We just got back from Cost Rica.   It was fun. We got to do a lot of fun things  like going on the zip line and  going horse back riding and we got to stay under a volcano . It was cool. We got to go to a natural swimming hole and go on a rope swing.  It was fun. We got to go cliff jumping too and it  was fun.  I jumped off the water fall in to the pool. It was very fun for me.  I got to drink a lot of coffee. It was very good.  We got to go in to the towns and buy food and I got the best brownie that I have ever had. We got to go shopping to. It was cool to see that you can bargain with the locals. It was fun and cool how it is very different then the US. Then we got to go the the beach. It was cool. The first day we went   to the park. It was cool to see the monkeys.  And we  got some cool tans and sun burn. It was a fun day. The second  day we went to the beach again and got some surf boards and boogie  boards . and some guys got to go shopping. It was a lot of fun. Over all we had a very fun trip and can not wait for the next one.

The Rebels Head to Costa Rica 

Aaron Gordon

            Our 4^th expedition to Costa Rica was unbelievably awesome!  It was more like a mini vacation.  We went to the beach, hung out in natural swimming holes, and went zip- lining and horseback riding.  The weather was nice and the people were nicer.  Also, the addition of “Big John” Wilson, the Executive Director of SOAR, just made our trip more worthwhile.

            While we were waiting in the Charlotte Airport, Big John entertained us with numerous card tricks.  He DAZZELED us with his magic and was just overall fun.  He was definitely not the person I was expecting him to be.  He turned out to be a real cool cat.  He was chill as a cucumber. 

            Costa Ricans are possibly some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.  Their overall attitude towards others is unlike anyone else in the world.  They come to help, even if you don’t ask for it.  The Costa Rican kindness definitely made our trip that much better. 

            The Costa Rican sun is also one-of-a-kind.  The weather throughout the entire trip was beautiful and hot.  The day we arrived in Costa Rica, it was like 84*.  Weather was the defining part of our vacation. The only bad part about Costa Rica was the sunburns.  But out of the bad, comes the good.  I got a sweet tan.

Isaac's Costa Rica trip

Costa Rica expedition

On this trip we went to Costa Rica. It was a lot more like a vacation and one of the SOAR directors went with us. His name was Big Jon. Big Jon was a cool director and had some good stories to tell us. The first night we ate from some hole in the wall places that rocked. The next day we went to” La Fortuna” (in Spanish). We were only staying at the bottom of a volcano that had not exploded in two to three months. We went to the hot springs at Los Lagos’s and went horseback riding and then zip lining. The swimming pools are hot and cold. After “La Fortuna” we went to “Capos” (in Spanish) which is by the beach and National forest of Costa Rica. I have been in that same area when I went to same Costa Rica with my dad. We did one beach day. That was the trip.

Coata Rica SOAR Blog

This expedition the Rebel Tribe went to Costa Rica. During our first day in Costa we went to a hotel in San José. Then we went out to eat at random places throughout the city. In Costa we were really lucky to get the great guide named Willy. Willy drove us all over the country and took us to really good restaurants called sodas. We stayed at the base of a volcano that was normally active, but don’t worry it has been only building up for the last few months. We went horse riding and this is how it sounded ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow. After that we went to a water hole with a rope swing about 25ft above the water. I went off spinning like a top and slammed into the water face first while spinning. It was amazingly fun. We also jumped off water falls at this water hole. We went to the beach two days in a row. Day one I got really baldly burned and stared a trend. I laid down in the surf and let the waves push and pull me back and forth. A little kid was copying me and so were a few group members and another school group. The same day Willy made us a fruit stand it was really good. The next day I put on a water shirt and didn’t get burned much worse. I bought all my friends and family gifts. Me and some other of my group members got into the water and just let the waves pummel up while others surfed. Then we went way too far out and had to be rescued by the life guards. There weren’t many life guards out there. We went back to San José on our last day and walked around again. On the last day I met some people from Sweden they were really cool. We flew back the next day.

Anders newest blog

Hello again my loyal fans.

            Today’s blog is going too be a special one. My group and I were recently one our most adventurous expedition yet. We have just arrived home from a glorious vacation in the blazing sun of Costa Rica.

            This blog is going to be telling you all about all of the amazing new experiences and amazing views that we saw along the way.

            The activities that we participated in were very different each time, almost a world apart. We went from horse riding on the ground, to flying over the canopies like birds flying in the air. We were hiking in ravines, and dropping off of rope swings into beautiful clear water.

            Each activity was amazing, and different. Each had its highs and lows, though mostly highs.

