Wonderfolk Costa Rica 2024

July 5, 2024

I started packing at 2 am for Costa Rica, and I left the same day two and a half hours later for Costa Rica. I drove to the airport as the sunrise road was upon us, and I walked in, feeling sad and leaving my family. Then I thought to myself, all the other students in the same predicament. As we checked in, I dreaded waiting and all the long lines. As I was standing there, I realized I left my headphones in the car. I was so bummed, then I thought to myself. OK, I’m going to buy one. I was so happy when I got one on the plane. I was about to plug my headphones in and realized it was the wrong type. Not paying attention, tears ran inside of me. I was so bummed, but lucky I had my blanket, and I fell asleep and landed in Los Angeles. It was sunny, and we were ready for our lunch even tho Ethan kept calling it dinner…. We got our lunch and headed to the gate.

Oh wait, let me add the gate kept on changing. Finally, we made it, and I was so happy to board the plane. All of it was finally hitting me. This was happening. I flew to Costa Rica with 17 students and three adults, no family, no parents, nothing. Also, let me in on this flight. Seeing the ground students playing Uno was lovely while having facemasks on. People are getting up and walking, talking to each other, having their headphones in, and even falling asleep with their chains in their mouths, haha. I also wanted to add that I asked the flight attendant if we could give a shout-out so we could share it with other people traveling to Costa Rica, and she was so lovely and gave us a shout-out. When we landed, it was raining, but I am used to that because Portland is also very similar. We went to customs and went very quickly. I did fall onto the machine checks bags and collapsed. The security ladies were laughing at me as I fell on the machine. Emma and our tour guy were outside. Emma was standing outside with a vast Costa Rica flag. I’m excited for the two weeks two begin.

By Sebastien P.

July 6, 2024

A lot of us were woken up by the birds chirping. After spending a night at Hotel Heliconias, the realization of finally being in Costa Rica was starting to set in. We were greeted by two lovely friends who served us a traditional Costa Rican breakfast, which we are sure is first of many. Luckily, our hotel provided a beautiful view of San Jose that we were able to admire before we had to leave for our next destination. Our commute for the day was a 2 hour road trip to Crisley’s Farm. Crisley himself welcomed us upon our arrival, where we were able to settle in and unpack our things for the next two nights.

Throughout the day, we participated in a variety of activities, some of which being making cheese, but not just any cheese, Crisley’s cheese. This cheese is special because it is recognized throughout the region as one of the best cheeses! Furthermore, we got a tour of the farm and were fed delicious food. Some highlights of the day include trying starfruit for the first time, our friend Dash, consuming a wild termite, watching a traditional Costa Rican dance performance, and more. All in all, our first official day in Costa Rica was very eventful and was the perfect introduction to what the rest of our trip will be.

By Ling & Allan

July 7, 2024

Despite some wanting to sleep in, nine of us woke up early in the morning to take an opportunity given to us by Crisley, milking the cows. Some of us couldn’t dream of missing this exciting new world that we have not yet discovered, many have even adopted the phrase, “You only live once”. So we journeyed along the path to the cows and began draining the milk into a bucket. After everyone had a turn milking the cow, Crisley even asked if we wanted to try the milk and many followed. Once we all were finished we headed back to the cabins where we had a delightful breakfast which lead up to a joyful bus ride. During the bus ride some of us started playing these hand games that reminiscent of childhood like, “Double Double This This,” and “ Bubble gum.” which was very enjoyable and fun to watch. Once we had arrived we were all sitting there listening about chocolates history and how it was made, we also got to make it ourselves! A few steps we did included: grinding the cacao beans, pouring them into bowls in front of a fan to get rid of the shells, and singing to bate bate chocolate as we mixed it up. After we completed all the steps, we got to pour the chocolate that was prepped for us into molds and create our own chocolate bar. We got to decorate with ingredients like coconut, coffee, and of course… sprinkles!! They were pouring us three types of drinks, one being the “Warrior drink”, “hot cocoa”, and “this sugar cane drink”. The “Warrior drink” tasted a bit bitter and spicy. Then comes the hot coca which was a lot better, full of flavor, sweet, and might we add it was delicious way better than the “Warrior drink ”. The “sugar cane drink” we made by squeezing out the juice from sugar cane while everyone took turns we cheered each other on. The drink replicated the taste of Gatorade with a hint of sourness. After drinking the drinks we went on a tour of the area. We explored and learned about all the plants, flowers and lots of animals. We got to see two sloths in a tree, little ant trails, and a type of fruit that contained a “red 40” color, we used that to dye our lips and paint our faces. We got back to casa Crisley and ate a delicious lunch getting ready to head out to town. We went to a bull ring and while the rain poured down many of us decided to have a races on each others backs. Dripping wet, we went to the market getting some snacks and playing foosball. We head back to Crisley’s, playing soccer with the local kids and had a dance battle cabin 3 vs cabin 4. Following dinner we had a surprise awaiting us, a guitarist who performed a beautiful song. Once the song ended we began dancing with all the members of Crisley’s family and our cohort. At the end of the night we jumped into the pool and splashed away! We played uno, and games with the kids, in the pool. Then we got ready for bed, excited for the adventure that awaits us the next day.

