Weekend Excursion to Tapir Valley and Rio Celeste Tubing

      After a full week of classes, we were all ready for a weekend getaway. The plan included an estimated 4 hour van ride north to Bijagua (English translation for rattlesnake because of the beautiful yellow flower that looks like the rattle). This included a stop at a grocery store for snacks. We had a 28 passenger van and a 10 passenger van. It was perfect so that we could put bags and luggage in both for a comfortable journey-26 students, 6 program leaders and two drivers. However, you may have heard the saying "the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry." The 10 passenger van had not one, but two flat tires along the way. We moved all the students and two leaders into one van and the luggage to the smaller van. The students were only delayed by an hour and the remaining leaders, driver and luggage by two. Life is always more fun with unexpected adventures. The ladies took it all in stride. Fortunately, it’s not a frequently traveled road and there was never any danger, just the heat from the sun.

      Upon arrival at the beautiful Heloconias Nature Lodge at the edge of the rain forest, we were greeted with a delicious lunch. We are all being fed quite well with some of the freshest foods, fruits, vegetables, and fruit juices. We had a small afternoon break and then headed to Tapir Valley and stopped at the SuperCompro for a quick stop for the girls to get their snack they missed out on earlier. The vans were quickly filled with chips, Oreos, candy, sodas and a variety of items they all missed from home.

       Tapir Valley captivated everyone. A little history: 16 years ago, Donald Varela Soto decided that this area of wetlands and forest needed to be preserved. Money was used to buy out farmers and property owners and start the reforestation and preservation of the area. Today this 220+ acres property is home to more than 400 species of birds, 37 species of amphibians, 43 species of reptiles, and at least 29 species of large and medium sized mammals. Although we never saw any Tapirs, we were guided through the beautiful trails and to the wetland area in search of several types of frogs, especially the Tlalocohyla Celeste frog which was only officially found as a new unknown species of frog in 2022. We found it along with the red eye frog and several more species. We also saw beautiful tropical flowers, viper snakes, crabs, bugs shaped like leaves, and spiders. I think the most amazing part was walking through the concert of sounds created by all these species. And, the complementary fruits, empanadas, banana bread and juices were a nice surprise.

      Sunday started with more delicious food and then we headed around the Parque National Volcán Tenorio to go tubing down the Rio Celeste. We never saw the top of the volcano because of the low clouds that hover over the area but it was big. We were given helmets and tubes covered in a very durable fabric and along the bottoms. I wouldn’t say it was a lazy river but a shallow, fast moving river with some rapids. At times, we had to raise our bottoms to avoid the smooth rocks under us. I haven’t seen more smiles or heard more giggles and laughing all week. There are tons of great pictures of the girls linked together while tubing or swimming in the calm shallows.

      The ride home was more quiet. I would definitely say the girls will remember this weekend forever. They will remember looking into the marsh stalks for frogs, being one of the first to ever see a newfound species of frog, hearing the sounds of nature in the dark, and learning about how one person can make a difference.