Beach Junquillal of Costa Rica



good day at the beach

From March 19 to the 26, 70 6^th graders went to very beautiful field trip to Costa Rica. The last days of the field trip we went to a campsite to the beach! We stayed at a beach called playa Junquillal. This beach is at 30 km from Santa Cruz and 20 km south from Tamarindo. This beach is found at the peninsula from the reserve of Guanacaste. Beach Junquillal in total is 3 km in diagonal, but it is very different from any other beach. If you would like to take walks this would be the best beach, but it’s not the best beach for swimming because it has very strong currents and little jellyfish that can sting you in the water.

In the beach we saw a lot of animals like raccoons. They are little creatures with grey fur and black eye patches around both of their eyes. In his tail they have black stripes at the bottom. They were very little and they were always taking the food from other people tent so its better if you don’t leave food inside you tent.

racoon enjoying a twix bar

Another animal that we all saw were crabs. We saw different sizes shapes and different colors. The best crab that all of the kids saw was the last days of the camp in the beach at night. He big and it had different colors like red on the top of his head and blue combined with purple at the bottom of his legs. It was really fascinating.

crab at the beach

We saw all these animals mostly when the sky was getting dark and all the animals will try to get out to take pictures or try to touch one of the raccoons or try to catch the crabs, and they also tried to take pictures of the different types of animals the different kids saw. But be careful because the animals could attack you if one of you tries to hurt them.

When we were at the beach it had a lot of different smells like water from the salty smells it has. And when we had to eat it smelled very good because of all the food the different groups were making, and when you arrived to the bathrooms it smelled like poop and pee because of the different people that were In the bathroom.

 What was also very surprising were the different sounds that you heard all day long at the beach. We heard the waves from the water crashing into the sand of the beach, and the hard winds that blew all day long. We also heard the different sounds of the monkeys, and the different birds at the beach.

In the end this field trip to costa rica is one of the best field trips that your son will ever have in the hole school year. PURA VIDA!

BY:  SANTIAGO SARMIENTO, FEDERICO GARZON, AND PABLO GUTIERREZ 

Tropical Rainforest

White-Faced Capuchin

In March, when we went to Costa Rica, we saw many amazing things like the tropical rainforest. The tropical rain forest is really humid, dense, and warm, because of the annual rainfall of 125-660 cm per year. In tropical rainforests the biodiversity is huge, and the plants produce most of the oxygen of the earth. Trees are really tall because they have lots of water to grow and they try to reach the sunlight. There is a thick layer of leaves that forms on the floor when the leaves fall of the trees; these leaves are wet unlike the ones at the dry forest. As we were walking through the rainforest we saw many kinds of animals like a white-faced capuchin monkey, a white-nosed coati, a mantled-howler monkey, a keeled billed toucan, and a squirrel cuckoo. We saw all this animals in many places, for example, in the first camp at Santa Maria, in the walk to the thermal springs and to the little cascade, and in the walk to the volcano. And as we were walking or resting we could hear all this animals’ sounds and the mantled-howler monkeys wake us all the mornings at the first camp.  During this hike we felt great and we were really excited, although we sweat a lot because of the humidity of the forest! Everything we saw make us feel awesome and happy.

Cascade La Cangreja

We saw the tropical rain forest during two hikes. The first walk was the one with the big bags, we pass through the rain forest and we saw the most of the animals listed in the previous paragraph. During this walk we sweat a lot because of all the humidity, but fortunately it didn't rained. The second time we pass through a rain forest was in the walk to the cascade La Cangreja. In this walk we saw most of the animals, too.  This walks were great and we were able to learn a lot about the rain forest.

Tropical Dry Forest

In our trip to Costa Rica we hiked a lot. During the hiking to different places we walked through many dry forests .The dry forest is an ecosystem that has little amount of trees. This is a very different ecosystem from the tropical rain forest because is less colorful and has fewer amounts of life forms. The trees are tall and wide, consisting on mostly blanches with some leaves at the top. The seeds reach the dry forest when wind carries them to it.  In the rainy season the seeds and the plants grow because they have enough water. These plants have to be able to survive without water and moisture for a long time. During the dry season the leaves start falling so the trees need less amount of water, the termites and ants eat the trunks and they destroy it. While you walk through the ecosystem you can feel al the heat of the sun in your head. The trees can’t create a very strong shadow because they are very apart. While you are in the forest you also can feel the strong wind and hear it moving the plants. This wind is very useful because it refresh you. You can see a lot of landscapes around you that count be admired from a tropical rain forest because the trees cover them. In conclusion, the tropical dry forest is a beautiful ecosystem that can be enjoyed in the Natural Park of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. 

