A Costa Rican Thanksgiving

Cross cultural exchange is one of the things we value here at Costa Rica Outward Bound: both learning about someone else's culture and sharing our traditions with others.

This week is Thanksgiving, and us gringos here on base are excitedly preparing a Thanksgiving dinner that we can share with our Tico friends. However, it's not always easy to find traditional Thanksgiving ingredients here, so we've been adapting our family recipes using more easily found, local ingredients.

Here's a traditional Thanksgiving favorite from one of our staff,  with a Tico twist:

Platano Casserole with Oatmeal Cookie Topping The original recipe called for sweet potatoes, but platanos (plantains) are much cheaper and more abundant here in Costa Rica so they have been substituted for this Tico Thanksgiving! 7 large ripe Plantains (platanos maduros) 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/4 cup fresh orange juice 1/4 cup sweet orange marmalade 1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger-root 2 teaspoons salt For topping Fourteen 3-inch crisp oatmeal cookies, broken into pieces (about 3 cups), 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces Preheat oven to 450°F. and butter a baking dish, 13 by 9 by 2 inches. Prick potatoes and bake on a foil-lined baking sheet in middle of oven until very soft, about 1 1/2 hours. Scoop flesh into a large bowl and mash with butter, sugar, juice, marmalade, ginger-root, and salt. Spread potato mixture evenly in baking dish. Potato mixture may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring potato mixture to room temperature before proceeding. Make topping: In a food processor grind cookies fine. Add butter and pulse motor until mixture resembles soft cookie dough. Wrap topping in wax paper and chill until firm, about 2 hours. Topping may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Preheat oven to 400°F. Crumble topping over potato mixture and bake in middle of oven until topping is browned lightly, about 25 minutes

Halloween in Costa Rica

This weekend is Halloween! Time for candy and costumes, ghosts and ghouls. While Halloween isn't a traditional Costa Rican holiday, it is quickly gaining prominence, especially among the younger Ticos. Here is a great blog post from "Eye On Costa Rica" about Halloween in CR!

Halloween….in Costa Rica. A Happy Holiday?...: "Well, it’s almost that time of year again, October 31st, when countries like the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, France and many other countries around the world celebrate Halloween. A mostly unfamiliar tradition in Costa Rica..."

Carnaval in the Caribbean

This week is Carnaval in Limón, Costa Rica. Limón, which is a port town on the central Caribbean coast, is famous for having the largest Carnaval celebration in all of Costa Rica. It's a cultural celebration that has also become a major tourist spectacle, attracting thousands of visitors from across Costa Rica and abroad.

The week-long festival which began last Wednesday celebrates La Día de las Culturas, or the Day of Cultures. This makes its setting in Limón fitting, since the Caribbean coast is a melting pot of Spanish-Costa Rican, African and Caribbean Culture.

Leading the festivities are the comparsas, or the traditional dance groups. The term comparsas applies to any traditional dance group in any Latino part of the world, but at the Limón Carnaval the comparsas are truly the spirit of the Caribbean city during the festival celebrations.

Tico Comparsas spend the entire year leading up to Carnaval carefully combining Africa, Caribbean and Costa Rican motifs into their dances, costumes and music. They will be center stage on Saturday, when Limón Carnaval culminates with a street party un-matched anywhere in Costa Rica.

 Check out the video above to watch some comparsas in action!

How to Keep in Touch With Students on Course

As part of Costa Rica Outward Bound program, we remove the distractions of the outside world. This means no MP3 players, computers or cell phones while on course. We do this in order to help students disconnect from the high-tech world they live in so they can enjoy their experience here in Costa Rica.

That does not mean it is impossible to contact with students while they are in Costa Rica. Here are several easy ways to keep in touch with students while they are on course.


Facebook:
Facebook is a great way to stay up-to-date on what students are doing while they are on course. We post regular updates on our Fan Page about the whereabouts and activities of students, as well as upload photos from course. NOTE: While we wish we could post photos more often, our social media staff does not have access to students or their cameras until they return to base. Please be patient - we put up photos as soon as we get them in the office!

Viewing photos and updates is easy once you become a fan of Costa Rica Outward Bound's Facebook Page! Here's how you do it:

Become a Fan:
Step 1: Log into Facebook

Step 2: Copy and paste http://www.facebook.com/crrobs into your address bar
(This will take you to the Costa Rica Outward Bound Fan Page)

Step 3: Click on the "Like" button at the top

Congratulations, you have officially become a fan of Costa Rica Outward Bound! Now you can post on our wall, make comments on our posts and look at photos of students on course.

