Student Articles about the Costa Rica Trip

Avery | Daniel | Keith | Marcus | Nils | Will | Zack | Goldy | Owen

Avery

On February 24, six students and one alumnus from the Randolph School went to Costa Rica. We had a blast. My favorite things on the trip were:

The bus ride. It was a bumpy, but a fun ride. We went up and down hills; we saw a lot of mountains, trees, cows, and horses. It was great! We stopped to get lunch and the lunch was delicious. Everyone got fruit drinks, then we ordered our food. Afterwards we walked around, and Marcus, a last minute addition and alumnus of the Randolph school, had to get shorts because he didn't plan on coming. Then we got back on the bus and drove for 2 hours to get to where we stayed-- Rancho Mastatal.

The food. We had a lot of great tasting food. They didn't have meat at Rancho Mastatal because it was a vegetarian place, but it was still really good. At night they blew a conch shell to tell us that dinner was ready. I eventually got to blow it and I did a pretty good job. Then, when everyone was at the main house, we ate. We held hands around a big table and thanked people for what they did that day. We all walked up to this other table; it looked like a buffet, but we couldn't have seconds until everyone ate. After dinner we went back to the house and went to bed. When we woke up, we went to breakfast. In the morning I had some really good Costa Rican coffee. After our meals we had to do dish dog duty. Dish dog duty is pretty much just cleaning the dishes, drying them and putting them away. They had a schedule about who had dish dog duty, and of course we were on there because it would be only fair that we did the dishes too.

Woodworking. On Tuesday we did shadowing. Shadowing is where we follow the workers around Rancho Mastatal and helped them with their jobs and activities. I worked with a lot of wood that day. We made a bookshelf with Jeff for the main house. Jeff is a volunteer for Rancho Mastatal. Then the next day we did the same thing, but instead of working on the bookshelf Nils and I made a stool with three legs instead of four. It looked really cool.

The volunteers. The volunteers were awesome. They were so nice and they helped us around and taught us a little Spanish. There was Robin and Timo (Tim) who founded Rancho Mastatal; Jeff, a tall blond-haired guy who never had a shirt on-- he was the one that helped me and Nils in woodworking. His nickname is "El Grande." He's cool. Allen, whose birthday it was when we visited-- we had chocolate cake but instead of flour we used black beans because they didn't have much flour at Rancho Mastatal. The other volunteers' names were Heather-- when we first meet her she had hair, the next day her head was shaved. I don't know why. There was also Maxine -- she was cool; she helped cook. There was Karen-- she also helped cook; and last but not least there was Greg-- he's awesome.

Going to the ocean. On Friday after we left Rancho Mastatal we took a trip to the ocean and swam. The water was really warm and the waves were big. We stood in the water and rode the waves to the shore. Then we walked off to the rocks. Some of us went out and walked on the rocks. I did, but I tripped and got some pretty bad cuts. We also went and stopped at a restaurant. The food was good, but it took a long time to get.

Staying at the hotel. Also on Friday we stayed at a nice hotel. We walked around Alajuela, which is where we stayed. That night we went to another restaurant. It was also good, but again it took a long time to get the food. Then we went and got ice cream. I got chocolate ice cream which was delicious. After we ate our ice cream, we had to go back to the hotel and go to sleep, because the next day we had to get up to get to the airport and get on the plane and fly back here.

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Daniel

My Costa Rica Experience

One day when we were on our trip in Rancho Mastatal, an environmental center in the rain forest of Costa Rica, we were doing shadowing. What shadowing means is that you hang out with a volunteer for the day and do what they do. Things that they do are cobbing, woodworking, reforestation projects, building the Hankey House and cooking. I chose cooking. I cooked with Heather, one of the Mastatal volunteers. We made and baked carrot cake in a solar oven. A solar oven is an oven that heats up food completely from sunlight. We also chopped up some cabbage for a salad. Also working with us were two local women, making the other foods like empanadas. Empanadas are dough pockets filled with anything from apples to cheese. It was a lot of fun and people liked the food.

My favorite part of the trip was on Friday when we went to the Pacific Ocean for a swim and lunch. It was wonderful. The water was warm and salty and pure blue. It all looked very bright and colorful. After that we stopped at a little restaurant for lunch. I had rice with shrimp. It came with a small salad and French fries. The food was good. And the fish and shellfish came fresh out of the Pacific. All in all it was a good trip. And I wonder where we are going next year.

To find out more about Costa Rican food go to: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes/costa-rican

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Marcus

It was a typical Friday, school, then hang out with friends while my Dad [a teacher at Randolph School] did whatever had to be done. This Friday was special in that a group from the Upper School at Randolph was leaving for Costa Rica in the morning and the parents/faculty were holding a 'have-a-wonderful-time' potluck. It was to be over around 9, so I was supposed to be at Randolph to meet my Dad at that time and head home. When I arrived at the school I found the left-overs, and as I helped myself to a late dinner, Goldy told me that there was an extra ticket, and if I wanted to, I could go. Now a trip to Costa Rica is not exactly an everyday offer; however, I was needed at my job the following morning. This was indeed quite the conundrum, so I thought and thought as parents said farewell to their kids, wishing them safe travels and a wonderful time. I could not decide because I knew that they needed me the next day, and I would mess everything up, not to mention I wouldn't be able to contact them which would mean I would just no-show which is basically like asking to be fired. So I weighed the positive and negative of both decisions, and thought of how I would feel after, and which decision would make me happier. It was hard, but then my Dad more or less said that he would call saying he demanded I go, and my friend Will also offered to pay me my wage until I found a new job.

