Discovery A — Saludos de Costa Rica
Hola a todos!!
We´re writing this blog from the city of San Isidro, which is about four hours from the capital, San Jose. Today has been a very busy day. We finally reached the site of our service project, the village of Cannán. An isolated farming community, Cannán gives one the opportunity to see a world wildly different from the rapid-fire, consumer driven lifestyle of any city in the US.
The students were very happy to arrive, meet their host families for the first time, and finally see the place where they´ll be spending the majority of their time in Costa Rica. They were especially happy to arrive as the past four days have been one extremely challenging adventure after another.
After a brief layover in San Salvador, the group finally reached San Jose around 9pm on Thursday where they were greeting by Luke, one of the program directors, and Erin, one of their three guides throughout the trip. Without any regard for the previous day of travel, the hundreds of miles flown over, or the many hours spent in airports and planes, the students were awakened shortly after five the following day to go rafting on the Pacuare River.
What followed was an amazing day. Entertained by one of the river guides, Pepe, the students reached one of the most remote and beautiful rivers in the world. After hiking down to the river, the students spent the day fighting class three and four rapids, slowly drifting through the Costa Rican rain forest, and finding various ways to fall out of their rafts.
The following day, Saturday, we went to Pura Suerte, a stunning ecological farm deep in the rainforest. Despite a range of problems with the bus, and a long hike to the local town, we managed to reach Pura Suerte by the early afternoon and spent the rest of the day becoming acquainted with the unique natural beauty of the locale.
On Sunday we went on one of the more unique of our adventures, a hike down to the waterfall Niyaca. Unfortunately, there was a slight accident when Brianna slipped on one of the rocks. However, she was amazing and didn´t complain a bit about having to miss a wonderful experience.
And now, we´ve made it to Cannán. An unbelievable village up in the clouds where we´re excited to begin our service project.
Hope to write soon!
PURA VIDA
Katrina Bergen says:
Do you have photos yet? THANK YOU.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:57 am
The Kasbergs says:
Hi Brad and company! Sorry to hear about Brianna’s slip. Hope she is recovering quickly! Was the falling out of the raft on purpose or by accident?? or a little of both!! Have a great week and be nice to your family!!!
We love you and miss you! 
Mom, Dad, Mike, Dan
June 24th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
The Kasbergs says:
Hi Brad and company! Sorry to hear about Brianna’s slip. Hope she is recovering quickly! Was the falling out of the raft on purpose or by accident?? Or a little of both!!?? Have a great week and be nice to your family!!!
We love you and miss you! 
Mom, Dad, Mike, Dan
June 24th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Stacey Schacter says:
Sounds incredible. We are glad Brianna has survived so far. Hopefully she will avoid any further mishaps. Hope to see some pictures posted soon, especially of the project.
June 25th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
lise yasui says:
Sounds like a fabulous trip so far. Caleb, we miss you but are so glad that you are seeing new worlds and discovering new friends. Leaders, pls post an all group pix and more info when you can.. And especially one of the gang hard at work and fun. Love to our guy, mom
June 25th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Muffin's parents says:
Gracias por estos hermosos niños a un lugar hermoso. ¡Qué emocionante aventura.
We miss you Muffin and love you very much. Enjoy! Love, Daddy and Mama
June 25th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
John Bergen says:
The trip sounds terrific; makes us want to visit CR ourselves soon! Yes, some pictures of the group, rafting trip, Cannan and the projects would be great! Miss you Nick!
Love,
Dad
June 26th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Karen Budd says:
Hi, I’m Carson’s grandmother. She will entertain you all, I am sure. Am so glad she is having this experience that will take her out of her everyday world in Seattle. I am sending your blog on to her Uncle Matthew who spent 2 years with World Teach up in the mountains of costa Rica. Can’t wait to see your pictures.
June 26th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Debbie Roberge says:
Hi All,
Sounds like the first few days were fun filled. We are anxious to hear how the homestay and project is going. Miss you and wish we could enjoy this adventure with you. Love, Mom, Dad and Matt xxoo
June 27th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Virginia Pedreira says:
sounds like a wonderful trip so far – I hope the group is having a great time. We are eager to hear how the time in Cannan is proceeding and if everyone is enjoying getting to know their families. Agree that photos would be great. Hope the weather is cooperating. We miss Stephanie very much and look forward to hearing all about this adventure. Love you lots! Mom and Dad
June 28th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Luke Mueller says:
Hi Karen,
Thanks for writing and sorry for the delay in getting back to you. After following up with the program leaders, it appears that the photos were ultimately never collected. I would encourage you and your child to contact the other participants and share photos that way. Finally, there are many photos on our Facebook page, posted by leaders, students and villagers alike.
Thanks and take care
Luke
Walking Tree Travel
January 8th, 2010 at 9:23 pm