Hey it’s Clodagh and better Maia coming at you.
So we’ve had a fun day today! We started with a refreshing, sweat soaked wake up at 5 am. We had begun to recover from our spider experiences of the night before. Still unsure whether Olivia or Ashley will ever recover. The amount of bugs in our communal area was truly astounding. We then began our lovely venture into the wilds of Costa Rica. Clodagh wiped out on the clay, but it was ok. Our trek with our guide and turtle expert Manuel was exciting! We saw a howler monkey and several Macaws. When we got to the beach, Manuel began our 2 kilometer walk by showing us how to properly identify a turtle nest. He then showed us how to excavate the eggs from the turtle nest. We each took turns removing four papery, ping-pong ball shaped eggs from the nest and relocating them to a comfy bucket. After saving not one but two turtle egg nests, we went to the turtle hatchery and planted the eggs. We were surprised by how many baby eggs were in one nest. One of the groups saved 84 eggs and the other saved a impressive 102 baby turtles. After putting our sandy feet back into our crusty rubber boots, we began the expedition back up to the station. Clodagh only fell three times on the way back and Ashley zero times. Our clay and sand filled boots really made for an enjoyable time walking and a lovely exfoliation. The beautiful photos that were taken on the walk back really represent how crusty we are. Maia led the group and was a perfect leader. We sang walking songs including 500 miles, 1000 miles, and various Phineas and Ferb songs (A.G.L.E.T) and the Floss song. When we returned to the station and the World Leadership team, Sarah and Joy, led an interesting tortilla game and we learned about active listening. We then ate a lunch of chicken and mashed potatoes. More than six juices were drank by one person (Clodagh.) Then we went to free time and your children were so studious, as they read at least one page of their summer reading books and were definitely not distracted at all. When we regrouped with our World Leadership team again, we learned about the four different types of leadership. We learned deeper truths about ourselves and them wrote about them in our trusty notebooks. After waiting for Maya and Ashley to finally finish writing their blog for yesterday, Maia and Clodagh busted this blog out for all of you. We hope enjoyed this as much as we enjoy Ashley’s crusty toes, Kaia’s thoughtful poems, Sammy’s type A personality and bug killing aptitude, Kathryn’s constant smiles, Olivia’s food desires, Layla’s Cards Against Humanity Skills™, Carina’s resourcefulness, Valeska’s bandanas and hammock, Annabel’s turtle awareness, Maya’s camera skillz, Maia’s Pippi Longstocking-esque braids, and Clodagh’s juice passion. You’re welcome! MvB and Clog
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Yesterday, the two of us (Ashley T and Maya H) were leaders of the day. This was basically just a position where we were told to remind everyone to drink water, stay positive, etc. We also told everyone the schedule for the day and made sure everyone was on time.
At the airport, we learned that Lewis is NOT a citizen, and that black raincoats are always a good idea. We started the day in the hotel in Puerto Jimenez, which was a lot less sketchy in the daylight. We shared our room with some super friendly crabs and roaches! Even though this was not ideal, we couldn’t complain because we actually had air conditioning. Rip to that!! Once we all woke up, (freezing cold and bug bitten, but it’s all good) we had breakfast (rice and beans, what a shocker!) and had a good quality photoshoot instead of packing! (Were such good leaders) Once we were all packed, we threw our stuff on a truck. (A literal truck. Not a bus. Looked like an oversized art project with an abnormal amount of crickets). We bounced along on this truck for about two hours, screaming iconic throwback songs from our ~childhood~ on the top of our lungs. It was actually the best thing ever. Even Ms. Ribaudo’s headphones couldn’t drown Victorious out completely. The only thing louder than us was the howler monkeys which we stopped to take pictures of on the way. Once we got to the research station, we realized that (surprise surprise) we might actually survive the next four days, something most of us didn’t quite believe. (Though we all had second thoughts when Ashley found that 5-6 inch most definitely life-threatening spider three inches from her face, resulting in us all sharing the *cozy* *toasty* *bug ridden* twin beds. Note to self always tuck in the mosquito nets, you’ll feel a lot safer.) We took a quick tour of our room/house thingie, and saw our two outdoor showers. Actually the outdoor part wasn’t that unique because the whole house is anyway. Little did we know those showers would be a ~valuable asset~ sent from heaven above later in the day. So then we went on our first(!) hike of the day, where we looked at some really cool super unique trees. Their individual beauty was indescribable. Really. We shouldn’t describe it. You’d have to be here to understand. We came back for some real nice bonding time, where we had a prayer circle (just in case the spider comes back) and had a long, quality talk about how much we love and appreciate our parents. (This definitely happened, I promise) After that, it was time for the second hike, where we walked all the way to the beach. We got to the beach, and took at least 500,000 pictures while watching the sun fall the way Clodagh and Ashley did multiple times on the hike (from frolicking too hard, who woulda thought). Seriously though, all that practice posing in the mirror really pays off when you’re deep in the rocks of a Costa Rican beach. We became one with the waves as we contemplated rowing back to Greenwich, accepting the possibility that our own sweat might sink the boats on the way. We walked back in the dark, which was double the fun as Clodagh fell even more, we dodged bats, and put all our trust into those yummy rubber boots. The sight of our sweat and bug spray glistening in the moonlight was truly beautiful. I mean, not as beautiful as our zip-off khaki SHANTS (short pants) combined with our dry fit mens tshirts and braids and bandana combo, but almost. Despite our great experiences with ~nature~, nothing can top our iconic session of Cards Against Humanity. And then, finally, we slept. #goodnight. We sweat through all our clothes! Hi everyone,
We just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know that everything is great! The wi-fi at the Piro Research Station is slow today because it is not very sunny, but wanted to let you know we spent last night watching the sunset and this morning patrolling the beach for sea turtle eggs. We found two nests and moved 184 total eggs to a hatchery where the eggs will develop without fear of predators. Hopefully the wi-fi will get faster and we will share more photos. In the meantime, we are eating well and making sure we are drinking water and applying bug spray and sunscreen. Adios! Us After sleeping in until about 7:00am, we had a lovely breakfast of rice, beans, and eggs with cold orange juice. Afterwards, we packed up and boarded a truck that took us to the research station at Piro. It was a bumpy ride, but the girls passed the time by singing every song nad we even got out to look at monkeys! We are sorry, Mr. Feiner....still looking for your sloth! When we arrived at Piro, we had an introductory course before eating lunch. Later we are going to hike around the grounds and then watch the sunset on the beach! It is HOT and the girls are so happy there is no hot water!!
Hello everyone! It has been a long day of travel filled with lots of laughs, snacks and sudoko puzzles. We met our World Leadership Instructors, Sarah and Joy, at San Jose Airport! They greeted us with a comfortable bus, snacks and plenty of bottled water. They already know us well. In just a matter of time, I think everyone will be sleeping before our arrival in Puerto Jimenez.
Feel free to leave us comments and I will pass them along to the girls. Thank you for waking up super early to drop everyone off. I hope you all were able to get some sleep when you got home. Take care, Liz Register for the STEP Program in order to:
Travel plans: If you are traveling while our group is away believe communication could be limited from where you are, please be sure to leave additional contact information with me. Prescription Medication: If your daughter is taking any prescription medication while we are away, please provide me with a copy of the prescription. This will be presented to a healthcare professional should medical attention be needed while we are away. |
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