-Thomas and Natalia

July 8, 2024

Today we started off the day with a heartfelt feeling, after saying our goodbyes to Crisley and his family. Overall, our day was filled with adventure, love, laughter, and full of life. Many of us were able to conquer our fears as the day went on.

Many of us woke at 6am in order to get ready for the day ahead of us, our schedule was time sensitive and we NEEDED to be on time for our next adventure, zip lining. Despite that we enjoyed our breakfast of gallo pinto, pancakes, and eggs. Many of us finished early, they had time to kill so why not help the sweet ladies in the kitchen? Samantha and Aileen being one of the first to step up, washing the dishes. A domino affect occurred, to making dish washing a four person job to cleaning tables, many of us were able to step up. We said our goodbyes to Casa Crisley, forever remembering the memories we made there.

We headed towards Lake Arenal, up the mountain to the zip line place. Some of us were scared, some of us ecstatic to zip line, especially Ailing, whose inherent fear of heights made her nervous to be above the tree tops. Ailing was scared at first, but after the first line seeing the beauty of Lake Arenal and its surroundings, all of the fear disappeared. Everyone cheered on each other as we screamed down the zip line hearing their voice fade into the tree tops. If you closed your eyes we can guarantee that you’d hear laughter, squealing, and chirps of birds on the courses of Sky Adventures. The feeling of the breeze, the beauty of Arenal, being above the lush forest of Costa Rica, was unimaginable but it really happened. We zipped in pairs underneath a tree tunnel hugging each other like sloths. On the way back, our bliss continued, smiling and feeling accomplished we sang our feelings out, karaoke style. Featuring Bruno mars, Beyoncé and Eldonna being our star singer. We enjoyed our lunch in town, hearing stories of our families, and singing Happy Birthday to Thomas for the second time. We spent two hours in town, buying gifts for our families back home and souvenirs for ourselves too. We wrapped our day in town, heading to the supermarket for any last minute to essentials.

That’s when Dagem said he saw an ice cream stand in town he never got to try. We were planning to listen to sad music but there was a change of mind in the bus, just like a movie we heard “we need to turn this bus around.” We headed into town once again, with a wallet for Dagem. He jumped out the bus with us in his support behind him smiling and recording him. Stepping out of the bus in excitement he went off to order and when he stepped back into the bus with his ice cream there was immediate chanting and support that filled the bus.

Our new hotel looks, sounds and smells like a new chapter for us. We finished the day reflecting on our intentions that we had coming into the trip, how were we fulfilling them, or what would we do to fulfill them. This was a moment of vulnerability for some, empathy for others, and overall peace of mind for everybody. Voices were shared but most importantly heard and understood by everyone. We wanted to shout out those who were able to accomplish an intention of theirs, even if it was something that wasn’t fully fulfilled yet. The effort of our group and support from Wonderfolk 2024 will forever be remembered, this is just the beginning.

-Maynapa and Victoria

A quick start to breakfast at 7:15 kicked off with some overwhelmingly fantastic arroz, bacon, and eggs which prepared us for the short drive to Proyecto Asis, with our guide Carlos. Carlos started by noting the problem with the animals existing in their protection. Mainly the problem that there are any animals at all. Wild animals are NOT pets and should never be treated as such, but unfortunately, they are. Not only does Carlos note the illegality of such a practice but also the immorality of it. Birds and monkeys are frequently domesticated but suffer from the diet and containment. What stood out especially was the fines accrued for capturing these valuable animals, what was formally a meager $60 fine was more recently bumped up to a staggering $6000 fine. This added a much bigger consequence to the owners and sellers from Costa Rica and the United States.

Many cohorts would begin to feel the anticipation of seeing such exotic animals grow as we begin to pass through the entrance. There waiting to greet us was a generally familiar face of a raccoon by the name Rocket. He was a survivor of a car crash who still had some head trauma causing his body to sway. Next Carlos directed us to two Brazilian Macaws who were permanent residents, due to lasting injures at the hands of irresponsible owners neglect. These two birds can live upwards of 100 years and at their current age that means they will spend around 60 more years on the reserve. Following the path we traversed through the deep forest, observing the brown and black spider monkeys who used tricks to lure past guests into their range and grab at them. We came to understand that there were many different types of monkeys, each with different hierarchy and behaviors. While some were more aggressive and small, following male-alpha behaviors like the white faced monkeys, others were larger and more passive in comparison and followed female-alpha behaviors like the spider monkeys.