NOTE: Students will not have access to the internet while they are on course, so they will not be able to see or respond to your wall posts. If you have a more personal, private or important message to send to your student while he/she is on course, please follow the instructions for how to email students on course.

In case of emergency, Facebook should only be used as a last-resort method of contacting us. Please refer to our Emergency Contact Procedure for more information on how to contact students during an emergency.

E-Mail:
The best way to communicate directly with a student is to send an email to students@crrobs.org. Please include the student's name and course in the subject line. Any email received in this manner will be printed out and given to students as soon as it becomes possible. Letters may be delivered on re-supply days, or when the students return to base. Additionally, students on longer courses may have the opportunity to write emails to their friends and family on their transition days, although we cannot guarantee that will be the case for every course.


Telephone:
When they first arrive on base after landing in Costa Rica, all students are required to contact their families to assure they arrived safely. After this point however, students will only have access to the telephone in an emergency situations. If you want to speak to one of the office staff, we are happy to answer any questions or address any concerns you may have.

International Toll Free Numbers:
1-800-676-2018
1-800-531-2037

• We are reachable between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. MST.
• If you are calling outside of those hours, please leave us a message and one of our staff members will return your call as soon as we are back in the office.
• In the case of an emergency that occurs outside of these hours, please refer to our Emergency Contact Procedure.

Mail:
We do not encourage families or friends to send physical mail to students while they are here for one simple reason: It most likely won't arrive until after the student has left Costa Rica. Mail to and from Costa Rica can often take an excessively long time to be delivered. For example, an Easter package that was sent to one of our staff members in April did not arrive on base until early September.

That being said, If you absolutely must send mail to a student while they are here, it can be sent to the address listed below. Please note that it is a P.O. Box, so packages larger than a deck of cards will be returned to sender.

CRROBS
PO Box 1817-2050
San Pedro, San Jose
Costa Rica 02050

NOTE: Letters and packages sent by courier or certified mail will not be accepted.


Keep in Touch!
Here are some ways to stay up to date on the happenings at Costa Rica Outward Bound (even after your student has left course.)

1. Follow us on Twitter
2. Keep reading our Blog!
3. Sign up for our Newsletter



EMERGENCY CONTACT PROCEDURE:
In the event of an emergency in which you must contact a student on course, please follow these instructions:

1. If you are trying to reach us between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. MST

Call one of our primary office numbers:

    Primary International Number        1-800-676-2018

    Primary Costa Rica Number          +506-2278-6062    (If calling internationally, dial 011-506-2278-6062)

NOTE: Messages left after 5 pm are checked the following weekday morning


2. If you need to reach us between 5 pm - 9 am (MST) on a weekday, or on a weekends

Call one of our Costa Rican lines (in the following order)

    Communication Director Home: +506-2278-6085     (If calling internationally, dial 011-506-2278-6085)
    Communication Director Mobile: +506-8352-1329     (If calling internationally, dial 011-506-8352-1329)

    Program Director Home: +506-2278-6102     (If calling internationally, dial 011-506-2278-6102)
    Program Director Mobile: +506-8323-5037     (If calling internationally, dial 011-506-8323-5037)

    Executive Director Mobile: +506-8883-9838     (If calling internationally, dial 011-506-8883-9838)


3. If none of the above methods worked

Send an email to enrollment@crrobs.org

Send a fax to one of the following:

     1-866-374-2483
     +506-2-278-6059

NOTE: Always leave return contact numbers and indicate the action you would like CRROBS to take regarding communication.

Bringing Your Surfboard: The Ugly Truth

Getting a new surfboard is really exciting. You have the chance to get to know the board, know the feel of it, the thickness and the balance points. You know how to take the drop, how much speed you'll get and how to carve on it. It's easy to get attached. So when its time to take a surf-trip, of course you want to bring along the board you love best.

While once-upon-a-time, all you needed was a passport and a board bag to have an international surf adventure, airlines have started to make it more and more difficult for surfers to travel with their boards. These days, oversized baggage fees, undersized planes and travel embargoes are normal roadblocks for traveling surfers run into.

Because of these things, we at Costa Rica Outward Bound don't always recommend bringing your own board on course. It often is more trouble than its worth. Plus, we have a great selection of boards from 5'4" fish to 10'6" longboards and everything in between), so if you're renting from us, you're bound to find something you'll love shredding on.

