All in One - Learn Spanish, Surf or Yoga, Environmental Conservation, Turtles & Adventure

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 or Yoga Session

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!

Monday
Departure to Turtle Placement

In your third week, you'll spend 4 days in a Turtle Conservation Sanctuary engaging with Permaculture, Reforestation and activities aimed at protecting the ecosystem. In the high season (August to January), the primary focus is on Turtle Conservation, where efforts are concentrated on safeguarding the eggs and hatchlings of Olive Ridley, Green Turtle, Hawksbill and Leatherback species. This involves protecting adult female turtles and their nests from various threats, including human predators, wildlife, beach erosion and flooding caused by high rainfall. Depending on the season, there may be a shift to work more in other sectors such as Permaculture.

Weekend
Your stay at the Turtle Conservation Sanctuary for 4 days, you'll return to the Jakera Jungle Camp to enjoy the weekend.

During week 4 you’ll embark on an overland adventure to explore Monteverde’s unique cloud forest, discover her rich biodiversity and experience high adrenaline activities. We have two accommodation options for our groups in Monteverde, Santa Elena Hostel right in the heart of the village and the other is Catleya Hostel 20 minutes walking from town, both very cozy and secure.

Monday - Breakfast / Travel to Monteverde/ Lunch in Monteverde/ Welcome walk, Ficus tree & Sunset Hike. (The welcome walk takes about an hour and the sunset hike activity around 2 hours.)

Tuesday - BreakFast / Finca Lantana - Cloud Forest Exploration with nature guide* / Lunch /Extra activity not included (Zipline- Bungee- Horse riding)

Wednesday - Breakfast / Valle Escondido Guided Exploration (this is a 3-hour hike with beautiful waterfalls, jungle and incredible views/ Lunch / Extra activity not included (Zipline- Bungee- Horse riding)

Thursday - Breakfast / Reforestation Project in Finca Lantana* / Lunch / Transfer back to Jakera.

Friday plus Weekend - You will stay in Monteverde for 4 days, then you will return to the Camp.

Cloud Forest Reforestation in Monteverde*
We have joined forces with Finca Lantana for our new project that all our students in the All in Program will participate in. The preparation of soil, tree planting and maintanance of sapplings. Our goal is to reforest this land previously clear for cattle to its original glorious cloud forest state over the coming years.

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.

During weeks 1 and 2, you can enjoy either surfing lessons OR yoga sessions..

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.

Alternatively, you can enjoy 10 professional yoga sessions. For a long time now, this magical place has been a destination for yogis from all around the world. What better place to learn or practice yoga than on a wild beach with the sound of waves crashing on the soft white sand, or in our jungle lodge surrounded by lush foliage to the sounds of the river and birds? Many people come here every year to practice and teach yoga so there is a class to for every level from absolute beginner to advanced yogi.

Popular classes include Yoga for all, Vinyasa Flow, Slow Flow, Ashtanga, Hatha, Deep Restorative, Relaxing & Mediation. You are invited to try a variety of forms of yoga during your time with us. Each class is 90 minutes - a combination of group and private classes depending your needs. Yoga provides mental balance, body control and it will help you to relax and enjoy every part of your journey in Costa Rica. Enjoy the mantras and discover a new way to relax and be in tune with your body (and nature) by doing yoga and living the pura vida lifestyle.

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.

You will spend 4 days at Cirenas Playa Ario and depending on the season, also be working on our Sanctuary close by.

You’ll be protecting the eggs and hatchlings of Olive Ridley, Black Turtle, Hawksbill and Leatherback species, who visit local ‘semi intensive’ nesting beaches at night to nest. The principle objective of the project is to protect adult female turtles that frequent beaches along this coastline, and their nests, from human predators and wildlife, natural events such as beach erosion and flooding due to high amounts of rainfall in nesting season.

This is achieved by maintenance of infrastructure and surroundings, beach cleaning, night patrols to look for nesting female turtles (in season), transport of food and water, collection of data and releasing baby turtles into the ocean (in season) and the construction of a ‘hatchery’.

At Cirenas, all three meals are included.

*As an alternative to turtle conservation (off season), we also support animal conservation at Natuwa and help in other works.

Seasonal Support
It is important to note that although turtles nest frequently in peak nesting season (July to November), there will be times where turtle activity is very low. We still need help during most of the year for the construction and maintenance of the hatchery, critical for the upcoming season.

Besides the Turtle conservation you will do in Cirenas, there will be some other works you will do:

Caletas-Ario Mixed National Wildlife Refuge
- Maintenance and Hikes on the trails
- Bird watching
- Monitoring of Wild Fauna through camera traps
- Identification of native trees

Permaculture and Healthy Eating
- Sowing and planting
- Composting
- Biomass
- Irrigation installation for plants
- Prune fruit trees and harvesting
- Hen house

Forestry Reforestation
- Collection of seeds of native trees by dry season
- Sowing in seedbeds
- Reforestation of native tree species on and off campus

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.