By Jolene FarleyTwenty Hills-Beaver Creek students and their three chaperones returned home from Costa Rica, Central America, Tuesday, June 10."I think it (the trip) was more than we expected," teacher and chaperone Teri Richards said. "We saw such an amazing array of land."The group witnessed volcanic eruptions, swam in the Pacific Ocean, visited active geysers and saw a wide variety of wildlife.They rode horseback up a mountain to the Continental Divide between the Caribbean and Pacific slopes."It was steep," Richards said. "It was not an easy little trail ride." The area they rode to, settled by Quakers, is kept remote on purpose, according to Richards. Quakers started the settlement in the 1950’s after leaving the United States in protest of the Korean War. Costa Rica, a pacifist country, has no armed forces. Richards was pleased with the guides provided by the travel agency for the trip. They spoke fluent English and Spanish. One guide, a science professor, was particularly helpful because of his knowledge of the native wildlife and plants. "He knew every animal and plant," Richards said. The Arenal Volcano, active and erupting since 1968, was 20 miles from the resort where the group stayed. They took a boat ride around the volcano and visited the mineral springs. A favorite activity was a one-day visit to Manuel Antonio National Park to swim in the ocean.Richards said the group didn’t have to worry about exchanging dollars for Costa Rican currency. U.S. dollars were accepted everywhere, but change was given in Costa Rican currency.Richards hopes to bring another group to the country in a few years. Science teacher Janette Vanden Hoek and her husband, Rick, were the other chaperones for the trip."It was a beautiful country," Richards said. "Very safe and clean, you could drink the water from the tap."