So after finding out what I would be getting myself into, I decided to go. It was by now 11 at night, and they were leaving for the airport at 4 in the morning, which meant I had 5 hours. So we went home, packed and went to bed around 1, slept until 4, met up with the group around 5 and I was on my merry way. After a 2-hour car ride, filled with questions and curiosity, we arrived at the airport. Rushed to the plane, made it by 5 minutes and got settled. As the flight attendant reminded us of how to use a seat belt, I was searching a map of flights made by the airline to see where exactly I was going. I thought Costa Rica was an island next to Puerto Rico and also a province of the US; my-oh-my, how wrong I was. After finding out that it was not an island, but an independent country and that it was south of Mexico, I settled back and pondered what it would be like once we landed in a different country. Upon arrival I remember looking down and seeing rundown shacks, with metal sheets used as roofs and paint peeling from the walls, all aligned with windy dirt roads. I now realize that their homes and ways of life are not run down, it's just that our way of life is run up. They are more concerned with caring for each other than about how big or fancy their house is.

We had a two-hour bus ride to the ranch, interrupted after about an hour with a stop at a town for lunch. For only three dollars I received a huge plate covered in rice, beans, meat sautéed with onions and spices, and a cooked plantain. For drinks we requested fruit drinks, which are made either with pineapple, papaya, melon, or guanabana, which is like pineapple. And it was either blended with milk or with water; most requested milk. After eating, before the final leg of our trip to the ranch, I needed shorts, which gave us all a chance to wander the streets and see how different this society was. After a brief exploration of a Costa Rican town, we left and continued on our way to the ranch. Upon arrival at the ranch we unpacked, got a brief tour and relaxed until the sound of the conch shell signaled that dinner was ready. We then met the volunteers, ate and went to sleep.

The following day was a Sunday, and the volunteers preferred to take Sundays off, which they hadn't done in a while, so they did. We went to a soccer field in the nearby town of san Miguel, where the locals played the Mastatal team,and we were able to get more traditional food, and relax and watch the game. Afterward we got back to the ranch and hiked through the forest to a nearby waterfall, with a cliff overlooking it. We swam, then Tibaron jumped and I was eager to do the same, so after climbing up he told us to just step off, so I did and fell twenty feet to the water. It was an inexplicable rush, and I repeated doing it 3 more times until it was time to return to the ranch. We found the volunteers relaxing playing horseshoes and guitar at Robin's house. Some joined in the game and others the guitars; I decided to take the time to talk to some of the volunteers and also Tibaron. During this time I heard many stories and decided, because of Tibaron's experiences, to do a home stay, which was one of the best decisions I've ever made. We then returned to the main house, ate and went back to sleep.

On Monday we were given our welcome and told the rules as well as given a tour of the ranch. This would normally have been done the day after arrival, but had gone to soccer instead. After our tour of the ranch, we got a tour of the town and met the carver Jimmy, where I requested my miniature head carving. After this we returned to the ranch for lunch, then in the afternoon went for a hike through the woods and went swimming, this time in the Rio Negro where we saw thousands of baby frogs that looked like a swarm of crickets. We then returned, ate and slept. The following day, Tuesday, was our first shadowing day, which meant that we each followed a different volunteer to see what a day in the life of a Rancho Mastatal volunteer was like. I did work with the wattle and daub, which is a technique used by many cultures to create earthen housing. After building a layer of the wall, we moved along to create a protective layer on the already completed wall made up of half manure, half clay, that was like a shmear. We had a break between the two projects to eat lunch, and then once we were done with the shmear, I quickly cleaned off at the waterfall and went on my home stay.

This was by far the most meaningful night of my life. It opened my eyes to a better way of life; once all the flashy doohickeys of today's world are gone you are left with a loving atmosphere. It was great to be surrounded by such happiness and love for each other. They had it hard, but they lived off the land and did not worry about petty problems in life. It also created a much slower lifestyle, which I think is much healthier and pleasing. It was also apparent how they live in a community and see each other as equals and care for each other. They also lived with total opposite priorities, for example we watched TV where it was all snow and just fuzzy audio. There were thousands of spiders that lived in the rafters, and no walls went to the ceiling. Doors were made of planks, door handles were pieces of rope and locks were a nail and a hole. They cooked over a fire, which made the food much more delicious because you knew it was made with love. We ate fresh caught shrimp from the river behind their house, which were about 18 inches long and extremely delicious. It was a simple but satisfying life. After sleeping on nothing more than a padded board I awoke and had a simple breakfast, then went to help with one of the morning chores, milking the cows. I wasn't very good, but it was still a good experience. I was able to taste milk not even two minutes old, and it was the most delicious thing I have ever drunk. After this we returned to the house where I was made a full breakfast of cheese, rice and beans. I also watched her turn all of the milk we had just collected into cheese, not wasting a single drop. After I was done eating I returned to the ranch, after saying farewell and that I would see them that evening as well. I remember thinking during the walk back about how my friends would think of this as a 'horrible way of life,' but it wasn't. If anything, we have the wrong way of life.

After returning to the ranch I once again helped in the morning with the wattle and daub. Once lunch came we ate and then me and a few other kids went to the waterfall to clean and cool off. After this I was planning on returning to the home stay; however, my blood sugar spiked so I was unable to go. I had a night of restless sleep, due to constant monitoring of my blood sugar due to my diabetes. The following morning we ate a large breakfast and left for a house up the road to haul teak, a carvable wood. It was hard, four people to a teak log, which was basically just a tree with its limbs and bark stripped off. After hauling it about a half mile up hill my blood sugar was quite low, and I was out of emergency food to treat it. I foolishly decided to hike to a waterfall that was near where the teak was. After a long scary descent, my blood sugar was dangerously low, so I just cooled off and stayed calm as the others swam. We then climbed back up the longer but shallower way, so I would not use as much energy. We then returned to the ranch, where I had a juice to regain my blood sugar and relaxed for the remainder of the afternoon. That evening we ate pizza, but before we ate we were all given awards for either our achievements or to suit our personality. We then ate pizza and slept.

The following morning was sad; we said farewell to everyone and left for the beach. It was beautiful; the water was blue, and warm. The sun was directly overhead and as a result we all got sunburned. We body surfed and then explored down the beach. Where the water was above rock, not sand, and shallower than hip height, it was warmer than a hot bath. Will and I ventured out to a bunch of rocks at the end of a bay that had rock for its floor. We then returned to shore, and went to lunch. From there we went to the crocodile bridge where we saw a lot of huge crocodiles. Then we went to Alajuela, outside of San José. We stayed at Los Volcalones hotel, and ate out. From there we went through the town park to the ice cream stand, and then returned to the hotel and slept. We ate breakfast at the hotel the following morning and then explored the town a little. From there we left for the airport and then had a long, sad ride home. All in all I can honestly say that this trip made me into a different person and taught me life lessons I never would have been able to experience any other way. Thank God my Dad teaches at the Randolph School.

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Zack

Since the beginning of this school year, we had been planning our trip to Costa Rica. We devised fund raising methods to lower the cost of the trip, and began studying general natural aspects of the country. We arrived there not knowing what we would find, except our guide, who was described to us as a man missing a piece of his arm. However comforting this situation sounded, after we met the arm-troubled man whose name was Tom McDonald, we all relaxed and got on the bus. He went by the name Tiburon, which in Spanish means shark, the cause of this arm problem.

Our destination was a place called Rancho Mastatal, an environmental center that focuses on sustainable building and reforestation. Rancho Mastatal is located next to La Cangreja (the Crab), one of the many national parks of Costa Rica. The park got its name from its largest mountain, whose peak resembles a crab. The ranch is owned by two Americans named Tim and Robin. They are assisted by around twelve volunteers, mainly Americans, who come down to Costa Rica specifically to help on the ranch. There were also locals who helped on the ranch.

The locals lived in the vicinity of the ranch and usually helped in construction, maintenance, cooking or reforestation. Some of them also provide visitors with home stays, a wonderful privilege encouraged by the volunteers at the ranch. I did one of these myself for two nights and found myself exposed to an entirely different culture. I was told that I was to stay with the family of Don Mario, whose family included his wife, daughter and son-in-law. The house is on top of a hill with a beautiful view. To the east are large mountains, including la Cangreja, and to the west are the smaller mountains separating Mastatal from the Pacific. The language barrier had me nervous at first, but once I settled down I noticed my Spanish was not that bad, and the misunderstandings only led to good laughs. The mother of the household cooked delicious dinners the two nights I was there. The first night, we had fried chicken, and fried potatoes with rice and beans. The second night we had eggs with rice and beans and sausage. The sausage I had in Costa Rica seemed to be a mix of Spanish chorizo with a hint of Polish kielbasa. For the rest of the first night, we mostly sat around and played guitar. However, the second night was much more eventful.

The day after my first home stay, I was disappointed to hear that I had missed an eventful hike the night before. I told Tom, our guide, and he told me that Don Mario loved the forest and would be glad to take me on a night hike. In fact, Mario knew the rain forest so well, that he would take me on a hike lasting hours if I did not tell him to keep it short. After dinner that night, we got set to go on our hike. First, we waited for nightfall, then Don Mario, his son-in-law, Javier, and I headed out. We walked up the road to the house of an ex-volunteer named Leo, then we entered the forest. Although there was a language barrier, I understood everything Mario told me about the animals we heard and saw. As we walked through the woods we heard many night birds, saw what seemed to be millions of insects, and spotted a few small snakes. Then, we saw a night bird sitting in the middle of the trail. We approached it slowly, since it appeared to be defensive. As we got closer, we saw a small, fluffy ball moving on the ground. It was one of the bird's offspring. This explained why the bird did not fly away . A few feet down the trail, I saw something that I had been waiting to see the whole trip. Right down the trail from the mother and her chicks was a three foot long viper. It had been hunting the birds and was about to attack. These snakes are territorial and poisonous, so they are unwanted around trails where people walk. Don Mario immediately disposed of the snake. After this, our hike was filled with the sight of beautiful poison dart frogs and, of course, those millions of insects. Right before we returned home, we came across a mango tree filled with green mangoes. Javier quickly found a thirty foot bamboo stalk, and started whacking at the tree. We gathered up about eight of these small, green fruits, and headed home.

Back home, Javier cut a mango open, dipping it in what I thought was sugar, so I went ahead and fully dipped my piece in. To my surprise, I found myself with a mouthful of salt, and a small piece of hard, incredibly sour mango. I actually liked the mango by itself, but with the salt it was too much.

The next day, the big plan was to haul teak from the forest to Leo's house. Teak is the most common building wood used on the ranch. It is a relatively inexpensive hardwood that is abundant, and there are no worries about a shortage or extinction, because it is not a native tree. It can also be sold in town, providing a relatively cheap, reliable building material for Mastatal. After our arrival at Leo's house, we headed into the woods to the cut teak. The further we walked, the more our morale was diminished by the heat and steep terrain. Arriving at the teak, we were already tired from the walk there. Tim gave us a quick lesson on hauling, assigned our groups and we were ready. With towels on our shoulders under an eighteen foot long piece of teak, we were off. The walk was rough, and we took two stops along the way, but with some morale-boosting chants and songs, the time went by quickly. That was the last of our hard work on the ranch.

On our last morning at the ranch we woke early, ate breakfast and got ready to go to the beach. Although it was morning and the beach was an estimated twenty miles away, we planned to get there by mid-day, for the journey would take around two hours. We were making good time in our Toyota bus as we bumped along the dirt roads until we came across a construction crew. They had dug up a large section of the road, and were laying pipe. It took them around half an hour before they could build us a bypass, which was very makeshift and almost caused us to sink in the ground.

The beach town we visited was a wonderful surfer village known for its scarlet macaws. This was one of the few places they are still found in the wild. This was my first time in the Pacific and I was very excited. The water was the warmest I've ever felt in an ocean, and was a relatively clear blue. Tom warned us of the rip tide, so there were sensible limits to how far out we could go. Before we left the Beach town, we ate fresh seafood, and then we were off to Alajuela, the town we would stay in that night.

The ride to Alajuela was long, but we were constantly exposed to new scenery which kept my eyes busy. There was the mandatory rush-hour traffic through some of the more busy, paved mountain roads, but we got there all the same. The city of Alajuela was busy yet the people were very sociable, an atmosphere rarely obtained in American cities. We were staying in a hotel two blocks away from the central park, a beautiful area right in the middle of the city. The hotel was also the second oldest building in the city and deemed a landmark. The next morning we were ready to leave, but I wanted to stay forever.

Returning to America, I noticed how much I missed the Costa Rican culture. I felt that our culture was artificial and worn out. They have an expression in Costa Rica; Pura Vida, or pure life. When looking at the lifestyles in the country around the ranch, I really picked up the meaning of this phrase. The people would work all day, and then return home to work more on their pastures and livestock. This does not compare to the typical American fluorescent work space. Their culture is also much more social and friendly, an aspect that I greatly miss. My work in the forest was hard but rewarding, and really gave me the feeling that I was making a difference in the world one tree at a time.

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Will

Stream o' con

There was plenty of work to be had. And fun. And the people... The people were amazing.
Friendly.
Welcoming.
Fun.
Thoughtful.
Knowledgeable.
And much, much more. More than words can describe. They knew lots, were lots, and meant lots.
The work was fun, but the fun was not always work.
There was a stream, a river, a creek, an ocean.
And many, many meals.

Jump? Run? Clump? Done?

Never done, always fun.
Clump the daub, wattle the floor.
Jump up and down, run around, kick the ball. See the Shark kick. He is old, and weary. But he is fun.

See Owen kick with his head. The Shark hits the ball to Owen. Owen hits the ball.

Go down. Down to the water.
Pictures? Planes. Plain awesome.

Eat the custard. They laugh. Is it at you? Yes and no. They laugh because they think it funny. They are having fun. Have fun. Will you have fun? They have fun.

Water running, jump by the water. Into the water, with the water. With the camera. Film. Jump. Film.

Orientation. Talk, talk, talk. Now we walk. Walk, walk, walk. Walk around. Order bowl. Go back. Go to the wood-place. Change the face. Re-order a bowl. Go back again. Walk and run. Down to the river. The black river. Swim. Film. Swim. Film.

Wake up early. Stretch. Meditate. Stretch. Yoga. Fun. Bald. Fuzzy hair. Lots of books. Breath fast.
Shadow. Shadows. Shad. No shad here. Up in the Hudson. Not on the Hudson anymore. Hot places. Humid. Water needed. Not the Hudson. Not cold. No snow.

Split bamboo. No. They ARE split. Hit the nodes. The little disks. Use the knife. The machete. It's hot. They're almost done. Two more. Go away.
To the porch. It's holey. Needs poo. Poo glue. Fix it. Done? Almost. Going to the bamboo.

They are on the roof. Finish. Done. Put them on the roof. On the horse.
Eat!!!

Food? Cook. Food. Beans... Chocolate! Weird...
Take a hike!
More chocolate later.
Jump again. Film again. Jump. Film.
Film. Jump.

Wednesday.
Woodshop. Finish? No. Stools. Purple heart. Nazareth? Nope. Let's go to more water. Biting fish. Hot! Whoa. Ow.

Last time. More fun. Teak. Heavy. Long. Eskimos. Song. Sing. Sang.
Blood sugar! High up! Oh no... Better go back. Goodbye. Pizza!!! Bagels on Monday.
Pizza tonight! Banana. In a box. I got the box. Bowl is done. Owen is Rey.

Leave. Early. Missed the birds. Going to the ocean. Water. Hot. Sunscreen. Trees. Climbing for the shoes.

Birds. Long lunch. Time for Mau. Done. Fish. Lots and lots of bones. Fins and eyes. Tastes good? Wow. That's a surprise.

In the city. Not The City. The city. Eat. Good food. Really nice. Odd movie. They changed it. His uncle did something.

Morning.

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Nils

My Costa Rica Experience

My experience of Costa Rica was unique in that I had been there before, therefore I had my expectations. This trip was completely unique because the area we stayed at was not a "gringo area." I had to use my LIMITED Spanish vocabulary to communicate with the locals. At Rancho Mastatal we did a number of activities. I will sum up some of my favorites.

Wood Shop

During wood shop we got to make different types of wood creations like: wood bindings (homemade hinges), stools, doors, shelves. Our instructor was a man named Jeff AKA el Grande. We worked over a period of two days sawing, cutting, chiseling and sanding.

Hiking

One of the things we did most often was hiking. We did a number of hikes including 3 night hikes through the rainforest, a hike to the waterfall at Mastatal and the waterfall in town. The waterfall in Mastatal had a deep swimming area and a 25-foot jump.

Giving to the community

Many of the things we did at Mastatal were giving back to the community. We helped improve the school in town, we hauled HEAVY teak trees, and we built a structure at the forest edge. Even when you are defecating you are giving to the community. Your stool is mixed with sawdust then put in the compost to be used in the tree reforestation nursery.

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Goldy

Excerpts from Goldy's Costa Rica Journal

Day One: The Journey Begins

The Pot Luck last night was a success. In addition to the families and the travelers, we were joined by several other teachers and Marcus King, an alumnus and son of Brad King. On Friday night at the potluck we learned that we had an extra spot because, unfortunately, one of our students was unable to go along. Fortunately, however, Marcus decided to come along with us. I think he makes a great addition to our group! ....

We returned to the Carriage House around 11 pm and watched O Brother Where Art Thou on DVD. We made a later start than we had hoped this morning and, with the addition of a few other delays, we ended up in quite a mad rush at the terminal. Luckily we had printed out the boarding passes the night before. Everyone at Continental was helpful and we settled in quickly once on board the plane. We had not had time for breakfast, but there was a real breakfast on board (a rarity in air travel these days)...

As we flew down to Costa Rica, Marcus amused us with his confusion as he pondered the Continental Magazine and queried, "So where exactly is Costa Rica?" His willingness to jump into this adventure with us is impressive. While the rest of the group had months to prepare, Marcus had literally hours...

When we arrived at the San Jose airport in Alajuela, we went through immigration and customs and changed dollars into colones, the Costa Rican currency. The exchange rate is approximately 500 colones per US dollar. Tom MacDonald, our guide, was waiting for us outside. Tom is most often known by his nickname, Tiburon (shark) which he was given after surviving an encounter with a shark in Belize. Along with Tiburon, there was Elias who drove our bus. We tossed our luggage onto the bus through a rear window and then piled aboard. The Central Valley, where Alajuela is located, is the most congested part of Costa Rica and Tiburon wanted to be clear of the traffic before we stopped to eat lunch.

We traveled a little less than an hour to Santiago de Puriscal, where we ate lunch. The lunch was both good and inexpensive, about $4.00 per person. (2000 colones) The cafe was obviously not a foreign tourist destination, the menus were in Spanish and we were the only "gringos" in the place. The staff gathered tables so that we could all sit together. There were various tropical juice drinks which were served mixed with agua (water) or leche (milk). I had casada con pollo frito. Casada is a common type of dish - usually a kind of meat or fish along with rice, beans, and in this case fried bananas, salad and chips. Con pollo frito means with fried chicken. (During our few restaurant visits, we would see casada on every menu.)

After lunch, we walked around the central square of Santiago de Puriscal. Marcus headed off with Tiburon and a few others to purchase some shorts - he obviously had little time to prepare for the trip. Daniel and I heard a band playing in the park and went to investigate. Keith did some people-watching from a bench on the corner. (Later he mentioned his delight at the friendliness of the people-- something we would continue to experience throughout our stay.)

Back at the restaurant we filled our water bottles and headed off in the bus up and down the hilly bumpy roads to Mastatal. Our first sights of the area surrounding Mastatal were awe inspiring. Despite the time of year (dry season) the area seemed lush to us new arrivals from the New York Winter. We got settled at Jeannie's house and ate dinner in the main house. By 8:00 we were all ready for bed.

Day Two: Futbol and the Waterfall

This morning we were asked if we would like to go to a local futbol (soccer game) in San Miguel with the Mastatal team and the volunteers. We decided to go along - firstly because we saw it as a chance to interact with some local folks and a nice mellow way to start our week (after our travels yesterday). So we loaded everyone onto the bus and off we went.

Well it was pretty mellow for most of us, but not for Owen who joined the Mastatal team for the first half of the game. Of course the field was in full sunshine and by the time the game started it was nearly the middle of the day, so Owen really suffered out in the heat and had to sit out the second half of the game.

Local women cooked a light lunch which they sold to raise money for the local high school. In addition, they were selling off raffles - for 50 colones you could buy a raffle and take a chance to win a whole chicken (cooked). We got to try interacting with the women selling food and raffles, who were all good natured about our bumbling Spanish. I couldn't figure out how to say that I wanted just one chance and ended up buying five - but I didn't get the chicken anyway - it went to the owner of the Puperia in San Vincenze - the next town over from Mastatal.

At half time, Daniel, Nils, Avery and I went to a local (San Miguel) swimming hole to cool off. The water level was much lower than it would have been in the rainy season, but it was still deep enough for swimming. A little later Will and Marcus showed up with cameras in hand. I showed some of the boys what I called a "sensitive plant" - the leaves curl up when it is touched, and Will shot a short video of the curling leaves. (Apparently this is really a mimosa plant, and I don't know if sensitive plant is another name for it or if I have my terminology confused.) There were lots of tadpoles and fish in the clear water and Will and Marcus took lots of photos. Soon enough it was time to leave.

Mastatal (Los Galactacos) won the game-- 3-2. Tim and robin expressed thanks to us for letting them have a "real Sunday"-- apparently many groups want to "get started" right away and insist on their orientation as soon as they arrive. We felt the game and the trip to the swimming hole were a great way to "get started," especially with the entire volunteer crew along.

After we dropped off the volunteers, we headed off for a waterfall hike. It wasn't far to the waterfall, but very steep down and back. The steps carved into the dirt to help us climb turned out to be a little too steep for me in some places, but we were told that if there weren't these steps, the path would completely wash into mud during the rainy season.

The waterfall was a great favorite. Tom/Tiburon was the first to jump. Avery, Daniel and I knew we were not going to right from the start, but swimming and watching was just as much fun for us. Several of the others jumped repeatedly-- it was really a matter of stepping off rather than jumping; since there was a rock wall on the opposite side, jumping would not have been very healthy. We hiked back to the main part of the property in time for showers and dinner.

Volunteers and Robin and Tim take turns cooking dinner, although much of the work is also done during the day by the two local women who work at the Ranch. Everyone (that is volunteers, Tim, Robin, Tiburon and visitors) all take turns with the dishes. This is known as "dish dog duty." Before dinner, everyone gathers round in a large circle and holds hands. People thank each other for something during the day or mention someone known to all or most and give some news about that person. It closes with Robin saying "Gracias a la Madre" (thanks to the mother-- earth) and everyone responds, "Buen Provecho" (which is like Bon Appetit).

After dinner, people chat a little but everyone retires pretty early. Breakfast is at seven am and a hard day's work follows. Back at Jeannie's we reflected on our day and wrote in our journals then went to sleep. During the night there was a small earthquake. Since animals were known to jump on the roofs, I initially thought this was just a rather large animal or group of animals. But the next morning everyone agreed there had been an earthquake. In our house with its concrete floor we had felt enough of a bump to wake most of us from sleep, but the other buildings, especially the Hooch which is built from bamboo, got a small shaking. There was no damage, however, and we were told that small earthquakes like this are welcome because they release some of the pressure and make a big quake less likely.

Day Three: Monday-- Orientation and Rio Negro

After breakfast we headed to the new classroom building for our orientation. We learned about the proper use of the composting toilets-- don't forget to move the stick when entering and leaving to let others know whether or not the toilet is occupied and remember to use plenty of sawdust in the toilet. We discussed some basics of reducing, reusing and recycling and learned about some of the practical applications at Rancho Mastatal. We were reminded that these three are always said as reduce, reuse and recycle and learned that there is a reason for the order - reducing is the first and most important step in the chain and does the most to help preserve the earth, reusing is next and recycling last because, although it's better than wasting, recycling takes energy to do and can also create a false sense of self righteousness which keeps us from reducing and reusing. At Rancho Mastatal environmentally friendly living is taken very seriously from the composting toilets to the gravity fed showers, to the solar oven, cob stove, dish washing practices, composting and garbage disposal.

Tom and Tim discussed some of the dangers from snakes and ants and we were told that snakes sense body heat and can strike a distance equal to 60% of their body length, therefore, there's no sense in backing away slowly as one might do with another predatory animal. Basically, move quickly out of their way and out of striking distance. We spent quite a lot of time on the vipers, learning that only about half the bites are bad - the rest are "dry bites" where the snake does not inject any venom or bites with a mild reaction, but still to be avoided. We took a tour of the grounds and learned about what would be expected of us. Having Tom with us was very reassuring since he is well versed in dealing with wildlife (and would often notice animals the rest of us would never have seen).

After orientation we took a hike to the Rio Negro, stopping along the way to write observations using our various senses. We learned about the mastate tree which was used by indigenous peoples as a source of nourishment for babies in hard times (since the tree, when nicked, produces a kind of white milky substance).

At the Rio Negro there were lots of tiny toads - so small and camouflaged you didn't notice them on the rocks until you walked and ten or twenty of them hopped away in various directions. We took a trip into town (Which consists of a puperia, the elementary/middle school, the community center, the carver's shop (Jimmie) and a church and a police station. The church and police station are seldom used, except for every few weeks when a priest or police officer comes to town. There are no telephones, no supermarkets, no clothing stores, anything you need you have to grow, make, trade, or travel into one of the larger towns or Santiago del Puriscal. We visited Jimmie's and put in some orders for carving that we would pick up later in the week.

After dinner we chatted for a while and some folks played guitar. Some of the group headed off with Tiburon for a night hike while the rest of us stayed at Jeannie's and wrote and chatted.

Day Four: Shadow Day-- Tuesday

After breakfast, the whole group met with Tim. Tim described the projects that would be worked on that day and the volunteers each said what they would be working on. Our group was given the opportunity to choose where we would like to help out. The projects included wattle and daub work in the classroom construction project, gathering concrete materials to install the support beams for a deck at the Hankey House, woodworking, preparing bamboo for the Middle School project, cooking and baking with the local women in the kitchen at Rancho Mastatal, and repairing the back floor of the main building with "poo glue." In addition, Tiburon had a reforestation project he works on with Rancho Mastatal, and Zach spent the day out in the forest with him. Our students joined in projects and worked the majority of the day while Owen and I spent the morning doing documentation-- me crawling around the ground trying for a few candid shots and Owen filming and interviewing.

It was Alan's birthday today - he's a volunteer from New Jersey, an ex-firefighter who has a longstanding relationship with Rancho Mastatal. Heather (another volunteer) made him a crown out of leaves and grasses and Don Mario (a local man who we would see often during our time at Rancho Mastatal) was convinced to donate an old shirt as a present. It was a shirt that Alan admired although Don Mario had no idea why Alan would want one of his old, torn shirts. The crew baked a cake for Alan's birthday - using chocolate and beans - a higher protein goody which I understand was quite tasty.

Three of our students went on home stays - Marcus, Zach and Will. When on a homestay, visitors eat dinner and breakfast with the family, so they headed off to spend time with their host families. Those of us who remained went on a night hike with Tiburon. Although I was nervous at first to be venturing into the jungle during the nighttime, Tiburon's presence and obvious expertise reassured me. As we walked, Tiburon would pause periodically to listen. At one point, not very long into our hike, he turned to me and said, "Listen. Do you know what that is?" I didn't, but it turned out to be the sound of two tree frogs calling to each other. Prior to our trip I had confided my life long love of the "red eyed tree frog" and my desire to see one in person if possible. As part of my preparation for the trip, I had researched the types of frogs and toads we seemed likely to encounter in Costa Rica. (I learned during that process that there are two frogs which are often referred to as red eyed tree frogs, the gaudy leaf frog and the misfit tree frog. Since my research hadn't included any audio component, I did not know that what we were hearing was, in fact, the very frog I had hoped to see. Tiburon told us to wait and he ventured quietly forward until he located the source of the sound. He motioned for me to come ahead-- and, for the first time on the trip, I edged my way in front of the boys to get a closer view. In fact, Tiburon gently placed the frog into the palm of my hand where it sat, looking up at me and slowly opening and closing the eyelid of the one red eye nearest to me, as Tiburon got ready to take a few pictures. When we were done with the photo op and all the other hikers had a chance to my new little friend, we gently urged him back onto the branch where Tiburon had seen him, carefully camouflaged, but not enough hidden to escape Tiburon's gaze. Earlier in our hike that night, Tiburon had paused and ventured down into a swampy area before motioning us to come cautiously forward for our first glimpse of the viper known as the Terciopia or Fer de Lance. There it sat, curled up and waiting silently for some small creature to approach the water so that it could get its dinner. We respectfully gave the snake plenty of room and marveled at how harmless it looked sitting among the leaves at the water's edge. (There are pictures of both the frog and the snake in the natural history section of the website.)

Day Five: Wednesday-- Wattle and Daub

Today, while Nils, Avery, Will and Keith continued their work from yesterday, Owen, Daniel, Zack and I joined Marcus, Tim, Robin and some volunteers working on the classroom wattle and daub project. Specifically, we worked on an outer wall and the inner wall that will form a storage closet for materials used by groups who come to Rancho Mastatal on a regular basis. This would allow ongoing projects to store educational materials between trips. The daub was not nearly as odoriferous as I had been led to believe and I found it satisfying to work alongside with a partner to push the daub onto the wattle from both sides. The daub is a clay material made up of straw, mud, clay and manure. The manure helps the material to stick and is often times referred to at Rancho Mastatal as the "secret ingredient." The wattle consisted of a weave of split bamboo between bamboo poles which are set about 16 inches apart from each other. You must be careful to build up the walls evenly and to leave a shelf for the next workers to add onto. We built up in sections of about two to three feet at a time then moved on to the next area of wall, allowing time for the sections to dry before building the next section up. Owen and I worked together, each on one side of the wall, being careful not to push the material too much one way or the other. We worked for most of the morning and personally I felt a great deal of satisfaction knowing that I had helped formed part of a structure that would be used by visitors to Rancho Mastatal for years into the future.

In the afternoon, most of us headed over to the middle school to put up bamboo on the new walls. The middle school is a concrete building which now held two rooms due to the addition of a wall by Rancho Mastatal volunteers. The wall needed something, though, to make it more homey and the covering with a layer of half bamboo sticks would serve not only to beautify the room but to cut down on some of the noise. Afterward, some of the group stayed in town to play basketball at the community center while the rest of us returned to the main building or Jeannie's house to get ready for the evening.

Will and Zach went off on new home stays. We had a quiet evening back at the main building and afterward some of the group took a night hike while the rest of us relaxed at Jeannie's.

Day Six: Our last day at Rancho Mastatal-- Owen's birthday and our farewell celebration

In the morning we headed over to Leo's House, a teak structure on a teak plantation near the ranch. Don Mario, Junior and many of the volunteers accompanied us. We were to haul harvested teak up from the plantation so that it could be loaded on the ranch truck and brought back to Rancho Mastatal for building. Although teak grows well in this tropical climate, it is not native to the area and the group is in the process of replanting this area with a mixed tree forest of indigenous plants provided in part by the nursery at Rancho Mastatal. The change over will take a while because teak secretes a toxin which kills other trees so the land must lie fallow for a while. I am forcefully excused from the process due to a recurrence of edema in my foot and leg.

"El Grande" (they are big on nicknames here) left this morning but he, like so many of the volunteers, is a regular who will return again and again. Already many of our students are hooked and hope to return as volunteers themselves. The students have been remarkable this trip. There has been no complaining and everyone has pitched in to help, even with dish dog duty. I believe part of the reason for this is that they are doing real work alongside volunteers who treat them as equals. This is work that must be done and is done by all. They have chosen their projects and their recreations and have acted with a great deal of maturity and independence. I am very proud of our students, and folks at Rancho Mastatal have remarked on how much they enjoy having the group here.

The group returned from the first run, two or more to a teak log. The teak is a dense and therefore heavy wood and they must haul it up many steps in a good deal of heat and some humidity. One log is enough for most of the carriers but we are still able to bring back a good amount of teak. Afterwards, Avery asks if he can head back to the ranch with the volunteers, and the rest of us (accompanied by Tiburon, Don Mario, and Elias) head off for a waterfall hike (to a different waterfall). This hike is down an even steeper incline, which I hadn't imagined possible, and inevitably back up again. We make it, though, and are rewarded with a cool dip and pleasant swim. This particular waterfall is too high to jump, however, so we must content ourselves with enjoying the view.

Before dinner, we are rewarded by our one and only rainstorm in the "rainforest." At first it seems it will not rain or will only drizzle a bit, but soon we are experiencing a true downpour that makes sense of the mud boots, the steps cut into the paths, the deep gutters running next to the building and the lush green we see even in the dry season. We run out into the rain, enjoying the experience thoroughly. We learn that this is the first rain of the year and Elias takes the opportunity to wash the bus as it comes down.

Today is Owen's birthday as well as our last day at Rancho Mastatal, and we are regaled with quite the celebration after dinner. Owen is declared El Rey de Mastatal and given a crown, as well as a rehydrating soccer ball in recognition of his valor in the face of near heat exhaustion during Sunday's soccer match. Each of the rest of us receives presents as well. Each present is given by one or more of the volunteers in a ceremony that makes it clear they have taken the time to get to know us each as individuals. We are sad to leave and, although we miss our families I think most of us would be content to stay quite a while longer.

Day Seven: We leave for Alajuela with a few stops on the way-- expected and not...

After an early breakfast we pick up our last-minute items from Jimmie and the small Rancho Mastatal store (coffee, pottery, tee shirts, a hammock, and some postcards and jewelry) Everything is loaded onto the bus and we head off.

Our plan is to head to Alajuela by a slightly indirect route that will allow us to see the Pacific coast and to stop at a bridge known for its crocodile population. About forty minutes into the trip, however, we make an unexpected stop in the town of "Los Angeles." That's Los Angeles Costa Rica-- quite different from the city in California. It seems there is work being done on the road, some new pipes being put in, and the road crew had dug up the only road that will lead us on our way. We stop, get off the bus, take some pictures. I head off to the local puperia to use the women's room. (I manage to ask, "¿Tiene un baño?" and the proprietor responds "Si," but pauses before heading off to fetch the key. I am not sure whether this is because I haven't actually asked to use the bathroom, because he is surprised to find a gringa in his establishment, or because of my Spanish. Fortunately he does give me a key and gestures in the direction of the bathroom.

Eventually we get back on the bus and head off to the Pacific coast town where we will have lunch and a swim. The beach is beautiful. There are Scarlet Macaws in the tree (they only live in the wild in Costa Rica) and an iguana on the roof of the restaurant where we eat lunch. As usual the food is simple, inexpensive and good. Our time at the beach was very enjoyable, although we are warned sternly about the undertow. Some of us decide to wander further down to the rocky area of fishing boats. Almost all of us end up with sunburn to one degree or another.

After lunch we head off again, stopping at a bridge to see the dozens of crocodiles that gather below. Apparently local restaurateurs feed the crocodiles so they are happy to stay close by, although way down below the level of the road where each of us is out of danger from the other. (I learn later that crocodiles are endangered in Costa Rica.) We arrive in Alajuela later than we had planned due to our unexpected stop, and we have just a little time to settle into our hotel before heading out to dinner.

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Keith

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Owen

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