Our True Adventure
For 25 days in the summer holidays, pupils from Years 11, 12 and 13 embarked on the adventure of a lifetime in Costa Rica with True Adventure. After a long flight and not much sleep, pupils had to show real grit and determination when it came to completing the trekking section of their True Adventure, which was the first phase of the trip. They had not only the hot and wet weather and uneven terrain to contend with but also all the creepy crawlies!
The trek gave everyone a real chance to experience the wildlife of Costa Rica and we were all amazed by the colours and size of some of the bugs we encountered. After the trek, pupils went to a small local community of Los Criques where they worked closely with the local primary school as well as members of the public to improve the facilities. During this project work phase of the trip, pupils painted the community centre, cleared the road and the local water supply and created beautiful murals around the village to improve the overall feel of the place and raise local spirits. We had the warmest welcome and found it very hard to leave everyone behind.
Phase three of the trip was diving; the last part of the True Adventure expedition. Pupils studied hard to complete their open water course and some went on to complete their advanced open water. This consisted of both written and practical elements, first in the hotel swimming pool and then in the open ocean. It was an intense course but it was most definitely worth the study. The waters off the coast of Playa Del Coco were rich with sea life and we can now all say that we have swam with rays, turtles, octopus and sharks and lived to tell the tale!
As well as this we had some well-deserved rest and relaxation time during the trip, giving pupils time to take in the local environment and wildlife, including watching giant green turtles lay eggs on the beach, river tours where monkeys, lizards, toucans and caiman were spotted. Some pupils were also seen swinging from tree to tree in a high ropes course in the canopy of one of San Jose national parks.
After such a jam-packed True Adventure the pupils were happy to return home to family and friends, with happy hearts, memories to last a lifetime and real love for the local delicacy of rice and beans!!
