Educate Yourself on the Tropics

If you are coming to Costa Rica chances are you might have some interest in wildlife. If you dont then by the time you leave you should be interested in the wildlife of the tropics. With Costa Rica being one of the most bio-diverse places on the planet it is a perfect area to educate yourself with the different types of species of plants and animals of the tropics. Costa Rica can be used as an amazing classroom for student travel trips or for family trips that want to keep themselves and their kids educated. Every year the tropics are being discovered with more and more natural resources that can be used for so many different things. The idea behind our company is to protect these resources the best we can so that they can be used most effectively when the time is right.

Being educated on the tropics is an education that can go on forever and I can assure you there is not a textbook large enough to hold all the information of the tropics. What we have used as an excellent introduction to the plants and animals of Costa Rica is a book by John Kricher called "A Neotropical Companion". It would be a dream of mine that before every trip to Costa Rica be it a student travel trip or a family vacation that members of the group read this book. There is so much to see and do in Costa Rica and if you know whats in this book then you have atleast scratched the main surface and during your stay you will respect more the things you see and you will be able to relate to them. The way it always turns out is that kids or parents get interested in these things after they visit Costa Rica so they end up reading a book like this for their second trip to the tropics.

So for your next trip to the tropics if you want to feel like an expert when walking through the jungle read "A Neotropical Companion" by John Kricher and you will be well on your way to be a Nature Guide in the Tropics.

Technical Rope Rescue Course

Rescue 3 International is one of the most well known Rescue Course companies out of California. This company is used to certify firefighters and Rescue teams all over the globe. Here in Costa Rica we are fortunate enough to have a representative from the company that does his part in getting guides ready to guide in any situation. Pacific Journeys is a Company that offers these courses which we feel if you have the time everyone should take part in but most important all who want to be adventure guides. We just finished with the 70 hour vertical rescue course which is how to do rescue and tourist activities such as rappeling and canyoning.

It is a very intense course where each member has to climb up a rope 200ft. If you are not wearing gloves you can say hello to some new blisters. There is also a lot of attention given to systems with ropes that would lighten the load in certain rescue situations. For example if you are a team of only two people and you have to lift a car out of the river how can you set the rope system up to where it is possible for two people to lift a car out of a river. First of all you always need the right equipment but there are even some tricks to know that if you are caught with little to no equipment then you can make the best out of what you have.

It was a great week which all guides in the country should be certified. Courses like this can be a great addition to any student travel trip to Costa Rica. Costa Rica has the terrain where ropes are often the most practical way to get from one place to the next. With a little training you can play a major roll in a rescue situation which can happen anywhere at anytime.