Class of 2023 Service Trip

COSTA RICA - 2023

Approximately 20 students aged elementary to high school in a group photo in Costa Rica — La Florida, Costa Rica

Interior of a white room with three people doing various construction work — Renovation at the school in La Florida, Costa Rica

Student posing with hands on hips and eyeballing the camera

high school students frolicking in pool of water below a waterfall in up photo in Pura Suerta, Costa Rica — Nauyaca waterfall

High school students around an outdoor table learning to make empanadas — Making empanadas!

Female high school student learning to milk a cow with another student watching

high school student group photo in Pura Suerta, Costa Rica — Group Photo from Pura Suerta, Costa Rica

Scenic photo of rolling green hills from high vantage point in Pura Suerta, Costa Rica — Scenic Shot

high school students on service learning trip in Pura Suerta, Costa Rica — Nauyaca Waterfall Nature Park

three high school students in Pura Suerta, Costa Rica

Scenic photo of a horse in a green field in Pura Suerta, Costa Rica

high school student group photo at a long picnic table in Pura Suerta, Costa Rica

student laying on floor paiting a corner under a counter

student crouched down painting the lower half of a wall

student crouched down using a tool to scrap a seam along a floor

student stretching from working outdoors

student standing and posing for a picture

two students painting the outside of a building

three people taking a rest outdoors from painting

12th grade student and elementary aged student working on an outdoor project

student standing up and posing for the camera

students working outdoors on service project in tropical location

students and teacher crossing back and forth across a dirt road as they clear brush

outdoor classroom in a tropical location

students on a hike along a steeped dirt road in Costa Rica

Blog 9: May 18

Written by Zanon G.

Today we woke up early to go rafting. We started the day with waffles, eggs and rice. After an hour and a half ride, we got to the river. We split into the groups and floated down the river. Mr Kern and Domo both fell into the River and got knocked around. The rapids were fast but not too bad. After an hour we ended up at a fancy restaurant and ate well. A four hour drive later we were at the hotel. We ate a delicious meal from Diego’s Mom’s and swam in the pool. Before bed we reminisced about the trip and thanked Diego for all he taught us about Costs Rica.

Blog 8: May 17

Written by Walker S.

We rose early for a delicious breakfast combination of Costa Rican and American food, and with a final goodbye to our kitchen staff at Pura Suerta and our Jungalows, we embarked on a scenic road trip to Parque National Marino Ballena for a day of relaxation. We arrived at our hotel, El Tecal, to drop off our luggage before taking a short walk to the beautiful ocean. Once there, we met our surf instructor Dennis. After a quick tutorial we were ready to hit the surf, I was able to stand up on my first wave. We surfed for a while longer, making it my favorite day in Costa Rica so far. For lunch, we went to Pizza Time, which provided a very familiar and homely feel. After lunch, we retreated back to El Tecal to swim in the pool or bask in the air conditioned rooms. We finished the night with a delicious dinner overlooking the bay and the beautiful sunset. Then retreating for a relaxing sleep.

Blog 7: May 16

Written by Isabel M.

Today we started off our day by getting up at 7 A.M and ate some breakfast. We ate and then from there we went to the Escuela de Florida to finish up painting and cleaning up. Once we finished painting the school’s cafeteria, and cleaned up the salon where our party would be held, we headed ate some lunch. We ate some hamburgers with fries that the kitchen staff made for us. Afterwards, we went to our cabins and started getting ready for the party that was going to be put on for us. At around 5 we arrived to the salon and we were welcomed by everyone including students, parents of students, and the rest of the community. Towards the end of the party, there were some nice words said to us by the community and the people who welcomed us during our stay. Overall, it was very fun and enjoyable.

View all the SmugMug photos from this trip at: https://walkingtree.smugmug.com/2023-Programs/2023WestgateCR/

Blog 6 - May 15

Written by Domo A.

Today was our third day of renovations at the school. We arrived early to celebrate Agriculture Day with the students, which is a widely celebrated holiday due to the agriculture industry’s significance to Costa Rica. It was a good opportunity to meet the students that attended the school we are renovating and to appreciate agriculture with hands-on activities. Yesterday we only worked a half day, but today we worked a full day. Luckily we were able to take lots of breaks and still had a good time working. Today we did renovations on the cafeteria by painting the inside of the building. The work went by quickly because everyone was working together and was motivated to finish the task. After working we enjoyed lunch and headed back to our rooms to shower and relax before enjoying a delicious dinner. Being able to clean up and have free time after a busy day of working was very rewarding and left me feeling motivated to finish up our project tomorrow.

Blog 5 - May 14

Written by Alex R.

