Farewell Oak Hall...

This was the night where we talked about the trip. We had cook out at my parents house and ate their last Costa Rican dinner. From what I gathered it was a huge success. I mentioned to the kids this evening how blessed they were to have Mrs. Randell who is a teacher so full of life that is always seeing the positive side of everything. Just a great person to be around and very enjoyable for myself and our team. It was good to see Mrs. Randells fun personality rub off on the kids as the whole trip was laughter from start to finish. A big thanks to Marisabel also for coming down and being an excellent addition to the team. I am going to miss these kids and it was great having visitors from so close to home. I have lived in Costa Rica for almost 9 years but before that I was raised in Ocala and went to a small private school. Oak Hall use to crush my middle school team in basketball so it was fun to start a different relationship with Oak Hall that I hope last for years to come. Your kids are great as we had a flawless trip, very respectful, and everyone got along with everyone. This says a lot about Oak Hall as a school and the education the kids are getting.
I feel priviledged to have had a small part in these students education and I hope the things they learned during their stay from talks about recycling, walks through the rainforest, and even the part when they were sweating and about killing me on the hike to the cave which I hope can be used to face challenges along that way and realize that the road is not always easy but dont give up because it is all worth it in the end. Again another huge thanks to you parents without you guys we would not have jobs or the chance to show off this amazing country. We hope to see all you parents down here and enjoy the Costa Rica ziplines with us soon. Have a great evening and PURA VIDA!!!

Vacation to Costa Rica with Volcanos

Hope all are well. The things are good hear. The kids spent the night at an elevation of around 9,000ft which is the highest elevation they have been at this trip. They then went higher this morning visiting the tallest volcano in all of Costa Rica which is the Irazu volcano. Who knows maybe next time they come visit we can have a zipline adventure from the volcano. We are having their farewell party this evening and Im sure it will be filled with much laughs. We hope when the kids get home they can talk you into a Costa Rica Family Vacation. I wanted to know if anyone got the postcards? It was a new program I was using called "Shoot-it" so just curious to see if anyone got them in the mail? Have a great night and dont forget to pick your kids up from the airport!!!

Costa Rica Family Vacations
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Sleeping in the Cave

Last night was a great night. They all slept until 8am which is very late for the cave. Although this is not your average hotel and geared more towards the student crowd we still offer this for our Costa Rica Family Vacations. They must have been tired after the hike. The night was with a great meal and Mrs Randell even suprised everyone with a bunch of glow stick necklaces and bracelets. This was the first time I had seen this and it was a great hit. THe kids loved it and we even had a jam session with the guitar. Polly is quite the guitar player from what we can tell and Jesse one of guides has some skills also so it made for a litte Cave Concert. Today the kids are taking a hike to another waterfall and then heading down the cave and driving to what I consider the best hotel on the trip. It is called El Trogon Lodge which is located at about 9,000ft. The only bad thing about this place is that it does not have a zipline adventure but thats OK. They will all be sitting by the fire this evening because it gets pretty chilly here. This is a lodge where people come from all over the world to see one of the most beautiful birds on the planet which is the Quetzal bird. It is a great stop for us to break up the drive from the cave and also a chance to try and get the kids fired up about a bird.

It is getting towards the end of the trip and I can tell you Ive laughed like crazy on this trip it is a great group of kids that Mrs Randell pulled together and everyone is getting along perfectly.

Rappel and Sleep in a Cave

The kids made it. It was a great hike and they were all about to kill me until we arrived. They did very well during the hike and when we arrived we had lunch ready for us. After lunch everyone had some down time till 1pm and that is when we got them ready for the rappel which will involve a little more skill on their part as compared to the Costa Rica zipline. The rappel was about 100ft high and the looks on their faces was interesting during the instruction talk. We then came back to the cave which they rappeled we got them ready for a hike to the top of a 600ft waterfall. Just an amazing all around day and they seem to really like it here. This is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in this country and I explained to the kids that very few tourist have the chance to make the visit here. Although if you want to be one of those tourist you can plan a Costa Rican Family Adventure and include the cave. Almost none besides them which made them feel proud of the hike. Well it is off to dinner and we will be sleeping to sound of the waterfalls running everynight. YOUR KIDS ARE SLEEPING BEHIND A WATERFALL TONIGHT HOW COOL IS THAT?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PURA VIDA, I LOVE THIS PLACE!

Best Dinner in Town

We left the hotel and went out to dinner. The place we went is called The Airplane and all the kids got a big kick out of it because it really is an airplane. The food is good but the view is the best part. This is a nice place and we usually use it for our Costa Rica Family Vacations but we thought the students deserved a treat. We enjoyed a nice meal with plenty of laughs. It looks to be that most were with sun but nobody super fried which I have to say turned out good because on a full day of sun in Costa Rica I have seen nothing but lobsters show up to dinner. Today will be an early morning and we gave the kids the talk about the next two day adventure. The most important is that 1.5 million tourist travel to this country a year and many student travel groups make their way to Costa Rica but practically nobody experiences this magical experience of where we are about to go. They say in life nothing good comes easy and that is the perfect description of todays cave hike. we will start the hike around 9am after we leave the hotel at 7:30am and hike for awhile. So stay tuned because I actually do have signal there and will be posting from the cave. Have a great day everyone and enjoy your Saturday. I wanted to mention to take a look at the picture of the girls and I could not help but think that a Costa Rica zipline out to the island would make for the perfect spot.

Beach, monkeys, & Sloths

Well today they did the nature hike with Johnathan through the National Park of Manuel Antonio. They all seemed to enjoy and got to see plenty of wildlife (we know walking can not compare to a Costa Rica zipline but we do our best to keep them interested). This park is filled with monkeys and great beaches. Right now everyone is out of the park and on the public beach. Most are playing soccer or rented some surf boards and are trying out the waves for the afternoon. It is a bright sunny day and I told everyone to load up on sunblock so I will let you know at dinner how many listened. This evening for dinner we are going out to eat at the El Avion which means the airplane and this place has the best view of the Pacific you can imagine. We will be arriving at 5:30pm just in time for the 6pm sunset. The kids have the afternoon to watch the world cup, surf, or take a siesta and get ready for the monstor hike manana. Hope all are well and have a great weekend!!! Don't forget we do Private Family Adventures to Costa Rica if anyone is interested?

Waterfall and Road Trip

Today we woke up and hiked to the waterfall. It was a beautiful hike and one of the most scenic waterfall this country has. This is a great waterfall for student groups of a family vacation to Costa Rica because the hike is intense but almost all can handle it. It is called La Fortuna falls and it was about 5 minutes from the hotel we were staying at. After the trip to the falls everyone dried up and we got in the bus for what was the 5 hour road trip to the Pacific coast. We made good time and everyone said it did not feel like 5 hours which means we kept things active in the bus having some games to play. We also made a stop at a super market where the kids found mountain dew which happens to be the only super market in Costa Rica that sells it. We are now at the hotel in Manuel Antonio and the place was filled with monkeys when we arrived. The hotel is just steps away from one of the most beautiful beaches on the planet and Costa Rica's most famous national park Manuel Antonio. I also got some quotes today from the kids so here is what they had to say. Thanks for following and have a great day. The kids would love to hear your comments so let them fly and I will read them in the bus:

Cole: "Take me higher"

Will: "Its Magical"

Michael:"Human Kamakazi" (Tom during Rafting)

Celeste: "I dont speak that"

Taylor: "Hi Allie Mom and Dad"

Austin: Hi Sam!

Ty: Hey mom, I miss You

Chase: "PUra Vida"

Polly: "Hey guys want to hear a story?"

Danielle: "Look its a squirrel"

Caroline & Emily: "Thats my quote" "No its my quote!!!"

Kate: Pictures Pictures & Pictures

Tom: The Costa Rica zipline adventure was amazing!!!