Tentative Itinerary

(Subject to Change)

Sunday, March 8, 2009

• Participants arrive on their own in Costa Rica.
• Participants make arrangements for their own lodging.

Monday, March 9, 2009

• Meet at the Sleep Inn, San Jose for breakfast and official welcome.
• Brief walking tour of San Jose craft market and artisan gallery.
• Vans depart for the Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology.
• Lunch at Crocodile Bridge.
• Arrive at Hacienda Baru to settle into cabins and unpack.
• Welcome reception followed by dinner with faculty and staff at Hacienda Baru restaurant. (Cost of alcoholic beverages is extra)
• Fall asleep to the sounds of crickets and frogs filling the night!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

• Orientation and overview of the FCRE presented by VP Carol Brandt and Pitzer in Costa Rica Director Isabel Arguello.
• Intermediate-Advanced hike to the top of the property via the Waterfall and North Loop Trail. Beginners will take a leisurely walk up via the main access road.
• Gathering at the top of the property in the Teaching Pavilion.
• Refreshments/Debrief so far with Professor Cheryl Baduini.
• Hike for all to see bamboo forest, ponds, dragonfly colonies, banana and coconut groves, and more of the 53 petroglyphs on the property.
• Lunch at Program House with faculty, staff and Pitzer in Costa Rica students.
• Faculty lecture on tropical restoration ecology.
• Introduction of project options for next day.
• Beach time, butterfly garden, journaling, rest.
• “Happy Hour” (Cost of alcoholic beverages is extra)
• Dinner at Hacienda Baru/debrief day one!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

• Breakfast at Hacienda Baru.
• Project groups form and gather equipment.
  Possible options:
   Monitoring cecropia tree growth
   Petroglyph documentation work
   Bamboo tagging
   Seedling nursery work
   Water quality sampling
   Bamboo carving and artistry
   Hardwood tree species monitoring
   Geographical information systems map markers
• Lunch at Program House.
• Lecture on water ecology at Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology with Professor Cheryl Baduini.
• Van service to Hacienda Baru.
• Zipline in the rainforest or guided nature hike as alternative activity at Hacienda Baru National Wildlife Refuge.
• Van service to Domincal for dinner and drinks as a group. (Cost of alcoholic beverages is extra)

Thursday, March 12, 2009

• Breakfast at Hacienda Baru.
• Walk to ASANA Headquarters. Conversation with environmentalist Jack Ewing.
• Walk back to Hacienda Baru.
• Presentation on Costa Rica’s one-room school houses and neighboring Baru Elementary School (a partner school of the FCRE).
• Van service to Baru Elementary School.
• Bring school supplies and meet the kids and teacher.
• Do a work project with the children.
• Lunch with the school children.
• Van service to FCRE.
• Discussion of afternoon options:
   Option 1: Advanced hiking option—Pre-Columbian Trail
   Option 2: Surfing lessons in Dominical (and shopping)
   Option 3: Join a Pitzer in Costa Rica student at her/his Costa Rican host family for coffee and Spanish practice!
• Drinks and final dinner on the beach at sunset with faculty, staff and students—share our experiences by bonfire.

Friday, March 13, 2009
Adventure Day!

To help with your planning, remember you are responsible for tour and meal costs on this day. In addition, tour assistance will be offered on-site, there is no need to book any adventure tour prior to your arrival.

• Vans depart for adventure tours (Southern Expeditions)
• Tentative options:
   Sierpe and Corcovado National Parks
   Manuel Antonio Park
   Surfing lessons with Dominical Surf & Adventures
   Shopping in San Ysidro
   Quiet day of reflection and walks at Hacienda Baru National Wildlife
  

• Return from Adventures
  
• Dinner “on the road”
  
• Pack up/retire

Saturday, March 14, 2009

• Breakfast at Hacienda Baru
  
• Vans return for San Jose by 2 pm for late afternoon flights via the Cerro del la Muerte, Costa Rica’s highest road (8,000 ft.)

*Alcoholic beverages are not included in the trip costs.

Please be advised the itinerary is subject to change to take advantage of opportunities or conditions that may arise before or during the course of the trip.