2004	England and Ireland
2006	Spain
2007	Costa Rica, May 8-26
2008	Watch for the location soon!

2007 Costa Rica Summer Homestay and Travel Program

Listed Planned Activities

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1.	Departure from the U.S.A. for same-day arrival at Juan Santamaría International Airport in San José, Costa Rica.  Transfer to Grecia host families.
2.	A morning walking tour of the city of Grecia, its market, park, post office, banks, church, cemetery, and recreational areas like the Polideportivo with its swimming pool and basketball courts.  Lunch at home and the afternoon is free.
3.	A tour by public transportation to the neighboring city of Sarchí, the birthplace of typical Costa Rica woodcrafts.  Since it’s only seven kilometers from Grecia, you’ll probably return here several times during your leisure to browse for souvenirs or to just take in the great artisanship.
4.	A tour by chartered bus to Poás Volcano and its nearby scenic crater lake.  This volcano with its mile-wide crater (one of the world’s largest) seemingly looms over Grecia, but its twenty miles away.  We also hike another half kilometer through the very mountainous rain forest to the blue sulfur crater lake.  Stock plenty of film for these most beautiful panoramas.  You’ll need a sweatshirt or windbreaker, as this is one of the coldest points in Central America. As we descend the 8,000-foot high mountain, we stop at the Murrillo family strawberry and dairy farm.  We observe the milking operations of this second largest milk producer in Costa Rica.  We gladly accept the invitation to sample their strawberries.  Afterwards we are encouraged to walk through the cow pastures to look for the elusive quetzal which nests in dead trees. We continue to a coffee plantation in the small town of San Pedro Poás.  We have lunch with the Bolaños family as Omar describes coffee production and answers any questions about Costa Rican politics and finances.  We stay here as long as we want, roaming through the coffee plants.  Harvest isn’t until December so we don’t have to worry about help picking the beans!
5.	Nature has hidden a local attraction and natural wonder only a short distance away in the Grecia rain forest:  Los Chorros waterfalls, where we’ll wade and swim in a boulder-lined river created by two natural, very cold waterfalls that gush down the 75-foot mountain sides.  We walk on swinging bridges through an overgrowth of towering bamboo plants and ageless trees to the top of the mountain where the falls begin.  Wear your swimsuit under your hiking clothes for this unique cold-water fun.  You’ll also need to wear your old tennis shoes to walk in the river.  Take along a towel.  We can spend as much time as we want here exploring old paths or creating new ones.  This is the rain forest most visitors really want to experience, but when it rains, everyone takes out their umbrellas!  We’ll have late lunch sandwiches at the Short’s home in San Roque.
6.	A public bus takes us to San José for a day-long walking tour of several of its landmarks.  We walk through the Plaza de la Cultura (Culture Park) and the Mercado Central (Central Market).  We note the renaissance construction of the National Theater, and we look for souvenirs in tourist shops like La Casona (the Big House).  Lunch is on your own.  We’ll stay here as long as you want, but we will be back in Grecia at night.
7.	A day journey to San José to visit the workings of the most democratic country in Central America, the Costa Rica Congress, called “La Asemblea Legislativa.”  Experienced guides and translators review the political history of the country, discuss the most important Costa Rican presidents and we might sit in on a congressional debate.  The National Museum, which was the armory during the revolutionary years, is close by for an additional worthwhile tour on your own.  This side trip will probably have to be combined with the previous San José walking tour.  Lunch is on your own.
8.	A long day-trip to Arenal Volcano and its hot springs resort.  We leave Grecia very early, stopping at Zarcero to tour its famous cypress-lined church gardens and plaza, which are hand-trimmed in the form of animal and human motifs.  We travel through the north central rain forest, past banana, pineapple and yucca plantations, always in sight of Arenal Volcano, arriving near the city of La Fortuna.  We swim all day in naturally heated pools, the water coming directly from the volcano.  The closer the pool, the hotter the water!  We return late evening.  Included are the snack breakfast at Zarcero and a late buffet lunch at the hot springs resort.  Snacks and refreshments are available at your own cost.
