4 Weeks Guaterica (Start Costa Rica)

Monday and Thursday
07:30-08:30 - Breakfast
09:00-11:00 - Spanish Class
12:00-13:00 - Lunch
14:00-16:00 - Surf Lesson

Tuesday and Friday
07:30-08:30 - Breakfast
09:00-11:00 - Spanish Class
12:00-13:00 - Lunch
14:00-16:00 - Volunteering Session

Wednesday
07:30-08:30 - Breakfast
09:00-11:00 - All Day Hike
12:00-13:00 - Picnic
14:00-16:00 - Interactive Spanish Class

Wednesday is a full day out, the hike is about 7-10 kms walking (depending which hike we are doing ) and everyone can do it. It's not just hiking; we stop along the way to swim and picnic on a secret beach. In the late afternoon or evening, there is a group Interactive Spanish class. This interactive class can be cooking, games, or cultural activities. It will be either on the beach or back at the Jakera camp in the evening.

Evenings
In the evenings, we provide budget-friendly dinner choices (approximately $15), and multiple times a week we host various complimentary events such as dance classes, cooking sessions, game nights, karaoke and more.

Saturday
Morning - Little Breakfast
11:00-12:00 - Brunch
12:00-16:00 - Free day. If you want, you can try the additional weekend activities (not included)*.

*Additional weekend activities are available for an extra charge between $40 to $100. These includes horse riding, fishing, waterfalls and island tours.

Sunday
Brunch. The day is free for you to spend as you like!

The program includes a transfer to the airport from Santa Teresa/Monteverde on Sunday in the morning at the end of Week 2. You need to book your own flight (not included) to Guatemala on the same day after 16:00 or before 07:00 on Monday morning in order to start the program on time in Guatemala (we can help you with this). We will provide you with a night's accommodation in San Jose or Antigua depending on your flight.

Arrival at the airport and pickup
Have you arranged an Airport Transport to Antigua with us? Then our driver will wait for you at the exit of the airport. Take the one on the right side. Here our friendly driver will be waiting with a sign containing your name.

Welcome Walk Antigua
Antigua: Meeting point is Monday morning 08:30 in Adra hostel where your guide will receive you.

The first walk around this colourful new city is the most important, and is designed to make you feel comfortable and confident in your new surroundings and environment. We will point out the main facilities such as the ATMs, pharmacies, and grocery stores as well as places of historical significance. (approx. 2 hrs.)

Spanish Classes
Antigua: Located close to Adra Hostel, your Spanish lessons will be 2 x 45 minutes. Tuition is delivered by licensed teachers from the indigenous community. You receive a short test to establish your level and objectives on your first day. These lessons are tailored to suit all levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Classes are designed to help you interact and immerse with the local community and enjoy being in a Spanish speaking country. You will also have a chance to learn some of their native tongue.

Volunteering
Close to Antigua, on the way to one of the most famous viewpoints, we help by supporting a greenhouse-project to reforest the mountains. Working on this exclusive project includes gardening, cleaning of the environment, and helping to return the land on the mountain to its natural state. Due to the invasion of the non native Eucalyptus tree, the whole mountain suffers from dryness. Every person who volunteers there also means a immediate donation from 10$ per person and two more hands which are priceless.

A lot of non-native butterflies have found themselves migrating here meaning they can't find the right plants and flowers to live on so they struggle to survive in the foreign environment. The work they do at the farm is to accommodate these new butterflies so they have a safe and familiar habitat to live in. This involves trying to eradicate trees that have damaged the environment and instead plant native ones to give habitats back to the butterflies and birds again.

Guided Historical Tour of the City & Jade Museum
Antigua: La Antigua Guatemala, the first capital of Central America, is rich with culture and history. This city of nostalgic cobblestone streets represents in its ancient walls the rich heritage of the Hispanic colonial era. Churches, convents, monasteries, and large family houses are a beautiful and evocative monumental architectural complex. Included in the tour is a stop to the Casa Del Jade, where you will learn the secrets of the amazing and unusual ancient jade artefacts carved by the Mayans. (approx. 2-3hrs.)

Guided Hike to View Point Cerro de la Cruz
Antigua: Famous throughout the region, weaving through the colourful markets of Guatemala is an experience you won’t forget. Learn to navigate the isles and haggle like a local, be hypnotised by the colours, smell and taste of the delicious traditional clothes, jewellery, foods and spices available. Find anything you want among the array of goods available! (approx. 3hrs.)

