ZIP LINING THROUGH THE RAINFOREST CANOPY
This is a fairly new adventure activity but is quickly becoming one of the most popular. Hacienda Baru is a 2000-acre private nature preserve in the hills of the coastal mountain range along the central Pacific coast. In a section of the preserve that is totally primary rainforest, with 250 to 300 foot high trees, they have set up 8 platforms spread out through the forest canopy. Steel cables that are suspended as much as 100 feet above the forest floor connect all of these platforms together. Using repelling equipment, students will be connected to these cables and go zipping through the jungle, past monkeys, sloths and toucans.

HORSEBACK RIDING TO THE NAUYACA FALLS
This popular horseback riding trip takes students through the mountainous valleys above the coast and through primary and secondary forests. At the end of the trail is the magnificent and awesome Nauyaca Waterfalls. This three tiered, 480-foot high beauty has a delightfully refreshing, deep, cool swimming hole. It is a picturesque oasis that is the perfect spot to relax and get out of the tropical sun. Breakfast and lunch are both given along the trail at the ranch house of Don Lulo, the tour owner and sometime guide. There is a small petting zoo where students can feed a number of animals and birds from the surrounding forest.

ISLA CANO NATIONAL PARK TOUR
Isla Cano National Park is an island off the coast of southern Costa Rica in the Pacific Ocean. This is one of the most fabulous parks in Costa Rica with an incredible beach and abundant wildlife. It is also one of the least visited and hardest to get to, so is also one of the most pristine. This is the island that for years has been known as Treasure Island and is a unique ecological environment. The tour starts at Playa Uvita, where we board a boat that will take us on the 1 /12 ride out to the island. Once there we will hike through the rainforest and beach trails. We will have lunch on the beach which will consist of seafood caught by local fisherman. Afterwards we will snorkel and swim in the almost completely untouched waters around the island.

CANOPY CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE RAINFOREST
The Canopy climb in the Hacienda Baru Nature Preserve is a wonderful chance for students to see many animals in their natural habitat. Here students will climb up by ropes and repelling gear to platforms suspended in the forest canopy. Bilingual guides will show students the unique and vibrant plant and animal life at the top of the rain forest. The vast majority of flora and fauna is at the top of the forest. This tour is a window into a part of the ecosystem that is rarely seen.

TOUR OF CARTAGO, COSTA RICA'S HISTORIC COLONIAL CAPITAL
During the time of the Spanish had control of Costa Rica and for some years after its independence, the city of Cartago was its capital. While subsequently loosing that title and distinction to San Jose, it has remained the spiritual center of the country. On the slopes of the volcano Irazu, Cartago is set in the middle of a fertile valley. The great basilica is the most revered and important religious building in the country. It is home to the “Negrita”, a small statue of the Virgin Mary which appeared after a little girl saw a vision of Mary by the side of a brook. That site is the place on which the present day basilica is built. No place in Costa Rica has more colonial architecture and remains than Cartago.

SURFING

Playa Dominical, where year-round good surf and double overheads are the norm.

Surfing in the waters off Costa Rica's "Endless Summer" beaches is most definitely world class. Both coasts offer the international surfer an abundance of different types of conditions from one of the longest left-hand breaks in the world at Pavones to the quadruple overheads of Salsa Brava. The only problem with these and other incredible surfing spots is the fact that they are seasonal, only going off a couple of months a year. This however is not a problem at Playa Dominical, where year-round good surf and double overheads are the norm.

'Discovered' in the early seventies by a group of intrepid and dedicated surfers, Dominical has steadily gained in popularity over the last 30 plus years. The town has become a haven for surfers with local restaurants offering 'Starving Surfer' food specials and nonstop surf videos. This relaxed and laid back atmosphere combines with inexpensive accommodations and great surf to draw thousands of surfers a year like a giant magnet.

The unusual conditions of the beach are what give its surf size and dependability. The wave is a beach break with a twist, that twist being the mouth of the Rio Baru to the north. The river empties out of the mountains to the east and deposits sediments that form into a sandbar that spreads like a pair of lazy rabbit ears north and south of the mouth. As the swell approaches the beach and forms into a wave, it's wave to depth ratio is the universal 2 to 3. Meaning the size of the wave is directly proportional to the amount of water it is in. The reason this is important is that once this wave meets the sandbar it peals down the length of the bar creating a beautiful left hand break. The best time to surf is from an hour before high tide to an hour after when the sandbar is furthest out and has the greatest effect on the waves break.

Dominical is the perfect home base for surfers that want to make the most of their time in Costa Rica. It has year-round good surf plus, a central location on the Pacific which allows them to get to other surf spots with relative ease when they are going off. With the weather conditions of area and the relatively small size of the country, it is truly possible for surfers to have an endless summer.

The Dominical Surf School, owned and operated by local Costa Rican surf professionals has a great deal of experience instructing first time surfers as well as those that just need a tune up. Boards are supplied so you do not need to bring your own, unless you have your own and are an experienced surfer. All instructors are trained as lifeguards and are surfers themselves with many years of experience.