Recap from Day 1 at the CFS

Today was a bit unusual. The Cloud Forest School did not have classes today. Trini and I have never been on the campus when there were not students running around. It was pretty much just us and the maintenance folk who direct us in our project. Because of the lack of classes, we did not ride the school buses as we usually do. We took taxis to school or were driven there by parents. We arrived shortly after 8:00am and were treated to nonstop rainbows, or so it seemed.

Just another rainbow shot...in fact, there are two

We began the day with a tour of campus. It was probably the best one we've ever had. Carlos, a 10th grader, did a fantastic job giving us the lay of the land as well as a history lesson of how the school came together. (Do you want to know more about it? If so, click here.) We spent over 90 minutes walking around the enormous campus, and we had a nice start to our day.

Eduardo talking to old friend Trini

Carlos leading us on a tour in misty weather

At around 10:00am, we met up with our maintenance guys, Eduardo and Mauricio. Eduardo is one of the mainstays of our trips to the CFS - he has been there every time, and he is like family to me and Trini. In fact, Milton, who arrived a bit later but didn't work today, is in the same boat. We have spent so much time with these two that they represent one of the biggest thrills of coming back to Costa Rica for us. We first met Mauricio last year, and he's just as entertaining and talented. So we were told about our project - resurrecting the treehouse that sits in the middle of campus. Unfortunately, this treehouse is no longer safe, and kids have been unable to play on it for some time.

The left side of the treehouse before we touched it

We then set out to the site and got to work. One team, led by Trini, started dismantling the left half of the old treehouse. Another group pulled nails out of the wood that was taken down. (The school always finds other uses for everything, so there's no way they would throw it all away.) I was working with Eduardo trying to make wire structures to go into the concrete. Overall, we made a lot of progress in just under two hours.

Getting started

Chris Doyle working on the nails, which he did pretty much all day

Trini and Ethan working on breaking down the treehouse

After lunch (our homestay families pack lunches for us), we got back out there and worked another 90 minutes or so. This time, Trini took over the wire structures, and I worked with a group digging holes for new posts. Some students got right back at it with the nail removal, too. There were other tasks as well. When we finished for the day, the left side of the structure looked markedly different.

Felix, Lara and Ethan taking turns working on one of the holes

Trini and Eduardo making wire structures

Gwen giving Mauricio a hand

Emma, Ella and Lara admiring the freshly dug holes

The work site from the perspective of the treehouse

The left side of the "treehouse" after we left it today

We then took off for Serpentario, the snake and reptile house. We were late for our tour, so we did some light shopping for 40 minutes or so and then returned. We received a short lesson on these creatures and their footprint in the world as well as Costa Rica. Then we toured the establishment and saw the snakes, turtles and frogs that reside there.

Can you see the snake in this group shot?

Lastly, we hit the town for an hour or so. We ate ice cream and shopped as the sun fell and the wind picked up even more. We all then set off for our homestays (most by taxi). We won't see each other again until the morning when we hop on the buses with the children.

Yet another group shot...this one after ice cream

Until tomorrow!

[FYI: Photos are still uploading. The "Day 4" folder will hopefully be filled up with the 150 or so photos within an hour or two of this post.]