Day 9 and 10

     After days of going without AC finally we set out on a freezing cold bus to a new location. With the first few lines of Starships by Niki Minaj playing on repeat in our minds and the prospect of having some free beach time we made it through. After a quick pit stop at some grocery stores where we got to buy lots of delicious snacks, including two whole mangos, and a few more hours playing solitaire or napping on the bus we arrived at the hotel. We got a quick rest hour, some lunch (finally) and then headed out to the beach to learn about the different types of sea turtles that Verdiazul works to rescue. Although we were all looking forward to swimming in the ocean, lightning over the bay made us head back to the hotel. My hotel group had a snack and dance party where we got to listen all the way through Starships by Niki Minaj and then play some more solitaire. Dinner was fun, and afterwards we walked with Verdiazul along the beach looking for any turtle egg nests. Although we didn't find any turtles, we did see lots of hermit crabs scuttling around. After a long night we got back to the hotel to shower (where the hot water was nowhere to be found) and then finally curled up to got to sleep.

- Adele


Beach Time! We got to spend the morning block at the beach, which included 30 minute surf lessons and jumping with the waves. Sadly, the seashells weren't supposed to be taken away from the beach so they just taunted us with their beauty. Once we had enough salt water in our sinuses we went back to the motel for lunch. Some people went in the pool during their rest time, but my group went back to our rooms to rest and listen to music. We reconvened to go to the beach again but this time we picked up trash with the Verdiazul group. We split into 2 groups and had a competition to see who could collect more trash. Group 2 (the one I was in) won but everyone did a lot of work straining their eyes for microplastics. After a long day on the beach, some people were still salt water starved while others went back to the hotel to swim in the pool. We ate our last dinner in Costa Rica and then sat for a presentation about the second-year program SOC offers. Now we're signing off and prepping ourselves for a long day of travel!


- Emma









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