Flora and Fauna in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a country full of life.  It has millions of animals and plants that have exotic aromas and make rare sounds. When we arrived to Costa Rica it turned to be really difficult to identify animals or plants. But through the trip we could learn about them.  There is so much fauna and flora in this paradise because the well-preserved national parks. There is life in every corner of the places we went to. We were able to observe animals because we were quiet and attentive.

We could observe the Capuchin Monkey

  Throughout the trip we learned about four types of animals; mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. 

 The forest was full of beautiful mammals. The first one we saw was the Mantled Howler Monkey. In the first camping site we were waked up by the strong howls of this monkey. We got out of the tents and were able to observe the Mantled Howler Monkeys were black with brown or blonde saddles. We saw them on the trees making a “call to the sunrise”.  All the sixth graders were very happy and excited to see such a beautiful animal.  When we were getting back from The Cangreja we were lucky enough to see 4 t 5 Capuchin monkeys. They were black, had an upper chest and shoulders, and a white face with a cap.  They moved on top of the trees making little cries. We felt very joyful because what we were seeing was such a spectacle. In the first camping site when we were washing our teeth we could observe an Agouti. It was reddish brown and ate fruits. It didn’t make any strange sounds, only its steps on the dry leaves. We felt very happy to see such a strange animal like this. The last mammal we could observe was a Coati.  The coati lived all over the forest. We could observe it because the sound it was making while eating fruits and insects. It was dark brown and had a long mobile tail that was yellow or brown. We were very surprised to see a Coati because their very shy. All the mammals were beautiful.



The keel-billed toucan



The birds in Costa Rica are marvelous. Even though this is a small country, it has 10% of the world’s species. We saw many birds, but we liked three types of birds the most. The first one was the keel-billed toucan. This bird was so beautiful and serene it made us feel peaceful. It had a peek with colors of the rainbow and a black body. It made loud cries and creeks.  We could observe this bird in the Pacific Coast, near the beach. The next bird was the hummingbird. There are 300 species of hummingbirds in Costa Rica and we could watch some of them. They were so cheerful, they transmitted us energy. The hummingbirds were in all the camping sites we went to. They move so fast it’s hard to tell what type of hummingbird they are. They make fan-like sound because their wings are moving at an unimaginable speed. The last bird we like the most was the Brown Pelican. This bird was at the beach, were all the six graders could observe it.  It was big and had air sacs to absorb the impact of water. It dived into the water and captured fish making a splash sound. It made us feel so free and excited. These birds were unique.





Red Eyed tree frog

There are a lot of amphibians in this small country. There are more than 175 species!  When we passed little streams or rivers we could observe one toad and one frog. We recognized them because the annoying sound they made.  The first one we saw was the Giant Toad.  This toad lives in the pre-mountain or lower mountain. It can eat anything from insects to little kittens. When we saw this 9 in creature girls shouted, they found another of this type on their bathroom.  Everyone was really disgusted because this toad is horrible.  The second amphibian we saw was the Red Eyed tree frog. This frog makes a very loud sound that scared us a little.  What is funny is that females grow as twice as males! But the truth is that this frog is really small and lives in the wet forest. It eats moths, crickets, and other insects. It was really funny seeing these strange animals, everyone shouted and laughed.




Reptiles are very common in Costa Rica. There are over 221 species. In the beach we could observe two reptiles. The first one was the Black Ctenosaur. They are greenish brown and incredibly similar to Iguanas. But their color is darker than Iguana´s color. They moved quickly and made sound when the stepped on dry leaves.  We could see them everywhere in the beach, but we didn’t get too close because they made us feel threatened. The second reptile we saw was the Tiger Snake Eel. We could observe it in the ocean. It was very beautiful. It was brown and had with spots all over its body. It scared us a lot because we thought it was poisonous. It wasn’t poisonous, and was very peaceful. These reptiles scared all the sixth graders.

Amazing vegetation covers Costa Rica. Large trees, beautiful flowers and fruits were exposed to us in this trip.

Guanacaste Tree

The trees were enormous. We could watch two types of trees. The first one was called “The Naked Indian”. We could observe it in the dry forest walking to the thermal springs. It can measure 30 m! It is called this way because the trunk is cracking and it is of a copper color. We could identify it because the trunk and branches have a strong smell. All the people in the trip laughed about it´s funny name. The other tree we saw was the “Guanacaste Tree”.  This tree was in the second camping place. It was from 82 to 164 feet high! When Vivi (a girl in OPEPA) explained us its meaning it made us feel stable. This tree is a symbol of stability and growth. It also represents universal equilibrium and sacred creating. We could then understand how important i vegetation is to Costa Rica.



