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We arose early and shambled down for another day of chicken couping. After a delicious breakfast we made our way down to the beach once more to pile into the boat and head to Los Plantos. We were greeted by the family and quickly set to work. We had a majority of the structure done, so we set to stapling in the mesh floor and lining the walls. The group had a lot of fun as the day progressed. Laughing and joking as the coupe become more and more complete, we finally had to take a break for lunch. Back to Freiner’s house we went. We were treated by a delicious meal as usual and took a relaxing siesta on the lawn after.

After our break, Nancy rallied the troupes back over to the pen to put the finishing touches on. After another hour or so the coupe was near completion. The sign was painted, the lining was done, all that was left was the door hatches. Then the chickens arrived! They came in a brown cardboard box, peeping away. Everyone was overjoyed at their arrival. We set to work washing and scrubbing both the chicks and the equipment while others finished the coupe. After a while everything was done! Coupe finished, chicks arrived, and everyone with smiles on their faces. We were thanked by everyone and took a group pic in front our finished work.

Then it was back to Companario after as long day. That night Nancy gave a lecture on rainforests and it was off to bed.

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This morning we were shuttled to the chicken coup location via boat again, which was a blessing to our aching feet and tired eyes. We got an early start to maximize our time and put our hands to work on the coup, which was already coming along nicely. Once everyone had landed on the beach, we took the bus up to Freiner’s sisters’ house; today’s goal was to get the floor of the coup down and the posts up along the sides that would hold the mesh walls in place.

Even though sometimes there were too many cooks in the kitchen, everyone was able to help hammer in some nails and make measurements here and there. We helped wherever we could, and by noon we had made some decent progress. But as lunchtime crept closer and closer, our minds were drifting to thoughts of gallo pinto and homemade juice.

Lunch was, as always, wonderful. We were treated again to Freiner’s wife’s unbeatable cooking, which was scarfed down without a second thought. The food comas soon hit everyone like a freight train, and after practicing cartwheels on the front lawn, everyone was snoring on Freiner’s porch.

After our power naps, we went straight back to the coup and spent the next few hours finishing the floor and the wall posts. We were able to drive away on the bus with confidence that we could finish the coup in its entirety the following day. From bus to boat to Campanario again, we continued the rest of the day per usual: a couple of hours to do laundry or journal or relax, a dinner with zero complaints, and heavy heads on pillows.

Hanna

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We began the morning of the 19th with an early breakfast, however excitement was in the air due to the fact that we were going on a hike that most people don’t get to ever go on. Franier only goes on this hike once a year. We knew the hike would be long and difficult but the final destination would be a beautiful beach, although, the beach is slightly tarnished with tons of plastic and garbage that people dump in ocean and gets washed up on shore. We were prepared for this and brought about 15 large garbage bags in the effort to maintain this beaches beauty.
The hike ended up taking in between 4-5 hours and was rather grueling but once we got to the beach, it was huge, with beautiful clear water and lots of rock arches for shade. We took some time to rest and have lunch before embarking on our garbage pickup. We all explored with our giant black trash bag picking up anything from shoes to plastic chairs and even toothbrushes. It was such a shame to have such a beautiful beach covered with trash. However, we hope our efforts helps to restore some of that beauty.
After that, Franier took us along the beach for a 10 minute walk. All of a sudden, we turned a slight corner and saw an amazing waterfall that came from way up high and flowed onto the sand and eventually into the ocean. It was humid and hot so running under the waterfall seemed like the perfect opportunity to cool off, and we all jumped on that opportunity in a heartbeat. It was awesome.
Nancy came to pick us up after that, it was a long day and we were all sunburned and exhausted. After getting back to Campanario, we cooled off with some showers and prepared for group presentations about sustainability and living a sustainability life. It was an action packed day!

Kelsey

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Today was our first day working on our chicken project. We are building a chicken coop for two women who plan on raising chickens to sell the meat. We started the day with an early breakfast before making our way to the house of the family who we are building the coop for. While most of the materials were delivered directly to the house, we still had to haul some of the materials ourselves. In order to get to the house, we had to take a quick boat ride then take a bus to the house. While waiting for the bus, we had a riff-off singing competition, which, with this group, was pretty entertaining.

When we got to the house, we got right to work. We started off splitting into groups and dividing up the different tasks. The jobs that needed to be completed are cleaning, washing, and painting of the roof, painting a sign to promote the new business and, of course, building the structure of the coop. While there was a lot to be done, the work day started out slowly since only so many people could work on the tasks at once but once the project got going, we made lots of progress on our first day of this 3 day project.

At the end of the day in the sun, we were all physically exhausted and ready for bed before dinner even began! We enjoyed a nice cup of Costa Rican coffee in order to stay functional through dinner and class. During our class session some concerns were brought up about the work that we wanted to do versus the work that the recipients wanted. We did not realize that the chickens were being raised for their meat and not their eggs and this went against some of our morals. We were also concerned about the size of the chicken coop and how many chicks the family would be receiving. We all agreed that we need to put our best efforts into this project but that, ethically, we were concerned about the health and living situation of the chickens. The outcome of our discussion was that we would talk to the two women who are starting this business and educate them about how these chicks need to be treated and hear about their business plan.

Overall, it was an exhausting but productive day and we are eager to see the outcome of our efforts.

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With alarms going off at 5:30 am, this morning was another early rise to watch the sunrise with a hot cup of coffee. After a delicious 6:00 am breakfast, the majority of the group headed off on the day’s hike.

The Hike
While this hike was physically demanding on everyone, it was also extremely eye opening. Along the way to the main point of interest, the town’s school, we hiked along many beautiful beaches and through challenging trails. The school was a single roomed building consisting of only a few desks, chairs, cubbies and a chalkboard. On average, a school year will consist of just five students of multiple grades, ranging from first to sixth grade, with just one teacher. Behind the school Freiner, our hike guide, pointed out a relatively new constructed road and powerline. While this has had positive advantages, such as an easier ability for students to travel to school, an increase in tourism, and helping a small local restaurant (which has amazing pineapple smoothies) continue to run, it has also had negative aspects as well. The main concerns are with the increase in tourism, there has thus been an increase in the trash and waste; additionally, there has been great deforestation and hindering of local wildlife. During the hike home we found ourselves in silence walking through the national park. In doing so we were taking in all of natures beauty… and on the search for sloths.

[If anyone has a good picture add here:)]

Back At Campanario
Until the group returned around 12:00 Pm, the day was filled with being camped out at the table on the porch with cups of coffee, white face monkeys climbing in nearby trees, journaling and reading Life Entrepreneur. Around 9:30 many a rafts, from a near by anchored cruise ship, brought in tourists to the Campanario for short hikes up the trails, a tour of the lodge, and interviews with Nancy.

Once everyone was back we had a few hours of down time after lunch to rest up in Eno hammocks and work on our tans on the beach. At 4:00 we had a great student based discussion on the Myth of Progress. The conversations were focused around the ideas of: How do you define progress? In what ways have your ideas been adjusted since the start of this trip? To truly make a difference does it take small changes from a lot of people, or big changes from a few people? All of which connecting to the reading and focusings around the concept of sustainability.

After a delicious dinner we had a brief discussion about bats. This class time further enhanced our experience from last night at the bat cave. With an early morning rise and busy day a head of, we all started to settle in bed by 8:30.

Meghan

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We awoke from deep slumbers at around 6:15 am for our first breakfast in Campanario. After a great breakfast, the group quickly got ready for our second hike in the jungle.

Our hike started with seeing a group of howler monkeys that included a mother with her newborn. We watched as the monkeys posed for the cameras for a while and then headed deeper into the jungle. During our hike, we reviewed what we learned the previous day about primary and secondary forests. We hiked to the only waterfall on the Campanario property where we had the opportunity to take a couple of photos. We then were shown a decaying tree that had been overcome with fungus. This tree had a hollow inside that allowed us to be able to climb into it. One by one we crawled into the tree and saw a bat that was inside of it. On our way back to Campanario, we stopped at and ant hill and gave each other facials.

After the hike, we all ate lunch and then we learned about tidal pools with Nancy. After the lecture, we went to the beach and had a scavenger hunt in the tidal pools. While searching in the tidal pools, a few of us started looking for coconuts that we could crack open and drink. Our guide, Freiner, found us searching and helped us look and taught us how to crack them open. They were delicious!

Once we all had our coconuts, a few us of went out to the beach for some relaxation while others napped and journaled. Before dinner, the sewing project group went to catch bats and learn about their anatomy while the chicken group met with each other and made sure that we had a game plan for our upcoming project.

After a delicious dinner, we met as a group and tested our knowledge about tidal pools and discussed our schedule for the rest of our trip. After this jam packed day, we were all exhausted and headed to bed early and had sweet dreams about the rest of our time in beautiful Campanario.

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Our day started around 4:45 am for a wonderful 5:00 am breakfast. Right after breakfast we headed down to the docks to board a boat to Campanario. After saying goodbye to our hosts families, we jumped on the boat and our ride began. According to our professor this marked the turning point in our trip. So far we have been staying in cities/ villages and now we are headed to the jungle. We took a detour along the way to try our hand at climbing through a mangrove forest. It was so much fun (except the scraps and bug bites)! The boat touched the shores of Campanario before 9:00 am, we were all shocked how much we had done so far in the day.

Once the boat was unloaded of all of our bags and other supplies we brought with us, we had a short orientation about Campanario. Campanario is a biological reserve that has a field station for environmental education. After completing orientation we were given free time until lunch to get settled and explore a little bit. Lunch was at 11:30 today. Right after devouring our meal we pulled on our rubber boots for a hike. During the hike we discussed a lot about the difference between a primary and secondary forest, learned about the different plants in the jungle and their uses, checked the camera traps, and much more. At the midpoint of the hike we were all told to spread out and write down observations as well as reactions/ feelings at the moment in silence. It was shocking to realize how little silence we get in the lives we live today. On the hike back to the field station we saw a juvenile female tapir napping in the middle of the path. We had to take a different trail home, to not disturb her. Some of the other things we saw and heard on the hike included: spider and white faced monkeys, scarlet macaws, and blue crowned mannequins.

As soon as we got back to the field station we changed into our bathing suits to swim in the ocean. We spent until dinner playing on the beach and enjoying the scenery. Dinner was so good, we were all very hungry after the adventures of the day. After dinner we all sat out on the porch to admire the stars. The amount of stars we can see here made us all realize how much light pollution there is back in the United States. Campanario is off the grid and relies on solar power for electricity so bedtime for us here is 8:30 pm at the latest, so after we were done star-gazing we said our good nights and headed to bed.

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Costa Rica Jan 14th
We woke to the smell of hot coffee and the sound of something sizzling on the stove, the beautiful perks of living in a home-stay. Emily and I sat across the table from each other and drank the dark Costa Rican coffee with eyes barely open, a typical sight at 5:30am. Our host mom had very kindly made us pancakes for breakfast, which we proceeded to scarf down in five minutes, still only half awake. We met up with the rest of our group, each coming from their own home-stays. Then we all loaded into the back of a pickup truck and sped down the only road out of Sierpe, passing kilometers of palm oil plantations as we headed towards our starting point for the morning kayaking trip.
We all slipped into our own kayaks, each of us sitting in small puddle of water that sloshed around under our butts as we became familiar with how to effectively paddle. The channel we were starting in was just one of many that gradually made there way down into the Sierpe River, eventually leading out to the Pacific Ocean. The channel was shaded by looming stalks of bamboo, among a variety of other tall vegetation, and we were kept well hidden from the sun for the majority of our venture. Our guide was a young, quiet man named Anthony, although we were told most people call him Pan, or “bread”. We paddled our way towards the river, lush greenery on all sides and the sounds of a myriad of different animals resounding around us. As we went, Anthony pointed out Toucans and Herons, White-Faced Monkeys, a small boa-constrictor tucked under a tree branch (I still have no idea how he spotted that), and many other beautiful creatures – all only a few feet away from our boats. After an hour and a half the tall trees began to fall away to low marshes and our waterway opened up into the larger river, where we spotted the familiar tourist bars and boat docks of Sierpe. The rest of the morning was spent showering the river water and sweat off and doing a bit more work on the sewing project at Dona Magda’s.
Lunch was a delicious variety of the typical rice & beans, steamed vegetables, platanos, and fresh fruit, all prepared by the wonderful Dona Magda. Everyone split up afterwards, some heading back to the restaurants in search of internet connection, others passing time playing out on the towns soccer field. I sat in Dona Magda’s, finishing up our paper that was due soon. As Kyle and Caroline kicked the ball around the field, I noticed a local man sitting on the far edge of the grass, observing them. I recognized him from around Sierpe; he wore the same oversized tshirt and had long stringy hair that covered his eyes. I’d seen him meandering around, always trying to talk to tourist or locals, seeming a little out of place, maybe asking for money or maybe just looking for a conversation. But now he sat quietly on the side of the field, close enough that my friends could see him but far enough that they could avoid acknowledging him if they so chose. However, this isn’t at all what they did. As I watched from behind the counter, I saw their first initial wave, and I’m sure a few words of broken Spanish were exchanged, then they continued to play on. The next time I looked up he had moved a few feet closer, eyes on the ball that passed between their clumsy feet. A few minutes later I again looked over, and there he was standing in the soccer goal, tshirt hanging to his knees and a large smile spreading across his face. The three of them stayed out there for another thirty minutes before two local boys pedaled up on their bikes, hopping off and running out to the field to join.
I gazed on in pure admiration as this group of strangers, humans with completely different back-stories and a very definite language barrier, laughed and joked together, running around the field. I noticed I wasn’t the only one either; locals driving through the center of town would slow down their vehicles as they passed, no doubt wondering about the peculiar group that had come to take form out on the grass. It made me consider just how impactful one kind act can be – all the good that is perpetuated by one simple compassionate move. I thought of our work with Dona Magda and wondered what all would come of this project, what good it would continue to generate.
Within the next hour everyone had met back up at the small restaurant, all of the previously purchased sewing gifts in hand. The sign was now finished, and we were ready to surprised Dona Magda with the sewing machine and other materials we had bought for her. There was a buzz of excitement in the group as we set everything up and covered it with a decorated table cloth, preparing for the big reveal. We gave our praise to Dona Magda, thanking her for how gracious she had been during our stay and commending her for the incredible impact we had come to understand she had in her community. We were so excited to be aiding such an intelligent and kind female entrepreneur, and we all looked on eagerly as she removed the table cloth to reveal the gifts. Our time in Sierpe had allowed us to understand Dona Magda to be a rather reserved woman, so there was no surprise when her reaction wasn’t one of hysterical crying or expressive hugs. However, there was a polite smile and elated eyes that displayed her gratitude, as she plugged the sewing machine in and sat down to show us what it could do. It was clear that our gifts would go to great use and that she would take full advantage of this new opportunity.
The rest of our day was spent eating dinner with our host families, which was delicious as always, and getting back together at one of the small restaurant/bars to spend time with each other. It was nice to have this first project done and under our belts as we prepared to head out to Campinario the next morning, ready to face an entirely different experience.

-Jess P

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Photo by Emily Franks

At first glance, today seems entirely ordinary. There was coffee and waiting and running errands for our service projects and waiting and catching up on readings and waiting. All in all, Sierpe is a transitionary town. Tourists pass through here on their way to other places, to the Talamancas or the Osa Peninsula. It used to be a banana town, but when the industry relocated in the 1990’s, the town died, according to Doña Magda.

There is a river that borders three sides of the town, scattered with small boats that bob and knock the sides of the wooden docks. There are small shops along the sides of the town that play familiar top 40 music. There are teenagers playing fútbol in the field that is positioned in the center of the town. Sierpe, for our journey and others, is a jump off-town: a place to stop through on your way to grander adventures.

But if you look closer, if you sit on the porch with your host families or watch the river carry water hyacinth, you’ll notice that this place is really full of good things.

If you wake up early enough, you can watch the mist settle on the fast-moving river, and listen to the sounds of families cooking breakfast. If you look closely, you may spot a pair of scarlet macaws or a fifteen-foot crocodile peaking its back above the water’s surface. You may notice that the river seemingly shifts directions, the estuary tide changing the direction of its surface. If you glance to the corners and ceilings of restaurants, you’ll notice that all the artwork is made of recycled tires by a woman who runs a local hostel. She’s an artist and a potter and a female creator in this community.

If you take the time to listen, you will hear the stories of the people who live here. Doña Magda, a business owner and well-known name in Sierpe, calls herself “the largest woman in Sierpe”, even though she maintains an almost stick-like figure. She manages Soda Sierpe which rests in the center of the town, as well as cooks, rents rooms, and hopes to start a sewing business, but doesn’t have the proper equipment. She doesn’t know that tomorrow, we will be giving her a sewing machine and other supplies from San José. She knows this town like the back of her hand, and has created a community of early risers, feeding them café, plátanos, and gallo pinto. She took time out of her busy morning to sit with us, to answer our questions, reminding us that no matter how busy we may be, we must always make time to be present with others.

At home, the days tend to move too quickly. We hardly have the time to look up and breath. Sierpe is that slowing that we’ve been seeking. We are taking long, full breaths here. We are spending our afternoons reading and writing and belly laughing by the river. We are taking this time to listen, to reflect. With only two more sleeps until Campanario, we are grateful for the slowing of things.

By Emily

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Today we woke up early to have one last breakfast with our host families in Boruca, Costa Rica. We left for Sierpe directly after breakfast. On our way to Sierpe we stopped at a palm oil field and learned about palm oil production and its social justice and environmental impacts. After a short time driving, we arrived at Dona Magda’s restaurant in Sierpe. We unloaded our things and took a quick walk around town before meeting our wonderful host families. I am living with a very kind couple whose house is only a short walk away from the restaurant. We settled in and unpacked our things, then met back at Dona Magda’s restaurant for lunch. We had a delicious lunch of chicken, vegetables, plantain chips, and Gallo pinto.

After lunch, we met with our service project groups to plan out our projects. I am in the chicken group, so we went over our plan for the construction of a chicken pen and discussed changes that need to be made. We will be completing the project in Campanario, Costa Rica, our next destination.

After planning our project we broke for some free time. I love exploring the little town! Sierpe is right on a large river with crocodiles, so my friends and I enjoyed going to a restaurant where we could sit on the water. Around 7 pm we went home for dinner. While there is a large language barrier between us and our host parents, it’s still such a joy seeing how they live and (trying) to communicate with them. After dinner we started to wind down and went to bed around 9:30. Having an amazing time and cannot wait to see what else is to come!

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