Blogs from Puntarenas, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 9

Today, we were tasked with painting the railings and sheds of Santa Elena reserve a beautiful green colour. After applying multiple coats of paint, I found that we did an incredible job of painting the reserve a little greener. We even painted the bug shed, we washed down a couple of days earlier. While still being attacked by bugs, at the shed, I kept on telling myself “Pura Vida”. Some things never change. With the hot climate and the strenuous work we were undertaking, I started looking forward to snack time on the reserve. At first, snack time started off as an inside joke with the Mac-Serve group. We felt that we were being fed more than volunteering. But, we learned to appreciate snack time. Volunteering at the reserve was tiring and snack time provided the ... read more

After breakfast, we met Fabian, our new trip coordinator, and then headed to the Santa Elena Reserve for volunteering. Our first task of the day was to create a gravel path for tourists to walk on. The whole morning, Renata and I hauled heavy bags of gravel up winding paths and stairs. I never realized how much work it took to build and maintain the trails. Heavy rain damages the paths and the Reserve staff are always working hard to maintain it. I definitely have gained a great appreciation of all the hard work done on the reservation. It was not all work, though. We had a lot of breaks and snacks. We also stopped to take pictures of tarantulas and cute coatis. After lunch, we were given the task to wash down a hut to ... read more

This morning, during breakfast Renata and I met up with the other McMaster alumni volunteers. We also met Leo, the trip coordinator from VIDA, McMasters’ partner organization in Costa Rica. After group introductions, we headed to Monteverde. The bus ride to Monteverde was incredible. Up in the mountains, we passed through picturesque countryside’s, lush green landscapes, and experienced our first Costa Rican massage as we winded around the bumpy gravel road to Monteverde. In Monteverde, we stayed at the beautiful Los Jardines hotel, where Renata and I got our own balcony overlooking the clouds. Then it was off to lunch at Don Luis, a contemporary restaurant near our hotel. After lunch, we had a quick siesta, before we headed into Monteverde town. Monteverde town is a cute little tourist town with gift shops and restaurants. You ... read more

Costa Rica leads the world in biodiversity and this is evident in the exceptional numbers of exotic wildlife. It has the largest percentage of protected land and sanctuaries and was among the first countries to offer ecotourism. With the demise of the coffee oligarchy and independence from Spain, Costa Rica set out on the path to establishing a democracy which granted right to work, minimum wage and maximum work hours for laborers. Now Costa Rica is probably the most stable of Latin American countries and has the highest standard of living.It has become a favorite retirement place for many North Americans. We were scheduled to take our Virtuoso group on a tour of Carara National Park and the botanical garden of Pura Vida. Shortly after docking we set off in mini buses to the Guacalillo Estuary. ... read more

-Our first day in Cobano, Costa Rica We woke up in complete awe. I hadn't really seen much the night before because it gets dark here so early. The sun was shining, the animals were awake, and it was just absolutely stunning. I couldn't believe I was actually here. First thing I wanted to do was call my mom and dad but couldn't because we don't have Internet or cell service here. Which is fine because I'm surrounded by such amazing people. The kids, Hannah and Hayden, took us for a walk around the 15 acre yard. It's so different then back home. It's so green! The property we are staying on is wonderful. There's fresh fruit trees all around. All the sounds from the different kinds of animals and insects is pretty magical. We came ... read more