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!