Costa Rica Rainforest Outward Bound School (CRROBS)

School Information:

Costa Rica Rainforest Outward Bound inspires and develops leadership, compassion, responsibility, respect for the environment and commitment to serve through adventure-based wilderness experiences led by the most skilled, safety-conscious staff. Our outdoor experiential education school offers over fifty courses per year, ranging from 8 day expeditions to 120 day semester adventures. Courses are never larger than fifteen students with at least two instructors per course.

Tuition: Course-dependent

Financial Aid: Available

Curriculum Highlights: Hiking, rafting, surfing, homestays, Spanish, emphasis on leadership and personal character development

School Setting: Beaches, Mountains and Jungles of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panamá

Program Information: Tri-Country: 85 day semester course available for high school and college credit. Experience three countries in Central America and learn to SCUBA dive, wakeboard, whitewater raft and kayak, hike across all of Costa Rica, and surf the warm waters on the Nicoya peninsula. Water & Wave: 70 day semester course available for high school and college credit. Surf, captain a raft and kayak through beautiful rivers and Class III-IV rapids, get your NAUI SCUBA certification and dive in Caribbean reefs, and surf all the way down the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Nicaragua! Spanish Immersion Adventure: 120 day semester course available for high school and college credit. Intensive Spanish courses with Veritas University coupled with Outward Bound adventures and homestays for practical use of Spanish. Multi-Element : 15 and 24 day adventures. Activities include hiking through the rainforest, rappelling down waterfalls, climbing 60 feet high trees, whitewater rafting down Class III-IV rapids, cultural homestays with Mestizo families and surfing. Surf : 15 and 30 day courses learning surfing techniques on terrific and diverse waves in Costa Rica. Reef & Rainforest : 15 days hiking through the Caribbean lowland rainforest in Costa Rica and exploring Bocas del Toro in Panama. Activities include birding, living with indigenous communities, snorkeling through reefs, seeing dolphins, cycling and caving. Spanish Emphasis : 30 days of Multi-element adventure coupled with living with local families and getting practical experience speaking Spanish. Summer Semester: 60 day semester course available for high school and college credit. Learn to whitewater kayak and raft, hike across the country, and surf up and down the Pacific coast.

Referrals: Hiking across the entire country was my biggest accomplishment down here. The hiking was so difficult, but really good. Orlando made the hiking phase what it was. I have so much respect for everything down here now. I got to do things that I've always wanted to do. The river was lots of fun. Guiding was definitely challenging. It was interesting to see different people raft and see their strengths and weaknesses. I loved the kayaking and surfing was a blast. It was so much fun being on the water every day. It was perfect to wake up for an early surf session. Then eat breakfast, have some downtime, eat lunch they go surfing again. The downtime was so necessary after surfing. This semester has given me more self-motivation and hopefully it will go with me into the real world It was loads of fun and great experiences. The course was way too much fun! It was great! Thanks CRROBS! Philip Clark 18, Texas, USA Summer Semester, Summer 2006 The whole trip was awesome, really fun. My favorite part was the surfing, for sure, I've only been surfing for one year but I loved the surfing. I loved the instructors. Granada, Nicaragua was so intense because we got there for the elections and the streets were so alive with music and fireworks, it was an amazing sight to see. The hiking phase was so hard and while I was doing I thought that it wasn't so cool, but now, I think what we did was awesome, the homestays were amazing. That whole phase was not an experience you'd get just walking through the rainforest, I mean we were chopping down banana trees to harvest. I wouldn't change anything about this course, it was lots of fun, I would recommend it to anyone. Tara Baird 24, New York, USA Water & Wave Semester Fall 2006 It was a good way to learn about another country and learn new skills. I liked the combination of activities. I loved the homestays in Piedras Blancas, making brown sugar, playing soccer, picking bananas, and making tortillas. It's a big experience. Sometimes, I didn't fully appreciate what was happening until afterwards. It was hard as heck at times, but I'm only beginning to realize what I have got out of this experience, so much. Emotionally this was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done. I got a lot out of it. The whole trip made me put things in perspective. Hiking was really hard, but worth it. I got to do a lot of thinking. Rafting and kayaking was a lot of fun. Surfing was a lot of fun. It was nice having it at the end of the course. There was downtime to think. Althea Neri 19, Vermont, USA Tri-Country Semester Fall 2006