Guided Tour of Markets
Antigua: Famous throughout the region, weaving through the colourful markets of Guatemala is an experience you won’t forget. Learn to navigate the isles and haggle like a local, be hypnotized by the colours, smell and taste of the delicious traditional clothes, jewelry, foods and spices available. Find anything you want among the array of goods available! (approx. 3hrs.)

Coffee Tour
Antigua: Our signature Coffee Tours are led by the coffee growers themselves who will lead you through their fields, explain the work behind cultivating coffee, walk you through each step of processing from bean to brew, and finish the tour by joining you for a cup of De La Gente coffee. Along the way, you’ll learn more than just the process behind coffee - you’ll have authentic and transparent conversations to hear first hand from a small-scale producer about the obstacles, triumphs, and hopes that his/her family and community has experienced within the coffee industry and the persisting enthusiasm and dedication that they have to this livelihood.

Included in the Coffee Tour
- Round-trip transportation from Antigua to the producer’s home
- Spanish-English interpretation
- Tour through the coffee fields including a demonstration of traditional roasting and grinding
- Cup of coffee at the producer’s home
- 12 ounce bag of roasted coffee

Coffee Tour Schedule
The shuttle picks up participants at 08:45 from Cafe Estudio which is located a few steps from Adra Hostel. The entire experience typically takes three and a half hours. You can expect to return back to Cafe Estudio at 12:15.

Chicken Bus and Chocolate Factory Tour
Hop on a local ‘chicken bus’ for a magical drive to San Juan del Obispo to immerse yourself in the local culture and visit an authentic artisanal Chocolate Factory to learn about the production process.

Monday morning around 08:00, you will be picked up in Adra Hostel and start the second chapter of your Guatemala Adventure. I could talk forever about Lake Atitlan but you will see it yourself. The ride takes about 3 hrs. and you will get dropped off at the pier of Panajachel, where our guide will receive you. You will jump on a Lancha (a little boat) and head to the Iguana Perdida with your guide.

Welcome Walk Lake Atitlan
Arriving at the dock in Panajachel, our guide will receive you and you will cross the lake by speedboat to Santa Cruz: The Iguana Perdida Hostel will be your home away from home. After your arrival, you will be taken on a tour of the beautiful steep and winding streets of Santa Cruz. Here you will be shown important points of interest such as the ATM, pharmacy, and grocery store. The guides will be on hand to point out/show you anything you would like to see!

Spanish Classes
Right beside the Lake, your Spanish Lessons will be 2 x 45 minutes (usually from 14:00-16:00). Tuition is delivered by licensed teachers from the indigenous community. These lessons are tailored to suit all levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Classes are designed to help you interact and immerse with the local community and enjoy being in a Spanish-speaking country. You will also have a chance to learn some of their native tongues.

Cooking and weaving classes in Santa Cruz
These two activities are designed to support the local community and help them perserve their ancient culture. We will be divided into small groups to work with local famlies who will show us how to turn local ingredients into a delicious lunch and how to weave their colorful fabrics!

Kayaking SUP and Yoga by the Lake Atitlan
Drifting across the water of Lake Atitlan, surrounded by panoramic views of multiple volcanoes brings you a truly unique experience. From your perspective point on your paddle board or kayak, the views of both the renowned Volcanoes and gazing back toward Santa Cruz are unrivaled. Equally, what better place to ‘breathe in, breathe out, when surrounded by such calm and tranquil scenery?

Weeks 1 and 2 in your program include 2 x 45 minute Spanish lessons from Monday to Friday (usually between 09:00-11:00 with breaks but subject to change depending on surf conditions). Tuition is delivered by accredited and licensed teachers and on the first day you will receive a short test to establish your level and objectives. These lessons will be tailored to suit all levels from beginner to intermediate and are designed to help you interact and immerse with the local community and enjoy being in a Spanish speaking country.

*On Wednesdays during Weeks 1 and 2, regular Spanish classes will be replaced with Interactive Spanish classes in the afternoons.

During weeks 1 and 2, you can enjoy surfing lessons.

4 surf lessons (approx. 2 hours) are delivered by a local professional surf instructor. As well as showing you the basics - or taking you to the next level - you learn basic safety principles taking into account local issues such as rip tides. Boards are provided for surf lessons (guided/supervised surfing). Additional lessons are available on request as well as board rental.

