Today was our first full day here in Costa Rica and we got to take the boat out for our first day of catching sea turtles. We threw out large nets into the bay then jumped into the water with snorkels to make sure the nets weren’t tangled and in proper position. We ended up … Continue reading Nets and Turtles and Snorkels, Oh My! by Cora Jones
Our first activity of the day was our orientation with Alice the biologist working on the project. We learned what was expected of us as assistants and what LAST purpose and goals were. After our orientation we gathered our supplies/lunch and headed out to the boats. The plan was to drop our nets, remove the … Continue reading Our first day on the water. Costa Rica is muy bonita! by Charlotte Brathwaite
May 9 and 10, 2014 These two days were so very exciting! We got off to a great start, netting a turtle as soon as we cast it out. It was a female Green Sea Turtle (scientific name: Chelonia mydas), and while I thought she looked rather large, she was relatively small as far as … Continue reading 8 Turtles in 2 Days – A Great Haul! by Michelle McKonly
First day with the turtles, or tortugas in Spanish. It was amazing! They had us throw out a net that was about 100 meters long. Then we all got in the water to untangle the net and make sure there weren’t any large knots. We caught a turtle immediately! Lucky for me, I was in … Continue reading May 9th, 2014 – Day of the Tortugas! by Jessica D’Ambrosio
We started our days getting up about 5:30 am. We had no idea when we got up that it was so early, because the sun was already up! Plus, we were still on Clearwater time, and it was 7:30 back home! A few of us got dressed and went on a walk to explore. The … Continue reading Our first day in the water! by Nicole Fahringer
We have finally made it to Costa Rica! After about 12 hours of traveling, we have made it to this beautiful country. We took a chartered bus to La Playa Blanca which gave us a great opportunity to see a lot of the country’s landscapes and ways of life. I was amazed at how diverse the … Continue reading A Country that Looks Like a Movie – Costa Rica by Jessica D’Ambrosio
And so the journey begins, and it is going to be a really long day for the girls and I, but it is going to be a lot of fun. I can’t wait to reach Greece and experience the people and the culture. It will definitely be a learning experience. Our day consists of not … Continue reading The Journey to Greece Begins by Carmen Mendez-Rivera
Today we arrived in Costa Rica. We landed in San Jose around 1:15pm central time. Immediately upon stepping outside of the airport, I realized how different our home is from here. The backdrop is nothing but mountains full of lush forests. Driving the 5 hours from the airport to our destination in Playa Blanca on … Continue reading The Start of our Study Abroad Journey in Costra Rica by Michelle McKonly
Day 1: Our day started EARLY as we all met in the Tampa Airport. Even though we were tired, everyone was very excited to finally get our trip started. We arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica at about 1:00pm. This was my first experience with customs. We were all given customs forms on the plane … Continue reading Arriving in Costa Rica! by Nicole Fahringer
G’day Mate! It has been a life-long dream of mine to go to Australia. I was given the opportunity to visit Australia this past summer. It was all that I thought it would be, and so much more. With that said, I thought how wonderful it would be to take a group of students to … Continue reading Study Abroad in Australia and New Zealand – Summer 2015 by Dawn Joyce