As interesting, cute, exciting, and unbelievable the reserve was, Carlos made sure we all understood the unacceptable actions the put these animals on display for us today. The fact of the matter is, wild animals are just that. Wild. They are our pets, they are not our friends and to treat them as such- even if you think your intentions are good-is truly cruel. That is why, when we began or track back to the entrance we all understood the importance of our visit this day. To learn the consequences of human interference and be able to educate other about why the best thing you can do when you find an abandoned baby monkey in the forest is to JUST LEAVE IT ALONE.

Carlos treated us to mouthwatering cookies and lemonade he made himself very early that morning. The subtle crisp of the cookie emboldened the sweetness of the lemonade. Following the intervention we headed down to the animals kitchen where we each found a partner and adopted a recipe to follow for each animals diet. It was interesting to learn the different acceptable ways to split up the food in order to maintain peace within the animals spaces. In the more alpha dominate cages, the alpha gets first dibs on the food, followed by the next oldest and in other cages with different species food can cause huge fights and problems. However by dividing the food into equal portions for each individual, then putting the food in toys, the animals can all get fed equally. It was really interesting to see the toys we used be put into action but also enlightening on how dangerous the animals could be. Especially when looking at the White faced monkeys, and seeing how food automatically revealed the hierarchal standing of each one. The alpha went first and the next in line followed. The last to get a toy was the baby, who was also targeted by the others for his own portion.

Before leaving we all took a picture with Carlos and hopped on the bus to head to our next destination, a beautiful small house which was turned into a restaurant.

Doña Mara is the sister of bus drivers wife and also the restaurant’s owner, we all greeted her at the door and took our seats where we were met with aprons and hats. We watched as she mixed together Dough and queso with such a strong technic, you could almost see care kneaded into each fold. We then all got a turn making traditional tortilla on her amazing cement oven.

There doesn’t exist a soul in our world who wouldn’t get teary eyes at the pure taste of her cooking. From the arroz y pollo to the rice pudding her food went far beyond that of any world class restaurant and as a group were were so lucky to get the chance to enjoy such a meal.

The group had 15 minutes to check out some of the stores on a block in Chachagua. We played on a small playground, bought “delicacies” from the panaderia and crochet flowers made by local kids, as well as watched the France v. Spain game. In the farmacia there was a little girl who was talking like “Pájaro Loco”, right after we learned about the noises various wild birds make. The bus ride back to the hotel we are staying at was quiet, so I could sense we were all tired from the afternoon. Once we got to the hotel, our leaders told us we had a couple hours of downtime (yay!) so we all got ready for the pool. I shouldn’t have put my only swimsuit in my laundry bag, but people were quick to help me out with their extra clothes. The majority of the group left the pool after 15 minutes to check out the hot springs. They said they were just sitting in them and talked. On the flip side, Dash and I stayed in the pool and threw a ball around. Mark, Thomas, and Ethan started playing monkey in the middle with us. It was raining so hard that, I had only dunked my shoulders down in the pool, and my face and hair looked as though I had been aggressively drowned. Afterwards, we hung out for nearly an hour under a gazebo, as did the group that were in the hot springs. The group that came out of the pool played Pictionary with a whiteboard. Once the lightning moved further away we walked back to our rooms. The girls went to one room and were talking. The guys played blackjack with colones. I got to spend that time watching Argentina v. Canada up until Argentina scored and I walked up to the gazebo for our planned game at 6:30.

It was raining on the walk up, so the floor was slippery. We had a group game of ninja, which brought out people’s true colors. A couple people slipped towards the end but they told me it was worth it. Eldonna and Mark had a showdown but Mark took her out. We had a redemption round in which Allan won. Afterwards we walked to the restaurant. We were served arroz con pollo, ensalada, y papas fritas. I was gifted 3 full plates of food as well as my own (thank you)! After dinner we walked down to the gazebo again for our reflection. We had partner discussions about what we would continue to do/tell ourselves as motivation in our “new chapter” of service, as well as what we intended to do for the community. Tears were shed (mine), and I was again, astonished by how considerate and genuine my peers are. Afterwards we went back to our cabins for the night to pack for our big day of hiking tomorrow. We are going to Poco Sol for 2 nights so we only brought what we needed/were willing to carry. Hopefully everyone got everything they needed, and were able to rest up for our first day of service. I appreciate everyone here: our leaders who are giving each of us (17) 100% of their energy if we need it, our group who are always willing to do new things, and push me to do things I wouldn’t, and our hosts who are graciously accommodating us.

Thanks, tons of love Dash and Ellie <@:) <]:)