If you are set on brining your own board however, here is an excerpt from a great article from www.ijustsurf.com, with up-to-date information on taxes and fees for traveling with surfboards, by airline.

Aero Mexico

www.aeromexico.com

800-237-6639

$65 One-way per board, maximum length 9ft – packed

Air Pacific

www.airpacific.com

800-227-4446

Varies Variable Excess Baggage Charge + $22 “Bulky Item” charge.

Air New Zealand

www.airnewzealand.com

800-262-1234

Free As part of your two-bag limit, otherwise $80. Max. length is 6½ ft.

Alaska

www.alaskaair.com

800-252-7522

$50/$75 63-80 in/81-115 in. One-way per bag.

American Airlines

www.aa.com

800-433-7300

$100/$150 Domestic/International. One-way per bag under 70 lbs.

Continental*

www.continental.com

800-523-3273

EMBARGO IN EFFECT No surfboards allowed on Continental flights to Latin America from June 4, 2009 through August 20, 2009. Embargo also in force during Christmas and Easter.

Delta*

www.delta.com

800-221-1212 $175

Domestic/$300 International One-way per board.

Hawaiian Air

www.hawaiianair.com

800-367-5320

$100 One-way. Two boards max. per bag, Max height 11ft.

Japan Air

www.japanair.com

800-525-3663

$50/$350 $50 for the first board. $350 a piece for others.

Jet Blue*

www.jetblue.com

800-538-2583

$50 One-way per bag. *No excess baggage (including surfboards) allowed on flights to the Santo Domingo or Santiago

Lan

www.lan.com

866-435-9526

Free; Cannot exceed 80″ or 99 lb.

Mexicana

www.mexicana.com

800-531-7921

$65 One-way per bag, Max 100″

Northwest

www.nwa.com

800-225-2525

$175 One-way per bag. Max 109″

Qantas

www.qantas.com.au

800-227-4500

Free as part of your two bag limit. Otherwise $53 each way.

South African Airlines

www.flysaa.com

800-722-9675

Free As part of your two bag limit, not exceeding 109″, otherwise, $125

Southwest

www.southwest.com

800-435-9792

$50/ $150 international Domestic/International. One-way per bag (2 boards per bag). No size restrictions.

United*

www.united.com

800-864-8331

$175/$250 Under 109″/Over 109″, One-way per bag, 2 boards per bag

Virgin Atlantic

www.virgin-atlantic.com

800-821-5438

Free, limit one per customer.

BONUS FEES!

SEASONAL SURFBOARD EMBARGOS

Depending on the time of year, some airlines won’t even take your surfboard — for any excess baggage charge. See the list below, and ask any airline, especially if you’re booking during peak travel times.

DELTA

Excess baggage (including surfboards) is NOT accepted from June 3 through August 31 to the following cities: Guayaquil, Ecuador (GYE), Quito, Ecuador (UIO), San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL), Guadalajara, Mexico (GDL), Leon, Mexico (BJX), Zacatecas, Mexico (ZCL). Also, no bag over 50 lbs or 62 linear inches will be accepted for travel during the period.

CONTINENTAL

Surfboards and Wakeboards will not be accepted during an excess baggage embargo when no excess baggage is allowed (0 pieces). Exception: Surfboards and Wakeboards will be accepted to Costa Rica during an embargo period. Continental does not accept excess baggage in the following YEAR ROUND embargoed markets: Caracas, Venezuela (CCS); Houston, Texas to Bogota, Colombia (BOG) Lima, Peru (LIM) San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL) Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI) Tortola, British Virgin Islands (EIS)

UNITED

Travel to Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador

The checked baggage policy for travel from (and via) Los Angeles to Costa Rica and Guatemala effective February 18, 2005, is as follows: During the peak summer travel period of May 28-September 6, and the peak winter travel period of December 4, 2005-January 6, 2006, customers are limited to the number and size of their checked baggage. The following guidelines apply to all customers: Maximum linear dimensions: 62 linear inches/157cm (length + width + height) each. No oversize, overweight or extra bags will be accepted. (= NO SURFBOARDS) Only one box is permitted as part of a customer’s free allowance; it must be the original manufacturer’s box containing the original item.

Side note: it's not uncommon for surfers who prefer to surf their own board to purchase one when they arrive in Costa Rica. Its often more economical than paying round-trip airline fees, and frequently they are able to sell the boards before leaving the country, virtually eliminating all any expense. Should you chose this option, Costa Rica Outward Bound's local surf instructors can help you find and purchase a new or used board for your Costa Rica surf adventure.