Tensas students tour Costa Rican cultural sites

A group of Tensas Academy high school students and adults recently spent eight days in beautiful Costa Rica.  

While there, they experienced a variety of landscapes and activities. The trip touched on many of the unique places this small country offers. It is often called the “Switzerland of Central America”.  

The group toured Doka Estate, the oldest coffee plantation, and hiked four kilometers up to Mt. Arenal to view the volcano. They took day and night tours and zip-lined through the cloud forests of Monte Verde.

A cooking class in the forest and an art class where they painted traditional ox carts were more fun than they expected. Seeing almonds, papaya, pineapple, sugar cane and coffee growing was interesting and waterfalls were beautiful.  

In the tropical rain forest at Manuel Antonio State Park they saw iguanas, red macaws, sloths, white faced monkeys, coati and porcupines and were able to spend time on the beach playing in the warm ocean.

The group followed Covid testing guidelines before the trip as well as before heading home and wore masks much of the time.

Tensas Academy students visiting Costa Rica include Emma and Avery Vandeven, Kathleen and Sam Paxton, Philip and Elizabeth Watson, Mary Clark Herring, Ella Burnside, Edwin Pena, Ellie Blanche, Davis Guthrie, Anna Claire Sanders and Morgan Williams. Adults enjoying the trip were organizer Whitney Guthrie, Linda Watson, Chris Paxton, Erin Blanche, Kylie Herring and Amy Vandeven.