Animales de Costa Rica

     Aquí hemos visto muchos animales diferentes.  Abajo hay un video corto de una largatija pequeña.  También vimos colibrí, changos, cangrejos, perricos y otras cosas.  Abajo les pongo más fotos de ellos.  Los animales que viven aquí son muy diferentes de los que viven en Colorado.  Necesitan más calor y más lluvia. 

     Hoy es el ultimo día de este viaje.  Mañana nos regresamos a Colorado. 

 

A crab on the beach at night

Bats sleeping from the roof during the day - heads down, feet up!

The howler monkeys passed very close to us.  They were SOOO loud!

Bosques lluviosos

Well, we had a great time at the volcano and seeing the waterfall there.  I am trying to post some more videos, but having some problems getting that to work.

The next day, we were going to the beach, but we missed the bus, so we ended up in Monteverde (the cloud forest) first.  It was so beautiful!  It rained when we first got there - a LOT!, but that's what happens there.  We got dirty and muddy and wet and it was very fun. While we were there, we went on a "canopy tour".  The canopy is the part of a forest that is way up in the tops of the trees.  A lot of things live up there that we never see if we just stay on the ground.  Whole life cycles of some plants and animals take place up in the tops of the trees!  I think it's pretty amazing.  Some of the trees are very very old, and they all have other plants living on top of them.  Rain forests are very crowded, and the plants have to fight for sunlight, water, and soil space!  That's why some plants grow up high in the canopy, because then the rain and sun can reach them better.  For some trees, their seeds start growing up in the canopy of another tree, and the roots grow down, down, down until they reach the soil.  Some trees, like the strangler figs in Monteverde, wrap their roots around the tree they start growing in, and over years and years, they kill that tree! 

The canopy tour was a way to get high up in the trees.  Parts of it were scary, but very fun.  There were cables to zip across and a Tarzan swing and a rope bridge.  I was nervous to do the Tarzan swing and the guy PUSHED me!!!!

Here are some pictures of the canopy tour:

We swung across long cables

Climbing way up high to the canopy!

This is me on the "superman" cable.  It went from one mountain to another!

We needed LOTS of safety equipment!

Here is another video from the rain forest at La Fortuna, near Arenal volcano:

Here are some more rain forest photos from La Fortuna and Monteverde:

Videos!

Here are some videos I made while I was around Arenal.  Which one do you like best?  What can you learn from them?

Saliendo de San José

     Ya tenemos casi cinco días de estar aquí.  Nos estamos disfrutando mucho.  Hemos conocido bien la ciudad y en unas horas nos vamos a montar en un camión para ir al Volcán Arenal.  Uno de los hermanos de Sonia nos acompaña.  El otro tiene que trabajar.

   







Alla vamos a ver y escuchar el volcán.  Vamos a ir a donde hay algunas aguas termales, donde nos podemes nadar en agua que viene de un río ahí pero que está caliente por causa del volcán.  Se llama Tabacón.
     Lee las dos páginas de arriba y escribenme algo que aprendiste.

In San José

    San José is a pretty big city.  It is busy and noisy and crowded.  I like it because it reminds me of when I used to live here.  You can find almost anything here and there are always people around. We have been out to eat a lot and had a lot of gallo pinto.  I don't know why, but it is much yummier here than when I make it at home!  The hotel we are staying at is pretty nice.  I love the garden with the swimming pool in the middle of it.  Even though it is in the middle of the city, you feel like you are in your own quiet place.  Except for one thing.  In the morning, a train passes by so close that it wakes me up really early!
    We have been doing a lot of things.  We drove up into the mountains above Heredia to a place called El Castillo.  We went to see a scary movie about a haunted building in Cartago.  Today we went to a park called Parque la Sabana.  It was so beautiful there!  We heard parakeets and saw the world's cutest baby ducks.   The flowers and trees there - even in a big city park - are beautiful!

San José marketplace

Little restaurants everywhere!

Guess what kind of tree?

This is an old fort.  Now it is a museum!

     We will get out of the city soon hopefully, but we are trying to spend lots of time with Sonia's brothers.  They are great and we are spending lots of time with them.

Faltan 2 días...

Hoy les quiero explicar algunos hechos de Costa Rica.

En Costa Rica, su dinero se cuenta en colones en vez de dolares.  Un dolar es igual a mas o menos 500 colones ahora.

En Costa Rica, todos los niños usan uniforme en la escuela.  La mayoría son de azul y blanco, pero algunas escuelas los tienen diferentes.  Abajo, se puede ver como era el uniforme de Sonia en su escuela.  ¿Está muy bonita, no crees?

La bandera de Costa Rica tiene rojo, azul, y blanco - igual a la de los EEUU.  Cada color tiene un significado.

 El himno nacional a mi me gusta mucho porque muestra el orgullo que tienen los ticos (costarricenses) por su país.

La comida típica incluye muchos arroz y frijoles, incluso para desayunar en la forma de lo que se llama "gallo pinto".  ¡También comen un arroz con pollo increíble!

La ropa tradicional es muy bonita, pero no es lo que usan todos los días.  Tienen faldas largas con muchas colores. Ya se visten así solo para celebrar algunos días especiales.

La cultura en Costa Rica es unico y la gente quiere mucho a su país.  Cuando visitas a cualquier otro país, vale la pena aprender algo acerca de su culltura y costumbres.

¿Cuáles preguntas tienen acerca de la vida en Costa Rica?

Four more days!

This is a map of Costa Rica.  San Jose is the capital city.  Can you find it in the middle of the country?  Other spots to look for that we may visit:  Monteverde, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Samara, Arenal (Volcano)


Costa Rica is in Central America, South of Mexico.  It is in between Nicaragua and Panama.

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 There are beaches, rivers, mountains, volcanoes, and rain forests in Costa Rica.

Here are some photos of some great places I have been:

If you were going to Costa Rica, what would you want to see?  Write to me about it on our class blog.