9.	A two-day, one-night trip to Puntarenas Beach for swimming and sunbathing.  We leave Grecia early after breakfast in a chartered bus to the Pacific coast.  We cross nearly half the country from the central highlands to the Pacific Northwest.  Along the way, we snap photos of the smaller farm homes, extensive cattle ranches and traditional country lifestyles.   We lodge at a hotel just across the street from the beach. Puntarenas (Sandy Point) is the original west coast port city.  A new port has been constructed and now Puntarenas is again the bathing resort it once was, serving as the main dock for large international cruise ships.  Hotel breakfast is provided, but we purchase our other meals at any of the many resort town restaurants while we’re at the beach.  Bring plenty of suntan oil and sun block. From here you can take the optional catamaran side-trip to Turtle Island.  We return to Grecia late the second day.
10.	An early Saturday morning produce shopping visit to the Grecia Farmers’ Market where you’ll see tropical fruits and vegetables that you never knew exited.  Vendors offer free taste samples, if you dare.  Pick out what you want for breakfast at La Quinta Santa Ana, the Shorts’ finquita en San Roque.  Yes, another kilometer-plus up-the-mountain hike!
11.	(Tentative) Two side trips that many naturalists opt for are botanical gardens designed specifically for tourists.  These have collected specimens from all over the country that would be hard to encounter otherwise.  The INBioparque develops the biodiversity of Costa Rica.  This is a 12-acre man-made park with clear explanations for all its displays.  A group may have a guided tour or may stay as long as they want.  This tour has added costs depending upon whether we pay for the tour (approx. $15 each person plus an English speaking tour guide in the park) and additional bus service.  If each person pays their own ticket, the added cost would be $50-$75 for the entire group, depending on the size of the bus needed. The other very popular choice is Lankaster Gardens, which would have to be daylong tour because it's on the south side of San Jose.  (We live on the north side.)    It is probably the more inclusive of the two parks, but the distance is much greater.  I don't have a dollar amount yet, but the tour cost would be about the same, but the transportation would be at least an additional $100-$150 for the bus, again depending on the size of the group.  But with this tour we would include a stop in Cartago at the Basilica of the Little Black Virgin, Costa Rica's patron saint. (Tentative) A one-day public bus trip to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, the national patron saint, in Cartago.  This is the birthplace of Costa Rican Catholicism.  We leave Grecia rather early to travel to San José where we change buses on our way to Cartago, the first capital city of Costa Rica.  It is here that, according to legend, the Little Black Madonna appeared to an Indian girl in 1635, requesting that a church be constructed where a stream of water emerged from a boulder.  And so it was.  Whether you believe or not, you can bring home a container of that holy water which continues to flow today.
12.	(Tentative)  A one-day trip by rented car to the northern province of Guanacaste to visit an expanding cattle ranch.  We get an idea of the difficulties of raising only selected breeds of cattle primarily on grasslands.  We also see the equipment used to raise and harvest rice.  If the group wants, we can stay a second day to tour a sugar cane processing plant in nearby city.  This is not sugar cane harvest time, but we can still tour the plant.  The cost of this excursion depends on the number of participants and the days we stay.
13.	A visit to your choice of local schools to either simply observe or to actively participate teaching English to energetic Costa Rican youngsters.  Perhaps your school or you personally would like to assist in a ServiceLearning project for a local school or the Grecia clinics.
14.	Transfer from Grecia for departure from Juan Santamaría Airport for our return flight home.
	Other side-trips are available at optional cost.  The price depends on how many of the group participant and what they want to do.  Here are examples.  These prices are not fixed as they vary from year to year. A.  White water rafting.  This exhilarating experience costs approximately $70 to $85 per person, depending on the choice of rapids, traveling distance and amenities. B.  Cruise to Island Tortuga (Turtle Island) by catamaran.  This is a day trip from Puntarenas with snacks and a full meal included on the island.  The cost is approximately $75.00 per person. C. Canopy zip-line tours.  This is an available option when we go to Arenal Volcano.  Depending on the number of stations, the price varies from $40 to $50.