Costa Rican Watermelon



The flowers were very nice. The two most common flowers were the orchids and the helicoids. The orchids were in the second camping site. They smelled really good. The orchids were very beautiful and are very important to Costa Rica. They are so common because the tropical forest permits them to grow better. The helicoids were also in the second camping site and in the 8km walk between the camps. It was mostly yellow, orange, and red. It had an excellent aroma. This flower was very large and outstanding. We felt very happy to see such beautiful flowers.

The most delicious fruits we tasted were the Costa Rican fruits.  Some famous Costa Rican fruits are papayas, mangos, pineapples, black berries, lemons, tamarinds, mamoncillos, coconuts, zapotes, and watermelons. In the beach the sun was very strong. Everyone got a little dehydrated and the councilors surprised us with fresh watermelons. These fruit made us all feel very happy and refreshed. It was cold, and made everyone gain forces. Every sixth grader can remember this exceptional taste!

All the flora and fauna in Costa Rica was amazing. We could learn a lot of it and appreciate it as the next grades will!

Paramo

                                                       Lucas Obregon, Tomas Peña

The Costa Rican Paramo, which is also known as the Talamanca Paramo, is composed by montage grassland and shrubland, and is located in Costa Rica and Western Panama.

The Paramo includes several enclaves on the highest peaks of the “Cordillera De Talamanca” with a total area of 31 square kilometers. The Paramo is found 3000-3100 meters above sea level and is surrounded by the Talamanca montane forests and the World Wildlife Fund.

It is dominated by grasses, rushes, herbs, and low shrubs. The upper part of the Paramo  has scarce vegetation and snow lines. Common animals suspected to be seen in this part of Costa Rica are toucans, tapirs, jaguars and hundreds of lizards and birds.

The vegetation :

The vegetetion at the paramo its basicly about , short and with lots of branches and leaves wich are thik and hard, the soil is black. There in the paramo are few amounts of grass , and have more trees.

Volcanoes!

In March 23 we saw a Volcano in Costa Rica. The volcano is named Rincon De La Vieja and it is located in the province of Guanacaste, where there is a large reserve. When we climbed to the semi paramour, we couldn’t see the volcano because there where many clouds, fog and fast winds. We felt exited because we were going to climb a volcano, but when they told us it was dangerous to climb the volcano because there was many wind, we went sad.  While we were going to the volcano, we heard the sound of animals in the forest and the sound of the wind. We also could smell the damp humidity of the forest and each time we went lower, the plants, animals, and ecosystems changed. We didn’t reached the top but we learned an important lesson: It is more important the way through than reaching the top.

Freshwater and Math Calculations

Thermal Springs



These are the two thermal springs in Costa Rica

 



Second day in Costa Rica, were much exited to finally start our hike. That day we started walking a short path that was relatively easy to walk through because it was plain and went through a dry forest with huge amount of plants and a hot climate. What we didn´t know  was that we were going to a natural spa. We walk for half an hour and we were all sweating because it was very hot. We were thinking we were all going to die and finally we start smelling something disgusting.  Many people started to blame their partner because that smell. Then the forest opened and we discovered what was producing that smell and the nature spa, the thermal springs. We leave all our stuff in some trees and we went to the thermal springs. We almost vomit when we were approaching to them because the smell was really bad. Then we decided we would not lose an experience like that and we enter to the river to pass to the thermal springs. The river water was very cold but for us it was no problem because we were very hot because the sun. Then, we face a rock path. We went through it and finally arrive to our spa. The water was very hot! It was also really relaxing. We stay there for many time and we could appreciate the things they had inside. The rocks that were in the water were all covered of green moss. At the side of the thermals, the opposite of the river, there was an eroded mountain. After some time, the smell seem to disappear but it didn´t disappear at all, we were already costume to it. It was really rare that water from a place was hot and other cold so we decided to know why was that possible. What happens is that water of thermal springs don´t come from the river. This water comes from a volcano! The volcano is the Arenal volcano. What happens with the volcano is that magma or molten rock from it goes to a certain place and it cools. Magma contains dissolved substances such as water and minerals that when it cools, it releases them. These liquids are the thermal spring´s water. The smell comes from a mineral named sulfur. Sulfur smells to rotten egg. After knowing this we understand why the thermal springs were a natural spa: the minerals made your body relax. This was an amazing experience that we needed to face in our life.

