COSTA RICA – Animal Rescue Project – June 29 – July 19, 2017

HELLO,

THIS IS GABRIEL BERROCAL (INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR) OF ANIMAL RESCUE PROJECT 21 DAY.

I’M UPDATING THAT EVERYONE ARRIVE SAFE!

WE ARE GOING TO UPLOAD A PICTURE TOMORROW BECAUSE WE ARRIVE LATE NIGHT TO OUR HOME BASE AND OUR STUDENTS ARE VERY TIRED.

THANKS.

 

July 1, 2017

Hellllllo everyone! My name is Anthony, I am one of the students of the trip and also one of the leaders of the day! Today we did tons of fun things so you all don’t have to worry about us at all! We all got to see exotic animals, like wild monkeys and birds, which we all haven’t been able to see in our daily lives, making it great experience. We learned about how they were abused in a severe way, but this is why we are here! We are going to rescue as many animals as we can. Everyone enjoyed the food cultures that are presented here because this is all new and exciting! I seem to be typing too much so now back to the other Leader of the day!

Hi everyone! My name is Tiffany, the other leader of the day! On top of seeing exotic animals, we were able to take a tour of a community in Nosara, Costa Rica. We were able to see murals that students from previous GLA trips have done and we’re hoping to be able to do the same thing in our own creative way! The food has been great here. We were able to eat platanos and really tasty rice. The weather has been weird because it would rain, but still be super hot and humid. Still, we’re all having a great time! At the end of our day, we had our first mentorship session.

Adios!

 

 

July 2, 2017

Hola muchachos!  We are the leaders of the day, Naomy and Lizzie.  Today we worked on preparation for Mascota Manía, which is a dog festival that will be held later in the month.  We were split into different teams to cover all of the aspects required for Mascota Manía, such as marketing, looking for sponsors and donations, sign making, fashion show preparation, games, and an agility course.  We both were a part of the sponsorship group, in which we traveled to local supermarkets to ask the owners and managers for donations.  They were very kind and gracious, and we received several bags of dog food, as well as a cash donation and promises to donate later.  The marketing group also journeyed around Nosara hanging flyers promoting Mascota Manía on stores and the veterinarian clinic.  Our goal for this festival is to educate dog owners on how to properly care for their pets as well as to give the owners and pets a chance to bond doing fun activities.  Later in the afternoon, a local family welcomed us into their home where they taught us how to make homemade bread in an outdoor wood oven.  While we made and cooked the bread, we were treated to marimba music.  After the bread was finished cooking, we ate it along with coffee and homemade empanadas, and then played and took pictures with the local children.  Overall, we had an incredible day interacting with the locals and practicing our Spanish skills.
Pura Vida!

 

July 4, 2017

Hey guys, the group yesterday went out to our volunteering locations. Some went to Sibu, refugee for wildlife, and the vet.  So yesterday we went to the vet, we picked up dogs that were in need of a vet. We took them there and gave them vaccinations and bathed them. At the refugee for wildlife we started to build a green house. We stripped the bark off of the trees and dug holes to place the poles in. That was all in the morning, in the afternoon we went to a cooking class and made dinner for everyone. We also danced the merengue, it was a lot of fun to experience the different culture. Today in the morning we did the same thing except at the refugee for wildlife, they ended up sanding down the wood preparing it for the greenhouse. In the afternoon, we learned more about the culture and went to the recycling plant. After that someone came in and taught us about snakes. What to do in a dangerous situation and what type of snakes are venomous. Goodbye for now!

Amanda Olson and  Aidan Williams

 

July 10, 2017

Hello everyone! For the past three days we’ve been super busy. On the first day we went around Nosara and did a census on the animals in the community. My group went around to about fifty houses total. On the second day we went and did a castration clinic for the animals that weren’t castrated. Some of the students ended up helping the vet while in surgery. Most of us did aftercare and gave shots to the animals. I think that was a great experience especially for those who want to become vets in our group. On the third day we had a double adventure day for some. Others went to the beach and just hung out. For my activities I went surfing and horseback riding which was a lot of fun. Even though I fell off the surfboard a lot. Other students had the opportunity to go zip-lining and paddle boarding. After all the activities during the day we went back to base and relaxed. In those three days I’ve learned a lot about how to care for animals and even how to surf! Tata for now.

Amanda Olson

 

July 16, 2017

Hey this is Lauren and Cami! We left for Rio Celeste on Wednesday and loved it!! The first day we visited a ceramics workshop and learned how to make pottery from scratch. We also went on a river safari tour and saw a variety of animals like crocodiles and bats. On the second day we milked a cow and made chocolate milk from it. After that we went on a 3 hour hike in the parque nacional tenorio and saw beautiful waterfalls and views, as well as monkeys and spiders. After our long hike we swam in the river by our hotel and then got to drink sugarcane tea and dessert. The last day we hiked to the hanging bridges and visited the puma rescue. Today we had our first Salsa class and  our last prep for mascota mania, which is tomorrow and the super Nosara!! Yay we are excited!!