Well that is it. The kids are at the San Jose airport and waiting to board the plane. I leave the rest up to Jennifer and the rest of the parents. Hope to meet everyone someday and enjoy the stories!
When you exit the Costa Rican airport it is quite the simple process you just pay your exit tax (as if we havent pumped enough into the economy already but it is what it is) and then you make your way to the gate after going through security. Relatively small airport and some places to eat and internet if needed. Dont forget if your interested in planning a Costa Rica Family Vacation let us know and we can make it happen. We could also squeeze in Costa Rica's best waterfall rappel.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
On our way to the airport
The bus was loaded 5 minutes early and we were on the road at 5:55am. I guess they must be excited to get home. Right now the bus Im in is asleep. We will be arriving to the airport with plenty of time. The kids got a box breakfast which they can eat now or when they get to the San Jose airport.
I wanted to thank everyone again and again for following the blog. We are a small company and we try to specialized in the personal attention we offer. As you can see on the way we operate one of Costa Rica's waterfall rappel (just thought you might want to watch). Our goal is to grow the business but never become too big to where our tours are not personalized. When we grow our business the different projects around us grow also. In thanks I would like to send a gift to each follower of the blog. I know you will like it and it will arrive in a couple of weeks. All we need is your email address sent to info@crrtravel.com and let us know that you enjoyed following the blog for Ridgefield and leave your address if you would like. We have a Newsletter which will have quite a bit of information on the Ridgefield trip next month and if you would like to join just visit www.crrtravel.com/contact_us_newsletter.html Also if you are on Facebook we would love for you to become fans of our company page "Costa Rican Resource" as we will be leaving comments, updates of homestays, and information about the girls from the orphanage. Last of all if you would like to post comments on TripAdvisor at http://www.tripadvisor.com/ feel free it does wonders for small companies. Thanks for following and remember when planning your Costa Rica Vacation keep us posted.
Enjoy the pictures when the kids get home and we will be sending a video so you can live the adventure with the kids with a big bucket of popcorn. Remember we also operate Costa Rica family vacations so if you or anyone you know is interested in a Costa Rican Adventure just let us know http://www.crrtravel.com/. PURA VIDA A TODOS!!!
Friday, April 23, 2010
The Final Night...
We tried our best to compete with the village and I have to say I think we did alright. I give the best party though still to the village. I wanted to mention if your interested in having a Costa Rica Adventure with your family we can organize an itinerary very similar to what the kids experienced. I said more than a few words to the kids telling them how much our team and I enjoyed having them. The trip was special for a few different reasons. The trip got off to a great start by how much time and effort I saw was put into the visit to the orphanage before and plans for even after. The girls at the orphanage mean a lot to us and to see them get treated the way they did was awesome. Another reason for this trip being special was the homestays. I have taken many groups to the homestays and some for a week or even tw
o weeks. Ridgefield only stayed one night and they bonded better than most groups bond in a week. All of the kids were natural when it came to the homestays and loved hearing that homestay was listed at or near the top of everyones list.The farewell party was about as first class as it gets. We were in The Springs Resort which is a 10-Star place on a scale of 1 - 5 Stars. We had our own section where we did pizza and a little bit more of salsa music. We started the night with salad and for as fancy as this place is they forgot to put forks in the room we rented. So we started the party by all eating salad with spoons. Nobody seemed to mind and then we jumped into the pizza and the party began. We had Mrs. Roth in tears for the second time this trip and the girls got up and said some very nice things and cracked some jokes on myself and the team. It was a perfect night to end a perfect trip.
A huge thanks to you the family and parents of an awesome group of kids. We can not thank you enough for allowing your kids to take part in a dream of ours in helping others help one another and having lots of fun doing it. Ridgefield students are an amazing example of how little things can go a long long way. I feel good because I think we are sending these kids back to the San Jose airport with plenty of memories. The students will be remembered from all parts of their trip with the memories they left with the girls at the orphanage to the salsa dancing at the homestays. MUCHAS GRACIAS & PURA VIDA!!! Stay tuned there are still a few more blogs tomorrow...
The Springs Costa Rica
Well we finished at the Organic Farm and it was without a doubt the best meal yet. We had yucca chips made from the same yucca the kids picked out on the farm. Love the story about Jack and Drew as kids picking stawberries. When leaving the Organic Farm it was Mrs Roth who attracted the attention in buying a machete. I assume she plans on checking it. It was the same machete Don Juan uses on the farm and it is a monster. So if you see Mrs Roth's kids cutting the lawn with a machete in a week from now then she took the whole culture experience a little too far. It's funny because all these culture experiences really start to set in when the kids arrive to the Costa Rica San Jose airport when they leave.
