The sun beat down on our faces as we neared the top of the hill. Our backs and legs were throbbing, but as the canopy of trees that surrounded us spread apart and revealed a beautiful landscape, we forgot about our pains. The rolling hills outlined the clear, blue sky and swooped down to meet a vast field filled with lush vegetation and flowers. We all smiled and soaked in the stunning scenery of Costa Rica.

Backpacking through the rainforest for ten days sounds like pure agony. However, for the group from Lewis-Palmer High School, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Nine students from Lewis-Palmer, including myself, tackled this adventure together through the Costa Rica Rainforest Outward Bound School (CRROBS). Although there were many moments when we were sick and tired of hiking through ankle-deep mud and up humongous hills, the overall experience was incredible. Josh Ejtehadi, one of the kids who went on the trip, said, "This was by far the best trip I have ever been on". I'm sure that most of the group agree with that statement. CRROBS threw many physical and emotional obstacles at us, but at the same time gave us a trip that we will never forget.

Our journey began when we flew into San Jose, Costa Rica on May 31, 2007. We were very excited to be in a different country, and some of us even brushed up on our Spanish speaking skills. We stayed the first night at base camp in San Jose and met our two instructors that would be guiding us through the rainforest. The very next day we ventured into the Costa Rican Rainforest. It took a while for us to get used to carrying 40-pound packs on our backs, but eventually we stopped to set up a huge tarp for all of us to sleep under. Most of us got a good night's sleep on thin mats to prepare for the longest hike of the trip. We hiked the whole day, stopping only for lunch at one of the many gorgeous waterfalls in Costa Rica. The last part of the day, it started pouring rain as we hiked to our next campsite. By the time we got to the campsite, we were all soaking wet and extremely tired from the hike. Canaan Smith recalls this moment to be the worst part of the trip, as we all seem to remember him shouting, "The glass is completely empty!" when we were trying to look at the glass being half full.

However, things got better when we finally reached our first home stay. We were glad to have an even floor and sturdy roof over our heads. At this house, we had to do a special activity. To help prepare the dinner that we were going to have, all of us had to take some part in killing a chicken. Following a ceremonial tradition, we passed the chicken around in a circle and asked its permission for us to eat it. The chicken said it was okay. Samantha Hess comments: "It was a very hard thing to do, but I learned a lot from it". It was an eye-opening experience because we all learned to appreciate many things, including the lives of what we eat.

To say thank you to our home stay family, we helped them with one of their ongoing chores. We hauled by hand big, heavy rocks over hills and brought them down to their house. The family said that they used the rocks in their water system. It was a hard task and included a lot of physical work. I remember wondering how in the world the family could do things like this on a regular basis. They were so strong, hard-working, and very self-sufficient. Compared to Americans, who can just call plumbers to fix their water systems, Costa Ricans, and many other people, have to provide for themselves.

We moved on to the next home stay and learned how to make corn tortillas and grind sugar cane. We also had fun swimming in a nearby creek with a miniature waterfall. Then came solo night. Solo night is exactly what it sounds like. Each of us were dropped off at different sites and had to set up our own tarps to spend the night in. It started to drizzle when they dropped us off at our sites, so many of us had to set up in the rain. I think we learned a lot about ourselves during solo night, whether it be that we have absolutely no idea how to set up a sufficient tent, or something deeper and more personal. I remember sitting in my tent, listening to the rain fall down. I felt really scared sitting in the rainforest all alone while it was pouring, so I calmed myself by singing. Singing has always been one of my passions, and it helped me feel at ease and appreciate the nature around me. Maybe we could have found out more about ourselves if the rain hadn't picked up and started to flood our tents. We all had to go back to the home stay and spend the night there instead. (In my personal opinion, thank God, because my tent was on a hill and wasn't exactly perfect).

The next home stay was at a shaman's house. There we enjoyed many activities such as relaxing in a traditional sauna, rappelling down a waterfall, and climbing a sixty-foot tree! The latter two were challenging, but we were all proud that we took on that challenge. While we were at this home stay, the shaman taught us about all of his medicinal plants that he grew. His remedies seemed so rudimentary compared to the advanced medicines that we use in America, yet many of our medicines are based off of these simple homegrown remedies that he uses. The shaman told us that he uses a lot of his medicinal plants to make teas. This seems like a much more natural way to cure people than injecting shots or swallowing pills like we do in the United States.

We got a reprieve from all the hiking when we came to the Class III Savegre River. We eagerly climbed into our rafts and started to paddle! We were having fun floating down the river, when we came to an enormous rapid which launched all of us out of the rafts and into the swiftly flowing river! This unexpected mishap gave us a rush! Matt Loidolt says: "It was very adventurous and exciting."

After we all fell, we got back in the rafts and river rafted farther down the river until we came to a place where we were transported by car to another CRROBS base camp by a beach on the Pacific Ocean. We spent the last couple of days learning how to surf, building sand castles, boogie boarding, eating really amazing Costa Rican snow cones, and soaking up the sun! (A lot of us got a little too much sun.) We also got to explore Manuel Antonio National Park. There we saw plenty of friendly monkeys that came really close to us!

When it was time to pack up and go home, we felt that we had gained a lot from this experience. We learned so many things about Costa Rican culture and its environment. For instance, we saw how Costa Ricans had to do so much in order to provide for their families. They had to depend upon natural resources and their hard work in order to survive in the world. Compared to Americans, the people we met in Costa Rica had a more humble view of life and didn't have the luxuries that we take for granted. All of us realized how fortunate we are to be living such a great life style compared to others, but we wondered if their simple but hard life provided a less stressful environment as well. We also bonded with each other and discovered new things about ourselves and others on this trip. There were many times when we acted as a unit, depending on the support of our fellow hikers. Other times, it was a test of our individual strength that kept us going. Certainly there were many opportunities to reflect on our lives and think about where life will lead us. I believe that everybody grew individually in each of their own ways. I am personally extremely glad that I went on this trip and hope that one day I will be able to go back to Costa Rica. I don't think that any of us will forget our extraordinary adventure through the Costa Rican Rainforest.

"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended."