El viaje a Parrita

Greetings from the Central Pacific Coast!

Yesterday, we traveled from Monteverde down to Parrita on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. It was a long journey over narrow, winding dirt roads, which lasted roughly five hours.

These are the type of roads we were traveling on around Monteverde.
We had to stop here because of some construction in the road.

Along the way, we stopped at two Costa Rican primary schools. At the first, we saw a presentation of traditional Costa Rican dances (el caballito, la pasión, y el gallo pinto) and played a soccer game with the kids. It was a very small and rural school in Monteverde; there were twelve students (of different ages) and just one teacher. We also had the opportunity to speak with the children in Spanish and to donate some of our school supplies, which were greatly appreciated. I believe it was an eye-opening experience for our students!

Alice y su amiga nueva.

Closer to the Pacific coast, we noticed how the climate changed from an environment experiencing its dry season to a tropical rain forest. It is much warmer down by the coast compared to Monteverde, which is high in the central mountains. We started to observe many more palm trees (some were for cocos, others were palmas africanas used in the production of palm oil) and many fruit trees, such as mango trees. We stopped at another primary school where we had the opportunity to visit with students whose ages ranged from eight to nine years old. This was not a school typically visited by tours, so the students were quite excited to speak with us in Spanish and to have their pictures taken. You will notice in the pictures that all students in Costa Rica must wear a uniform, which consists of dress pants and a white shirt for boys and a skirt and white shirt for girls.

Emily, Jenna, and Siera posing with students.

Aliza and Becca with Costa Rican students.

Coconut palms.

In the early afternoon, we finally arrived in Parrita, our destination on the Central Pacific Coast. The hotel is right on the ocean! The layout consists of a central building for the hotel lobby, lounge, and eating area, a large swimming pool next to the central building, and smaller buildings off to the side that have rooms for guests. There are coconut palms everywhere! There are many hammocks for students to enjoy and an absolutely stunning beach. However, we are not allowed to swim in the water due to very strong riptides.

Students enjoying the hammocks at the hotel.

La playa en Parrita.

Alejandro enjoying the beach views.

We found many sand dollars on the beach.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Manuel Antonio National Park, which is renowned for its beaches (which we can swim at!) and its mischievous white-faced monkeys.

Hasta pronto,

Señor Thurber