During the organic farm one of the last things the kids did was make their own sugarcane juice. Don Juan put the kids to work and they did a great job. The pictures posted here are from the farm. You can see the yucca we pulled out of the ground and then the same yucca the kids had from lunch.
After the farm the kids went souvenir shopping and now we are back at the hotel. We are getting ready and then off to the party. This is just a farewell dinner and its hard to match a party like the village but there is a great waterslide at the hotsprings which is usually a big hit. If your looking for an upscale Costa Rica Family Vacation then you might want us to book you in this resort "The Springs". Will post after the party. PURA VIDA!
During the organic farm one of the last things the kids did was make their own sugarcane juice. Don Juan put the kids to work and they did a great job. The pictures posted here are from the farm. You can see the yucca we pulled out of the ground and then the same yucca the kids had from lunch.
After the farm the kids went souvenir shopping and now we are back at the hotel. We are getting ready and then off to the party. This is just a farewell dinner and its hard to match a party like the village but there is a great waterslide at the hotsprings which is usually a big hit. If your looking for an upscale Costa Rica Family Vacation then you might want us to book you in this resort "The Springs". Will post after the party. PURA VIDA!
Adventures Accomplished!!!
Everyone did everything. It looks to be a close tie between Pacuare river rafting adventure and zipling as the favorite adventure of the week. It is always hard to believe that from the modern airport of San Jose we made our way to some of the deepest parts of the jungle with this group and they did amazing. They got a bit wet on the cables but now we are at the organic farm and it stopped raining which is nice because we plan on making this part very educational. The farm is 2 acres and the family lives off hte farm. This is without a doubt the best meal they will get all week. The fathers name is Don Juan and he educates the locals on how to grow and live self sustainable off the land. Don Juan is to the lcoals here what Lebron James is to a some kids back home. Don Juan is the Man!!! He is also a funny guy so its a great fit for kids. To be walking around an organic farm you have to do everything possible to keep it interesting. It is a great experience for the visiting stude
nts to see the different crops. We just got done pulling yucca out of the ground and now we are heading to do the sugar cane. It is starting to look pretty good chances are the voclano might clear. As you can see we also had Don Juan sport the Ridgefield hat. 
Don Juan can be part of your next Family Vacation to Costa Rica just let us know if your interested? Watch this video of an adventure for the whole family.
Rafting Pics and CRR w/Ridgefield Gear
Here are the pictures from rafting and I also posted a picture of myself with the two guides Jonathan and Jheudy. Did I mention that Jheudy or Jonathan can be your private guides on a Costa Rica Adventure Trip? As you can see we are sporting our Ridgefield hats and it was taken with the computer cam so its not too clear but we have all retired from our modeling careers and plan to stick with tourism. It is a rainy day today which means the kids get to learn to see why this country is as green as it is. we will be leaving the zipline in about 30 minutes and all is going excellent. After here we are heading to lunch and then some time to souvenir shop. If there are any souvenirs you would like to request now is the time and I will tell the kids to get on it. I was talking with the kids this morning and I asked them what they liked better. The nice hotel with AC hotwater and TV and an incredible swimming pool or t
he homestays? I was happy to hear that they all said the homestays which means the village to the village served its purpose. But a huge thanks to the kids because they are who made it what it was. Well I plan on making this a full day of blogging and get as many in as possible. We love hearing the comments. The last cable is the next in line and it is almost 1 km long. They already did the highest cable which was over 700ft. Will post in a fe
w from the Organic Farm. If the Organic Farm is not enough try looking at this for a Costa Rica Adventure. Hi to all and PURA VIDA!!!
The Arenal Volcano
Well at this moment it is behind a cloud but dont worry if you decide to book a trip with us and plan a Costa Rica Adventure I promise it will come out. It is a light fog and around 11am I would expect great views of the volcano. If not I know a great place to buy postcards that the kids can take home. We are all eating breakfast right now and you would never believe what they are serving: RICE AND BEANS! After breakfast we are heading to the ziplines. These ziplines to give you an idea are through the rainforest and are 8 different cables. If the zipline does not sound like enough adrenaline look at this Costa Rica Adventure. The longest cable is 1km long and 700ft high. If you are afraid of heights today is the day to act sick and beg to stay behind in at the hotel pool. This will not be happening because all the kids seem pretty pumped and ready
for the cables. After the cables we will have what I think is the best meal of the week at an organic farm. This place is just a quick stop and the kids will actually get a chance to make their own sugar-cane juice. In the evening we have a special treat as we will be visiting The Springs Resort where we will have our final dinner as a group and enjoy the hotsprings. I want to thank all for following this blog and stay posted because we will be treating everyone who has been following but you have to wait till the last blog. Dont worry rafting pics are still coming stay tuned...
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