COSTA RICA

Adelphi University School of Nursing
Academic/Community Service Volunteer Project

March 11 – 16, 2013

Experience the natural beauty and spirituality of this natural wonderland!

Costa Rica offers you one of the world’s greatest collections of rain forests, wild rivers, unspoiled beaches, wildlife, mountains and volcanoes. With its unique combination of beauty and spirituality, it’s the ultimate refreshment for your body, mind and soul.

Highlight will be the program with the Clinca Biblica is one of Costa Rica’s finest hospitals that provide medical, dentological and psychological attention to lower-income families. In 1968, the Board of Directors, Councils and Commissions created a non-profit institution whose mission is to use the economic resources generated by Clínica Bíblica for social aid actions to benefit different sectors of those most in need.

Their Integral Health Program aims to provide health care services with a modern approach to low-income people, not based on the concept of health as “absence of disease” but as a vision of health from an integral bio-psycho-social perspective. It relies on an inter-disciplinary team, with social workers, doctors, dental assistants and dentists, many of whom work free of charge.

The work is done by the Department of Social Action at the facilities of Clínica Bíblica, with emphasis on the child population. Low-income patients are treated in the facilities of the Clínica Bíblica Hospital, as well as people referred by several institutions.

Community International Nurses Volunteer Program includes:

• Volunteer Program at “The Bridge” a “people helping people” program in rural Costa Rica
• Volunteer program at San Jose’s Clinca Biblica and the Asociacion Mision Consuel

Tour Includes:

• Roundtrip air transportation from JFK to San Jose
• Roundtrip Airport/Hotel transfers
• 2 Nights accommodations at the Totem Resort in Puerto Viejo
• 3 Nights accommodations at the BW Irazu Hotel
• Hotel taxes
• Continental Breakfast throughout
• 4 lunches
• 5 dinners
• Roundtrip transportation from San Jose to Puerto Viejo
• Local transportation for Community Service program

Added Features:

• Special Sarapiqui Rain Forest Tour & Zip Line
• Sarapiqui River Cruise

TOUR ITINERARY

Day 1. Monday, March 11: US/San Jose – On to Puerto Viejo (D)

Depart on our international flight to San Jose. Arrive same day. Clear Immigration, Baggage Claim and Customs. Meet our local tour representative. Transfer to our reserved accommodations in Puerto Viejo. Located on the Southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, this spot is simply unique! Its wilderness plays with ecological options and scenic beauty. All this, without the overwhelming crowds found in other tour destinations. Free time before your group dinner. Overnight and dinner in Puerto Viejo.

Day 2. Tuesday, March 12: In Puerto Viejo – “The Bridge” Volunteer Program (B/L/D)

After breakfast, start on your special Volunteer program with a project called “El Puente – The Bridge, (that offers educational assistance, food and local work projects mainly to indigenous people in Costa Rica. They have been helping people out of poverty globally since 1987. Your program will consist of working with the Locals in Assessment of Vital signs (Blood pressure, pulse, respiration, temperature) Assessment Heart and Lung sounds, Teaching Healthy diets, diabetic &, hypertension prevention & Dental health Vision and hearing assessments handouts too. Return to your hotel for some free R & R. Overnight and dinner in Puerto Viejo.

Day 3. Wednesday, March 13: In Puerto Viejo. “The Bridge” Volunteer. Afternoon to San Jose (B/L/D

After breakfast, continuation of the “The Bridge” program. Then after lunch, board our coach for the journey back through the Costa Rica countryside to San Jose. After checking in at our hotel, time for a swim before dinner.

Day 4. Thursday, March 14: In San Jose. Clinca Biblica and the Asociacion Mision Consuel Program (B/L/D)

Today, a visit to the Clinca Biblica to meet with Administrators, Doctors and Nurses as they provide services for Costa Rican lower-income families. Discussions will center on the Clinic’s Integral Health Program that aims to provide health care services with a modern approach to low-income people, not based on the concept of health as “absence of disease” but as a vision of health from an integral bio-psycho-social perspective. Afternoon at the Asociacion Mision Consuel  to continue your Volunteer work. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

Day 5. Friday, March 15: In San Jose. Sarapiqui Rain Forest Tour and Sarapiqui River Cruise (B/L/D

A day of Education and FUN as we learn about the region’s environment. The journey affords an excellent opportunity to view Costa Rica’s ever-changing panorama. Arrival at the Hacienda Pozo Azul, to start your tour of the Sarapiqui area rain forest. The tour will feature 12 cables (that you are hooked into) and 17 platforms that are build from 60 to 90 feet above group as you “fly” through a canyon and over the Sarapiqui River. Continue on your full day excursion by boat and navigate through the Sarapiqui River, with its beautiful scenery surrounded by lowlands of tropical rain forests and quiet farmland. As the boat passes through green waters and lush vegetation, you will also see a variety of Costa Rican plants, animals and birds. Lunch will be served during the cruise. Afternoon return to the hotel, where you will have some time to relax. Meet in the lobby for dinner at the La Gallera Restaurant at the hotel.

Day 6. Saturday, March 16: San Jose/USA (B)

Transfer to the airport for your flight back home. Arrive same day.

Note: This itinerary is subject to change due to conditions beyond our control.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Puerto Viejo: Totem Resort Hotel in Puerto Viejo

This hotel is located on Cocles Beach in Costa Rica’s Gandoca-Manzanillo Nature Reserve and is 50 steps from a sandy beach and the crystal, clear water of the Caribbean sea, near Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Gandoca-Manzanillo. It offers an outdoor pool, hot tub, surf equipment rental and a chill-out area with hammocks.

The rooms at the Totem Hotel Beach Resort feature bamboo frame beds, free Wi-Fi and a private bathroom. 

San Jose: Best Western Irazu

The 325 room Best Western Irazu is located only 10 minutes from Downtown San Jose. “The prestige of a great name and the experience of a hotel… to those who deserve nothing less than the very best” is the promise of quality, friendly service and value in lodging accommodations to all its visitors. All air-conditioned rooms offer 25″ color TV, in-room ironing board, hair dryer and full-length mirror. Guests can enjoy complimentary coffee served 24-hours a day in the lobby. Happy Hour from 5pm to 6pm at the “La Cantina Bar,” free local calls and Internet access. The hotel’s facilities include: Denny’s Restaurant, La Cantina Bar, Pizza Hut, and Burger King “touch button” for delivery service, lit tennis courts, outdoor swimming pool, laundry service, room service, exercise room, landscaped gardens. A shopping center is located next door to the hotel with souvenir shops, bank, grocery store, pharmacy and much more.