We would like you to enjoy Nicoya Peninsula - an area of outstanding natural beauty - so on selected Wednesdays we will explore our surroundings on foot. The first is a 2-hour ‘jungle river trek’ along a river that runs by Jakera Jungle Surf Camp and into the lush tropical forest that surrounds us. You will quickly find yourself ‘lost’ and wondering which direction the seemingly nearby beach is. This hike helps us to understand how the whole ecosystem works. There is a vast range of flora, including trees with specific medicinal applications. We begin to understand the beauty of this truly diverse location.

On the second Wednesday, we hike along the beach (approx. 1 hour) to the rock pools that the low tide exposes to discover the multitude of sea life that lives there and to enjoy a relaxing dip in the warm pools. The hikes will be in the camp’s surroundings and can vary upon time, weather and tide.

During weeks 1 and 2 (2-3 hours per day), you participate in volunteer projects designed to conserve and respect local natural resources. Project work is varied and priorities are seasonal and weather dependent.

However, most of our efforts are focused on the following areas:
Recycling & Bionics
We are leading the charge in our local community to create as many recycle stations and collection points for plastic waste in particular so that Bionics can easily collect it all once a week from main road. We have built two recycle stations on our street and this has reduced the normal garbage by 30 % or more. As a result on our street alone we collect a huge amount of plastic for Bionics each month. We clean the beaches of plastic once a week at least and participate in community clean ups on a monthly bases and this month collected close to a ton of recyclable rubbish in one day with the help of about 100 volunteers. We go once a week to the Bionics Depo 30 mins away in Cobano to help them clean, organise and package the plastic for shipment to the USA where they turn it into shoes, T-shirts, building blocks and a whole variety of consumer goods , hence giving real value to this recycled material. This is the future and this is what may just save the planet or make a difference at least. Once this "rubbish" has value people will start to take notice and collect it and turn it into something useful. This way we show our students the full cycle of events, how plastic gets into the eco system, how hard it is to take it out once it's in there, and finally the light at the end of the tunnel, what we can do with it once we collect it.

Beach Conservation
Here we work alongside the ‘Santa Teresa Lifeguards’. Having seen the amazing beaches of Santa Teresa, and adjoining Playa Hermosa and Playa Carmen, the recreational opportunities are clear. However, beaches need to be maintained to keep them clear of debris that not only looks unsightly but can cause harm to people and wildlife. Work includes promoting Lifeguard issues with regard to beach safety and etiquette (through signage, presentations and speaking to visitors), organizing clean ups with focus on recycling. We also invented a “Public Microplastic Collection” where we encourage beach walkers to collect some microplastic whilst they walk the beautiful beaches of Santa Teresa.

Reforestation
Our main focus is the forests' most important resource - water! You help with the maintenance and supply of our tree nursery; planting carefully selected saplings, gathered seeds and ongoing support of recently planted trees to ensure their success. We support the local Waterkeepers who patrol the river systems of Santa Teresa and neighboring tropical forest resources by helping to report any contamination, clear forest debris and litter from streams before it is washed out to sea and can cause further damage to wildlife, and by maintaining walking/hiking trails that allow visitors to access this beautiful area. It is also a great opportunity to learn about the biodiversity of flora and fauna in this special part of the world.

During the weekends, there are a lot of opportunities to explore the area and try out different activities. If you're into yoga, try a beach session on Sunday mornings: get up a little earlier than usual to enjoy a pre-breakfast yoga session on the beach. Yoga is very popular in this part of the world and 45 mins costs around $15. You can also try white water rafting, horse riding, surfing, kayaking, snorkeling, whale watching, a jungle canopy tour etc. There is always something to do and if it all sounds to active, you can just enjoy the beach or pool.

Please note: Travel on the weekends, or any of the extra activities is at your own expense and risk. We cannot be responsible but, if anything happens, we will of course be there to assist. Please ensure that you have adequate medical insurance before you carry out any activity.

Volunteers need to be flexible and keep an open mind concerning their placements as situations can arise beyond our control which could require you to be placed at a different project than the one you have initially chosen. We will of course always do our utmost to fulfill your initial wishes but do remember that where you are going is quite different from where you are coming and as such one should be prepared for things not always going according to plan.

Volunteering and intercultural travel share a common trait: the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. This program is designed for proactive individuals and groups that are prepared to adapt to the local environment and its current needs. Naturally, the scheduling and activities of our program are subject to change. Alterations in activities are mainly due to changes in local conditions, which we believe is part of what makes overseas programs the interesting adventure and incredible learning experience that they are.