A weekend in Liberia

For this second weekend of the Climate Change Mitigation Program Session 1, the students had the opportunity to get to know another province of Costa Rica. Costa Rica is has of 7 provinces, they are: San José (the capital), Heredia (known as the city of flowers), Cartago (green landscapes and a place to find delicious cheeses), Alajuela (the place of mangos), Limón (where calypso was born, have you heard the music?) Costa Rica is also known for having microclimates, because no matter the area, you will find different climates in very short distances. The truth is that describing each province is very difficult because they all have their charms, delicious fruits, beautiful landscapes and friendly people. Besides, I prefer that you visit Costa Rica yourselves and can have your own perspective. 

The students were ready to get to know another province, with other activities, weather and landscapes. For this weekend we traveled to Liberia, which is located in the province of Guanacaste. Liberia is the largest city in Guanacaste, it is known as "the white city". You can still see traces of the Costa Rica of yesteryear, in the center of town you can see some colonial houses.

We started our Saturday leaving early in the morning from Monteverde to head to our first stop in Liberia. We went to Ponderosa Park where we had a safari experience. We arrived and the weather was warmer and not as cloudy as we were used to on our beautiful campus. In this place they had animals that for our nature are exotic since some of them came from Africa. Our Global Navigators were able to have more proximity with the animals and even they came closer to the safari (look at the pictures!). Once they had done the over an hour safari tour it was time for lunch. The food was buffet style so the students could choose what to eat from a variety of Costa Rican foods. 

In the afternoon after a short hike, we arrived at the river with a big waterfall ready for tubing. After tubing we went back for a trail to enjoy the waterfall for a while. 

For our dinner in Liberia we went to a restaurant in the center of town. We had a good time at the restaurant. The students wanted a dessert from McDonalds so we went and they were excited to see the different products that can be found in Costa Rica. They were able to see the cultural difference of the McDonald's that is in Costa Rica, the students got to try different products that are only at McDonald's in Costa Rica like our McFlurry. 

On our second and last day in Liberia we went to explore the city. We walked around, it was warmer in Liberia and the sun was out more. Also this weekend we visited Las Pumas Rescue Center. A center that rescues wild animals and gives them better living conditions. Most of the animals at the center are those that have been saved from animal trafficking, many of the animals have been orphaned, others were kept as domestic pets and are in conditions where they cannot return to their natural habitat because they have not developed survival tools. The students were able to see up close and learn more about these animals of Costa Rica's wildlife. The students got to see deer, pumas, ocelots, jaguars, toucans, macaws, parrots, monkeys, a sloth bear and many more animals. 

The weekend was full of exploring the town, they were able to go to the supermarket and buy some new favorite Costa Rican snacks, they had the opportunity to explore the town of Liberia, where they got to see some of the colonial architecture that still persists in the city, do some shopping in local businesses and walk the streets. It was a weekend where they learned about the importance of animals and animal rescue, and in the different places they visited they were able to reflect on environmental education and animal care.