            While we were doing many of our activities, there were special moments that I will never forget. Some of these are:

            My first highlight of this expedition was when we were horse back riding. We were riding our mounts by the base of an active volcano. This is now a little scary; because the volcano was due to erupt any day. Pretty scary right! Well, we were riding along, and my horse was starting to lag behind, so I gave it a little nudge with my heels to prod it along. Without warning, my horse bolts for the other group at a full out sprint. I couldn’t say that I had ever been more surprised in my life. I was pretty sure that I would just have a heart attack and fall off my horse, but of course that didn’t happen because I am typing this to you right now.

            Another really interesting story was when I was swimming, and attempting to surf. Sure I have surfed before, but I could never get up on the board and stay on it. I swear that the board that I was using had it in for me, because on one particularly large wave, I attempted to get up only to have my board slide out from under me and rap me on the shins. After getting out of the water to inspect the area that was smacked by the board, had the beginning of a nice bruise forming.

            These were the two most fantastic stories from our trip I feel.

Besides the really cool activities that we participated in, the feeling of being in a foreign country, and not knowing all of the proper customs, was really interesting. I felt like I didn’t belong there, but also did at the same time. You could almost compare it to a guy who accidently walked into the woman’s bathroom.

            My most favorite aspect of Costa Rica was the system in which it used to trade, and sell goods. The system they use is called bartering. This means that a seller of goods is allowed to make his own price, and change it however he feels. This then allows the buyer to try and haggle for a lower price. I personally along with most of our group felt that we were pretty good at haggling, even thought I bet that we still overpaid them.

Well this is the end of this blog; stay tuned for next week’s blog,

Anders Deboom

Costa Rica Expedition

       Costa Rica Expedition By Chris Veno

            On Monday the group went to the Rec Center.  Doug and I went to the urgent care center to check on my sprained ankle.  At the urgent care center they took x rays on my ankle and determined it was only sprained.  On Tuesday we woke up at 5:00 and picked up Big John, then drove two hours to the airport.  At the airport I ordered a double cheeseburger from Burger King and it was tasty-nice.  Then we boarded the plane for Costa Rica.  On the flight to Costa Rica I sat next to Jon and we had some great conversations. 

          The first night in Costa Rica we walked around San Jose and ate dinner at Santa Clara, which is a bakery that is very good.  There are a lot of cool souvenirs in Costa Rica.  Then we went horseback riding.  We also went to Los Lagos to go swimming and it was awesome.  The next day we went zip lining and I hung upside down, beat my chest, and called like Tarzan!!  We had a lot of fun in Costa Rica. 

          On Saturday we went to the beach and went surfing and boogie boarding.  Alex, Isaac, Jon, and I had to be rescued by the lifeguard because we got taken out by a rip current.  Also at the beach, I was peeling and eating Tropical Almonds and they tasted like red bananas, which I love.  I also got a rad tan while in Costa Rica. 

Three of the things that I loved about Costa Rica By Jon Adkins

The first thing that I loved the most about Costa Rica was being able to go back to Los Lagos Hotel, Spa and Resort in Costa Rica. Some of the fun things that we did were go down one slide that is kind of short but is heated by the volcano and dumps you in the area next to the bar, and another slide that isn’t heated but twists and turns a lot before dumping you in a cool pool.

The second thing that I loved about Costa Rica was at the same place as the slides Los Lagos that on a different day we went on the canopy zip-line tours. Some that spanned about six-hundred meters. Another thing that we did was go horseback riding in some of the same areas that we did the zip-line tours and other parts going in view of a large river and around some mountains.

The third thing that I loved about Costa Rica was all the times that we went to the awesome beaches where most of us in the group would be body surfing and seeing how far inland we could go by the waves alone. After awhile we made a game out if it and it caught on quick because soon we even had kids around us copying us and playing the game.

In conclusion even though I have done all of the things before I will always remember the people that I did it with and what we did there.

The canopy by AT

On the Rebel Tribe’s trip to Costa Rica, the students and staff went to a zipline tour through the canopy. We had one more person with us and his name was Willy who was our driver for our van. He was driving us to and from places so he decided to come with us. We drove to the outfitters to outfit us with harnesses, helmets, and zipline equipment. Then the guides took us top the first zipline by driving us to it.  The guides were awesome and fun.  The first and second lines were fun and then they told us we could go upside down on the third one. I stepped up to do it and it was a wild ride. Everyone did go upside down and Jon, Sophie, and my other teammate did a superman movement on the zipline. It took about one hour to go on the first six ziplines. Then on the 8^th zipline we had to get all the speed to get to the other side. I went down and saw an amazing view. Overall we all made this experience an awesome memory. I hope the Outer Banks are this awesome and have the same adventures.