Turrialba se acerca a vos 2011

Very interesting activity, and all the touristic product of the area is just amazing...
It was all brought to San José, there were people from all the hotels, tour operators and other commerce of Turrialba, all willing to show us all the beauty that can be found in that unexplored area of our country.
The National Monument Guayabo; main archeologycal site of Costa Rica, Catie and our famous Pacuare River; place where the next World Rafting Championship will take place, are some of the main attractions of Turrialba.
All the event was very organized and the plus of giving free entrance to the exposition " Da Vinci" the genious, was a great success.
Congratulations to all people in charge ...

Interesante actividad, super rico todo el producto turístico de la zona y fué traido todo hasta San José. Tuvieron representantes de todos los hoteles, operadores de tours y demás comercio del lugar, todos deseosos de hacernos saber toda la belleza que se encuentra en esta zona poco explorada de nuestro país.
El Monumento Nacional Guayabo, principal sitio arqueológico de Costa Rica, Catie y el famoso Pacuare, sede del próximo Campeonato Mundial de Rafting, son algunas de las principales atracciones de Turrialba.
Muy bien organizado todo y el plus de la entrada a la exposición de Da Vinci El Genio fué todo un éxito, mis felicitaciones a los organizadores.

Read more »

Amber Willis of WorldStrides To Joe and Abelardo our guides..

Joel and Abelardo,

I am forwarding you the email that I sent to Amy, Jim, and Jennifer yesterday. I am also copying Arturo and Marcos. I’m sure they are already aware of how incredible the two of you are, but it never hurts to hear it again!

J Thanks for everything. You made CRT shine. You made WorldStrides shine!

Warm wishes,

Amber Willis

Educational Travel Specialist, WorldStrides

Amy,

I just want to let you know that my trip to Costa Ricawas absolutely fabulous and that CRT did an amazing job. The students AND the chaperones were incredibly impressed by the quality, the safety, and the educational components of the trip, and our guides Lalo and Joel, made WorldStrides shine and went above and beyond my own expectations. Witnessing the two of them implementing our program, taking advantage of every Ah-ha moment, reiterating our commitment to safety, and sharing their passion for and knowledge of science and nature with students who admitted to me privately that they had no interest in science before this experience made me proud to work for WorldStrides.

They were incredible, as were the accommodations, the meals, the motorcoach, the activities, and the overall delivery.

Both program leaders who were traveling with groups had not decided to rebook before the trip. Their experience and their students’ insistence led them both to the decision to offer the Coastal Conservation trip next year. They also want the same course leaders (as does my teacher who is taking a group next summer). This is a testament to the tremendous job that Joel and Lalo did. They were an impressive team, as Joel provided the “Papa Bear”- structure, safety, schedule so that everyone felt confident that they were in capable hands…and Lalo instantly bonded with the students through humor and high energy, and an uncanny ability to find a bird, mammal, or insect in the trees at a moment’s notice, animals so hidden that once he found them, he would have to set up the telescope to share them with everyone else. Both were a wealth of information, constantly on alert to the opportunities given to them by students and chaperones to share knowledge and experience.

I could go on for days. I was that impressed with the two of them. Then, there is an even longer description of the program itself and various sites which I will be happy to provide if you would find it in any way useful.

The only site with negative feedback was the frog pond, but only because it was pitch black, there were ants crawling up everyone’s legs, and the groups were too big to gather around one flashlight to see the frog or to hear what the guide was saying.

I would make the suggestion to always give the teachers the option to include the stop at the coffee plantation and dairy farm on the way to the Cloud forest from the lake. My group really enjoyed learning about how they harvest the coffee, the interpretive dance of the children, and as silly as it sounds…there was a long line to sit on the bull. It cut the cloud forest hike a little short, but they preferred it.

Everyone speaks highly of you, by the way and sends their regards. Arturo has sent a gift for you, which I will be mailing. Mr. Crespo sent his card and greetings to both you and Jim.

Thanks for all you have done to make this experience possible. It was amazing!

Warm wishes,

Amber Willis

Educational Travel Specialist, WorldStrides

Read more »