CVHS group travels to Costa Rica

Some teenagers can only dream of zip-lining through a tropical forest or hiking through the remnants of a volcano. Last summer, 15 CVHS students were able to make this dream a reality.

Following his annual summer tradition of taking CVHS students on a tour through a foreign country, history teacher Jason Marlis led a trip to Costa Rica for nine days at the end of June. The tour group, consisting of Marlis, visual arts teacher Adrian Lopez, 15 students, and one parent chaperone, coordinated with Education First Educational Tours during the trip.

The tour began with a flight to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. From there, the tour group traveled west and then, in a figure-eight formation throughout the country, saw the port city of Tortuguero, looped into Arenal Volcano, visited lakes and hot springs, and ended up in the western coastline city of Guanacaste.

“The most memorable part was doing all the fun nature activities like hiking, swimming by a waterfall, zip-lining, stand up paddleboard fishing, and whitewater rafting,” said senior Zanah Johnson.

Throughout the tour, the group traveled by charter bus and, where there were no paved roads, used speedboats to traverse canals, lowlands, and swamps. They lodged in relatively nice hotels and ate plenty of rice and beans along the way.

“The running joke of the country is that everything you eat is rice and beans,” explained Marlis.

To some adults, taking teenagers to a foreign country may seem to be more effort than it is worth. However, Marlis explains, “I’ve traveled the world a lot. I’m a little old of it and a little bored of it. So it’s fun to live vicariously through young people who haven’t traveled.”

Next summer, Marlis plans to take a tour group through major sites in France and Italy. For more information, see Marlis in Room 304 or teacher Kevin Batchelor in Room 310.