Canterbury's Dedication to Costa Rica

An obsession, or a passion worth sharing?

Canterbury School's Spanish teacher would argue the latter.

For six years, Sheena Neece has returned to Costa Rica with a different - and larger - group of her Spanish students. This year, she and fellow chaperone Ryan Butcher brought 15 eager and excited students: Adrian Alea, Courtney Bagans, Sami Blaze, Alexandra Dadrat, Jace Eddy, Alex Feiock, Rachel Hachero, Janet Hamilton, Alexis Macdermott, Julianne McDonough, Talia Moorey, Joey Nicotra, Carl Nist-Lund, Amy VanPelt, and Angel Zambrano to "spread the passion" through activities such as waterfall rappelling, cooking, hiking, tree climbing, milking cows, sugar cane harvesting, and meeting homestay families.

And this itinerary hasn't changed much in six years.

Originally, when she planned this trip, she had similar goals. "I sought a unique adventure that reached beyond the formulaic Costa Rican experience commonly illustrated in travel magazines. I also hoped that students would gain a sense of leadership, self-reliance, and personal accomplishment.... And Costa Rica Outward Bound created an adventure-packed week that exceeded my expectations. I watched as the students’ eyes widened as I read aloud the itinerary, which included a waterfall rappel, three homestays, a 15-hour solo and a day at Manuel Antonio beach." (Click here for a satellite map; the arrow is about one inch west of where our base is located.)

"The daily chores such as milking cows, cooking meals, and making cheese... gave students a greater appreciation for their meals and a new perspective on life."

New perspective is not the only reason for Sheena's return every year. "Students immediately learned the importance of time efficiency and teamwork. They were each assigned jobs to maintain the daily flow of activities, and we held nightly meetings to reflect on the days’ events.... During the waterfall rappel two students and I overcame our fear of heights, and similar endeavors resulted in exceptional personal successes.... We had accomplished so many things, faced so many challenges, and overcome so many obstacles. The experience will undeniably remain an important part of our life journey."

But what did the students think?

"It was the best trip I have ever had, and I will NEVER forget it or the aweseome people who were with me."

"It was a life-changing experience that I will forever remember."

"It was a life-enhancing experience that can only be described as 'food for the soul.'"


And Sheena expects this year's fifteen students to experience the same feelings.

Canterbury School: Meet Their Instructors

When Canterbury School - of Fort Myers, FL - signed up to come to Costa Rica (for the sixth time!) to improve their Spanish, they got what they asked for. There's not one gringo leading their course this week; and the Ticos that are leading it might just be stubborn enough not to use their English.

Meet these three Costa Rican natives who are helping the 17 Canterbury participants improve their Spanish while hiking, camping, waterfall rappelling, surfing, and cooking.

Orlando Zamora, Lead Instructor

Hometown: Piedras Blancas, Costa Rica
About: Orlando is arguably the strongest instructor we have at Costa Rica Outward Bound (and possibly in the entire country). He not only built his house for his wife and five kids, but he carried their cast iron stove 15 km to his house on mountainous rainforest terrain. More recently, he carried the large cistern (water tank) 12 km to the small village of Valle Escondido when University of Alabama did a water supply service project there last month.

Emma Zamora, Land Instructor

Hometown: Piedras Blancas, Costa Rica
About: When Emma, Orlando's oldest daughter, is not on course, she is living and working back on our base as the chef. Known to pass the time in between meals watching telenovelas and puppet shows, she also loves to get dressed up for special occasions.






Diego Chinchilla, Land Instructor
Hometown: Cartago, Costa Rica
About: Diego may be quiet at first, but his lovable and good-humored personality quickly draws positive attention from all of his students and compañeros. He's a Tico who has farmed the majority of his adult life when not working as a Costa Rica Outward Bound instructor. These two jobs have not taken away from his dancing skills. While he may be hesitant at first, the man can dance. His favorite type of Latin music for this is Cumbia.

Going for the Gold

This does not refer to this month's winter Olympians in Vancouver, but rather, it does refer to some other Canadians.

They are the students of Trinity College School of Ontario, and they are about to complete their final stage of the Duke of Edinburgh Program for receiving the Gold Award here in Costa Rica with Outward Bound.

Leaders Jen Powles (Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator), Tom Tansley (Health & Physical Education Teacher), Laura Tansley (his wife), and Alex Oosterhof (Student Teacher) have accompanied 14 Trinity College students to the rainforest, all of whom are striving to achieve the coveted Gold Award this week through backpacking, homestays, rafting, surfing, and more.


This is no standard high school award program. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is internationally-renowned (run in 120 countries), and it can take about two years to accomplish all three levels (Bronze, Silver, and Gold). It requires an expedition, 45 hours of community service, a six-month hobby, and sport participation for 20 weeks (with a minimum of 2 hours a week).

Costa Rica has been no vacation for these high-achievers. Students in this particular "expedition" group must:

• turn in a map of what they walked, complete with lunch and breaks mapped out
• do 8 hours of activity each day
• travel 20km a day
• have a main expedition of 3 nights and 4 days, with 1 “preparation” day beforehand

The purposes of this Gold Award achievement? Well, they're very similar to our own mission at Costa Rica Outward Bound, actually. Students set their own goals and choose their own activities in the four areas of the program: Community Service, Personal Skill Development, Physical Recreation, and Adventurous Journey. The D of E mission states:

To inspire, guide and support young people in their self-development and recognise their achievements.

Participants have until they are 24 years old to complete this. Upon completing the Gold Award they receive a pin and certificate presented by a member of the Royal family at a ceremony.

Costa Rica Outward Bound & Outward Bound USA?

"Are these related? If so, how?"

These are among some of our most common questions. And simply put, Costa Rica Outward Bound and Outward Bound USA are both under the umbrella organization Outward Bound International.

All Outward Bound Schools worldwide receive their charters via Outward Bound International. OBI is governed by a council made up of representatives from each licensed member school.

The internal vision of Outward Bound International is:

To promote and protect the good name of Outward Bound throughout the world, and to assist in the establishment, development and support of Outward Bound Centers able to provide safe, high quality programs that fulfill the Mission of Outward Bound.

All Outward Bound charters follow this mission:

To help people discover and develop their potential to care for themselves, others
and the world around them through challenging experiences in unfamiliar settings.

The main differences between Costa Rica Outward Bound and Outward Bound USA? Mainly, it's the offered courses. See the web sites (linked in the previous sentence) for course offerings. Oh, and you'll need a passport to come on our Costa Rica Outward Bound courses, of course.

Getting from one ocean to another

How many of us can say that we went from one ocean to another without the use of transportation?

Not many, but our Tri-Country students can.

It took 28 days, about 200 kilometers, twenty days of hiking, 14 nights camping, a 72-hour solo, meeting and helping 14 homestay families, a rest in hot springs, a volcano visit, two days of rafting, and two days of kayaking to finally reach the Caribbean today. Grand total? 28 days.


The cross-country trek was their first and most difficult phase, but it does not lack significance for the 17-24-year-olds. One Tri-Country alumnus reported, "The hike brought about a huge feeling of accomplishment... rafting gave me a new skill that I'm sure I'll use in the future, and kayaking was all around amazing."

We will finally get to see their tired, buff, dirty, healthy selves tonight on base. Maybe they will tell us about their lessons on ecotourism, water issues, Costa Rican culture, or the rainforest. Or maybe they will tell us about their bruises and scrapes from tree climbing, sugar cane harvesting, waterfall rappelling, hiking, soccer, or kayaking. Or just maybe they'll be too tired.