults came out to play. Following the soccer game was dinner consisting of rice, beans, beet salad, and chicken. The final events of the night before bed were watching an eye-opening documentary about plastic in our oceans and playing trivia based off of the information in the documentary. The day was full of events allowing everyone to have fun.

-Paige & Spencer