Jaguar Waterfall

In the second day, of Costa Rica field trip, we went to the Jaguar waterfall.  The Jaguar waterfall is located in the natural reserve of Guanacaste. It wasn’t very high, the water felt by a wall of rocks pretty fast. It felt into a well that wasn’t very deep, enough to swim. At both sides of the cascade there were very big ro

This is the Jaguar Cascade

cks in which you could seat. You could climb the wall by which the water felt and jump to the water. The water was quite pleasant, it wasn’t very hot or very cold, and you enjoyed swimming there. To get there we had to walk through a dry forest. We didn’t saw any animals and we sweated a lot. The walk was easy but it was very hot so we were a little bit tired. The walk to reach the Jaguar waterfall took us for about 20-30 minutes, it was very short. There were a lot of tall trees near the waterfall; those trees had few leaves only on the top. The water was very clean, transparent you could see through it. On the bottom of the well it was hard to walk because of the pointed rocks. We could climb the wall and not jump, but to fell down by it. Just like a slide. It was very fun even though we hit ourselves many times with the hard pointed rocks.

 Goin to Costa Rica has been one of the most fun and exotic experiences in my life, I hope I can repeat it.

La Cangreja Cascade

 



Starting point of the cascade



It can be your place of dreams. To get to it you need to walk for approximately hour and a half. In this period time you pass throgh variouus ecosystems such as dry and rainforest. You need to go up and up the mountain but at a point you need to go down the mountain. This piece of the trip is all in very big rocks. While you are going down you can perfectly listen to the cascade. It is very relaxing. As soon as you saw it you get in shock! La Cangreja is your place of dreams because it is very seclutted and a rainbow cans forms everywhere. Also because you can relax and jump from a rock to end in the green colored water. It ends on a well where the water is transparently. The water was cold but it was not important because that experience is only once in your life. You can pass down the cascade and you get into a relaxing place under it where you can sit to observe the beautifullness of Costa Rica.  We need to calculate the height of it so we find the measurment of “el Flaco” (an OPEPA instructor) that is 1.76 meters tall and using our fingers we put “Flaco” inside the cascade. He fits 14 times in the ca

scade. When we where going back to the camp we saw white-face cappuchin monkeys! That was an amazing experience. They were small and were all over the forest playing and jumping over the trees. Inside the rainforest you have a pure air smell. After this we need to do a multiplication, 14*1.76=24.64 meters tall. This is an amazing place that if you have the opportunity you should visit it once in your life.

La Cangreja is a very beautiful cascade.

Pura Vida!!!!!

Source: www.waterencyclopedia.com/Re-St/Springs.html

By

Andrea Sesana

Mauricio Duzan

Camila Donado

Costa Rica's Mangroves...Pura Vida!

Mangroves are trees that are very important to the ecosystem. They are important because they fight erosion, natural disasters, and they are stuck to the land and they make that land would not go away. Also because they are home for different organisms, like algaes, small fishes, shrimps, sponges, oysters, sea birds, etc. Inside the water are filters that clean water of silt and salt to make coral reef ecosystem flourished. They form in the shorelines, where salt and sweet water combine. These trees grow in places where any other tree had grown or would grow. This is due to the bad soil they grown on, the lack of oxygen, and the amount of salt in the water. Mangroves have thick branches, so boats cannot navigate through it. They are very big; they measure from 3 to 30 meters. To fight salt, mangroves exclude it by the roots and by their leaves, and their tissues can tolerate more salt than others. Mangroves' roots stuck out of the water so they can get enough oxygen. They live approximately 10 years and die standing up. The mangroves are classified in 5 different kinds, depending on their color, texture, leaves, height, pneumatophores, etc. The kinds of mangroves are: Red Mangrove, Black Mangrove, Tea Mangrove, White Mangrove, and Buttonwood Mangrove.





  We didn't see the mangroves until Friday, the day before leaving Costa Rica. We went there because we were going to make an activity. They were some meters away from the shoreline. When we arrived there we saw trees, water, animals, and sand. It smelled as salt. We were very hot, the sun was heating up so much, and all of us were sweating. The activity was based on identifying the different trees that were in the place. Viviana, an Opepa instructor, gave us a paper so we could make the activity. The paper had the description of the different kinds of mangroves. We saw and identified a Black Mangrove and a White Mangrove. To do this we had to enter the water and it felt moistly and sticky. In the water where tadpoles, little fishes, and some sea birds that were eating. The mangroves were beautiful, we would repeat the experience.

Names: María Bravo, Juan Esteban Cárdenas, and Mateo Vargas O.      6a

Pura Vida!



Perigee Moon, March 19, 2011



For a week in March over 70 sixth graders from Colegio Los Nogales visited the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. This blog serves to recount their journey and to inform parents and future students of the variety of ecosystems and experiences that they shared.



Costa Rica…Pura Vida!