Today was another day of hard labor work, but only for half the day. We cut trees down and moved them into a compost pile and put soils in the tires we painted yesterday. We got done around noon where we headed back and ate a delicious homemade burger for lunch. After lunch we all had a decent break to ourselves until 2:30. We arrived at Roy and Graciela’s property where they showed us around the property that has been there for many generations. We learned about different bananas, fruits that grow in the area and all about the different tall trees that surrounded us. On the property was a giant farm filled with chickens, ducks, Guinea pigs and Cows! We all spent some time milking a cow. They then took us back to the cafe where they helped us make empanadas. We all spent a few hours in the cafe as it’s the only place around with WiFi to text our Moms “Happy Mother’s Day.” After finishing an amazing cup of coffee, we all had free time until dinner. For dinner, we ate rice with beans, meat stew and green papaya salad.

Blog 4 - May 13

Written by Adam W.

The real work begins: today started very typically, with us sleeping in and waking up just in time for breakfast (Which of course, was delicious). Following breakfast, today we went straight into the service in our senior service trip. We were sudden up at a nearby school, where they had us doing helpful jobs. Basically, there were two tasks we had people on. First, there was a team dedicated to clearing out some of the trees and using care of the branches by breaking them up and pouring them in a pile, and there was another team dedicated to cleaning, and then painting tires, to be used for various purposes, but mainly gardening boxes, from what I heard. In then end, we ended up spending 6 hours on it, from like 9:00 am, to 3:00 pm, (Our guide prepared a nice snack break with fruits, electrolytes and snacks). It wasn’t extremely grueling or anything, but it certainly wasn’t easy, so in the end, we had to cancel the soccer match we had planned, because everyone was either too tired, too hot, or just didn’t want to do it.

After that, we were shuttled back to our jungalows by Diego and Roy. One we got back, we mostly just took some time to rest, recover, shower, and hang out in general. We also had another meet up at Roy’s like yesterday, where we basically just sat and talked and got to know the people we were working with in general. Afterwards, we went off to see the sunset. It was still beautiful, but unfortunately Costa Rica is so humid that there are almost always a good amount of clouds around, especially at this time of the day (we get massive rainstorms every single night) meaning that we could not see the sun dip below the horizon. Afterwards, it was back to our usual nighttime routine: dinner, but surprisingly no torrential downpour, and finally, we go to sleep, after a bit of chatting and needing around that is.

Blog 3 - May 12

Written by Megan D.

Today we had a very simple day of relaxation and preparation for our service project. We went on a hike to the beautiful Nauyaca waterfall and spent the afternoon there swimming and relaxing. We swam under the waterfall and took a bunch of amazing pictures. We also had lunch at the waterfall. After we had tired ourselves out a few hours later we hiked back up to where we were to wait for our bus back to Pura Suerte. When we arrived back there we cleaned up and unwound for a bit. We then went to coffee at a nearby Cafe. After getting the amazing coffee we went back to Pura Suerte for dinner. We ended the day off by talking out our service work for the next day and preparing for that.

Blog 2 - May 11

Written by Yazmin B.

Today was the first official day of our adventure, and everyone was buzzing with excitement. We woke up at 7:00 am to get ready for breakfast, and let me tell you, the food was absolutely amazing. We had fried bananas, beans with rice, and eggs. After our meal, we packed up our belongings and stuffed ourselves into a bus to move on to our next destination. Diego, our tour guide, showed us a magical place, which was the local supermarket. It was so interesting to see the different brands of food or even the same brands from back home. We stocked up on snacks and began the drive to Pura Suerte. One of our stops on the way there was a river filled with crocodiles, which were massive. We also stopped at a restaurant with delicious Costa Rican food. Another stop was by the coast of the Pacific Ocean and Diego showed us the native macaws that fly around the area. Once we got to Pura Suerte, we were assigned our jungalows and given free time until dinner. We all headed to Kerns’ hut where we all spent time with each other talking about the past years we spent together and reminiscing about the past. We then ate dinner and Diego gave us a rundown of what would happen the next day. It was an awesome day and the best part was seeing all the monkeys and toucans roaming around up in the trees. The day was such a special time for all of us.

Blog 1 - May 10

Written by Margaret O.

Today was our first day out which means we spent most of the day jumping between airports and planes. It was a total of 5 hours flight, with a 4 hour layover in Texas, so we arrived here in Costa Rica around 8 o clock at night. From there we met our guide for the next 9 days, Diego. He got us to our lodging for the night, a nice set of houses in a valley, and we had dinner and settled in, though not too much because we’re only here one night! Many of us ended the night by sitting by the pool and talking about our aspirations for the trip before turning in to get some rest. Overall, even if we didn’t do much today, and I am quite tired from everything, I am very excited and hopeful for the days coming.

From the Walking Tree Blog Site at: https://walkingtree.org/programs/2023-westgate-costa-rica-program/blog/