We went by boat.

There were scarlet macaws, trogons, and toucans. There were tapirs, a sea snake, and peccaries so close you had to hold your nose. There were dolphins, false killer whales, and barracudas. There were more monkeys than we could count—squirrel, spider, white-faced Capuchins, and howlers.  At breakfast this morning, someone said, “Hey, there’s monkeys,” and some didn’t even bother to look up from their gallo pinto. Who could blame them after a monkey was caught hanging from the gutter looking into one of the girls’ cabins just two days ago? Junior Kristen Pedersen described the peeping monkey, saying, “He hung over like this and looked at me!” and dangled her head upside down.

The Osa Peninsula delivered.

Living up to its reputation as one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots, wildlife spotting became part of our routine the past three days on Costa Rica’s southwestern tip—a place so remote that few visitors get to travel there.

Still, getting there is half the fun. A 45-minute boat ride through Central America’s largest mangrove swamp, our tiny boats were suddenly met by the rolling waves of the eastern Pacific. From the delta, it’s another 45-minutes by boat through open sea to Poor Man’s Paradise. From the boat, our students saw the wild land. Sea caves, sea tunnels, and a waterfall that fell straight into the sea.

After a long travel day, we’re back to civilization. And, maybe too soon. Near the San Jose airport now, where advertisements point the way to Hooter’s, Denny’s, and the Holiday Inn Express, the wildness of the Osa Peninsula seems very far away indeed.

Juggling show.  Empanadas.  Three Costa Rican cowboys playing guitars.  Sixteen sweaty students shaking-it-like-they-just-don’t care.

This was Friday night in San Gerardo de Rivas.

When Tony Duncan heard that a group of students was going to be at Cloudbridge at the same time that he was planning a visit, he offered to do a free juggling performance in town.  Our students gathered around five and six year olds from the village on the town soccer field for a half hour show which included witnessing the juggler balancing a golf ball and tee on the tip of his nose for a world record-setting 1 minute and 31 seconds.

After the show, students walked over to the Cafe Bambu at Proyecto San Gerardo, a non-profit that provides volunteer services to the area and scholarships for local students.  Dinner was served, including fresh fruit juice, tortilla chips, two empanadas, beans and rice, salad with pico de gallo, and tres leches for dessert.

Three local musicians played traditional music for our group while we ate.  Then…  the dance party.  There wasn’t a shy dancing (er…  hiking) boot in the joint.  The locals were as impressed with our students’ enthusiasm as they were their dance moves.

On Thursday, The Gatton Academy’s Costa Rica group had the chance to visit San Isidro el de General in the afternoon. It is a Bowling Green-sized city that is the seat of the region where Cloudbridge is located.

After a bumpy bus ride down to town, students first visited the Farmer’s Market. The market is held in San Isidro each Thursday and Friday in a covered building that is the size of a futbol field. Fresh fruit and vegetable dealers line four aisles that cover the length of the building. Students tried fresh fruits from guanabana, passion fruit, golden berries, white pineapple, freshly-squeezed juices, strawberries, and grapes.

Students were then free to shop. They bought souvenirs, remarked on how many shoe stores San Isidro has, and tried ice creams and coffees. As the sun went down, many students went for pizza and some others to a café before bumping back in the bus all the way to Cloudbridge.

The mornings are warm and sunny.  In the afternoons, the clouds roll in like fog, settling farther and farther down from the mountains until they are in the treetops where we stay.  After all the preparations for our Costa Rica trip, our students are figuring out just how beautiful Cloudbridge is.

But, of course, these are mountains and the hikes are hard.  Students are now comparing muscle aches like old married couples.  The Dung Beetle Group huddled around this afternoon.  Senior Michael Blankenship said, “I didn’t even know I had these muscles. ”

For all the challenges, there are equal rewards.  The views.  The fresh fruit at breakfast.  The crow of roosters.  The chirp of parakeet flocks flying up the river.  The turn of a trail that reveals a cascading waterfall–somehow the Spanish word catarata sounds better to us now.

Our days are filled with morning research projects.  Students make hikes with their project groups into the Reserve to set traps for beetles, to mount a motion-activated camera, and to measure and collect plants.  After the physical activity, lunch has never tasted better.  Then, in the afternoons, we rest.  After a daily evening class meeting, there are more adventures to be had…  night hikes.

By Nolan Calhoun

Today we had the chance to tour a local estuary in Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas.  The experience was honestly amazing.  Our tour guide, Enrique, was a local that took us out in a boat in groups of 10 and 11 people.  He was bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish, so interacting was easy.  After we started, we noticed several species.  This time of the year, the estuaries are more salty because it is the dry season of the Guanacaste Province and the rains don’t flush the salt water out.  Enrique pointed out several crocodiles, herons, mangrove trees, and howler monkeys.  Enrique served pineapple on the boat and it was delicious.  Hopefully these great adventures continue!