|
Paints, violins, surfboards and microscopes are among the activities students can learn more about during their school breaks. For the creative, scientific or even adventurous child, groups are offering alternatives to the traditional trip to the beach. For young children, the Children’s Museum is hosting Vacaciones Felices (Happy Vacations), which are day camps hosting a range of activities.
The day camps, held from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., July 5-9 and July 12-16, welcome children ages 5-13 to make jewelry, paint or participate in science experiments. During the day, campers at La Montaña Christian Camps play sports and can take advantage of the camp’s climbing wall and canopy course, while mornings and evenings provide a chance for faith-based meetings. Though the overnight camps run year-round, the only upcoming availability is July 16-18 for students ages 12-18.
Monteverde’s Conservation Association (ACM) will sponsor a weekend course on amphibians in the Bosque Eterno de los Niños in San Carlos in Alajuela province, northwest of San José, June 18-20. The course offers instruction on conservation, species identification and natural history. Mark Wainwright, the instructor, illustrated the amphibian installment of -Costa Rica Field Guides.- Night walks will look at forest, rivers and swamps. The course’s cost includes meals and lodging in Poco Sol’s biological station.
Proyecto Campanario offers a longer scientific experience with its 10-day tropical ecology course on the Campanario Biological Reserve near Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula. The company provides boat pickup in Sierpe; participants are then whisked to the remote reserve for their stay. The course covers field research skills and allows the students to complete both group and individual research projects based on their observations of the area’s ecology.
The organization’s Rainforest Conservation Camps, held June 20-26, July 4-10, and August 8-14, are marketed as -vacation with a purpose;- they aim to educate as much as they entertain. These more family oriented camps allow groups to hike, learn about the area’s ecology and keep an eye on the camp’s solar panels. Shorter trips are also available.
Students can experience Costa Rica’s world-famous surf beaches by taking lessons for beginners.
Green Iguana Surf Camp in Playa Dominical accepts parent-accompanied children ages 6-18 for 7-, 10- and 14-day camps. One package includes lodging, surf lessons and scenic trips in the area. The deluxe option adds in horseback riding, river tubing and a zip-line tour.
Green Iguana also runs Angels Surf Camp, allowing girls a chance to try something new in an all-female environment. Third World Productions’ All Girls Surf Camp in Playa Hermosa has a similar program.
The company advertises a laid-back atmosphere, with comfortable lodging, massage, yoga, healthy meals and female instructors. “The largest bulk of my business is women who want to surf,” said Third World’s Owner Jack Albritton. “Females feel more confident with an all-girl’s group. It seems to ease their mind a bit.” Albritton keeps group sizes small and dates and age limits flexible in order to ease the girls into the surfing life. Girls can even choose to attend it as a day camp.
We work to get them part of the local surfing scene,” Albritton said.
Another way for kids ages 13-18 to get wet is to join one of Costa Rica Expeditions’ teen-oriented trips, billed as natural history and cultural adventures. Running 6-21 days from June-August, the programs include whitewater rafting, camping and flight in Costa Rica.
Adventures Under the Sun boasts a range programs for both adventurous teens and those who like their creature comforts. The company has 9-, 11- and 12-day tours encompassing water sports, environmental education and even cooking lessons. The emphasis, according to owner Melida Barbee, is on self-confidence and team-building games and developing leadership skills for students age 13-18.
The goal of her company is to help “local kids get out, get to know their country on another level,” Barbee said. A reasonable level of fitness is necessary, but Barbee stressed that all participants will have to push their personal limits.
“We’re taking students out of their comfort zones” into new situations, allowing them to enjoy their personal growth, she added.
Barbee’s front-country trips are customized to the desires and budgets of groups, who stay in hotels and eat in restaurants while enjoying the excitement of adventure activities and community service. The Costa Rica Multisport program runs July 19-29 and offers whitewater rafting, a ropes course, sea canoeing and surfing.
A more rugged option is the Peninsula de Nicoya trip, June 22-30 and July 21-29, which includes a forest canopy tour, surf lessons, horseback riding, and marine turtle conservation work. The Peninsula de Osa adventure, June 21-July 2, is a sea kayaking and backpacking combination. Group sizes range 7-12 students, with two adult guides. All trips are bilingual, co-ed, and open to teens age 13-18.
Morgan Power, 16, a student at the British School in Pavas, west of San José, has attended three of Barbee’s trips. “The Osa adventure was demanding, but great fun,” Power said, adding that he still keeps in touch with people he met on the trip. He explains that students are cautious at first, but become relaxed and say they’d love to do it again.
|
