As crazy as it sounds, we’re already preparing
for our Tropical Adventures’ Christmas Projects. This is happening for two
reasons: For starters, we have a big demand on people interested in
participating in the big Christmas parties that we provide for our communities,
and second, because it’s time-consuming organizing these events. We really need
to start now to have everything in order by December.

Although it is a lot of work for a small
foundation such as Tropical
Adventures, last year we created four big beautiful
events. The first one was our La Flor
Christmas Party. For those of you who
have been in La Flor, you know what a beautiful town this is. The fresh air,
the spectacular view of the charming Orosi Valley, the endless vegetables
gardens, the humbleness and sweetness of the people, the innocent vibe of this
place is just indescribable. All of our volunteers have left this project with
tears in their eyes.

What we did last year here was amazing. The
place where we hosted the party was beautiful and big enough for all the
guests. The day couldn’t have been more
perfect; they sun was brighter than ever and the endless mountains were
witnesses to this fun party. We hired a big inflatable bouncy slide to
entertain 185 people (kids, host families, teachers, volunteers and friends.)  We also had ice cream, hot dogs, drinks, pop
corn, lots of games, gifts, music, nutritional evaluations for the kids and
their parents, and at the end, a big piñata (Frosty, the snowman) full of candies.
It really was a glorious day.

See pictures here: http://www.tropicaladventures.com/gallery.php?g2_itemId=2389.

Two days later we were in the Puerto Viejo Area. This is where Tropical Adventures started.
Our very
first project was here (teaching English in the Hone Creek and the
Puerto Viejo elementary schools.) This is where we have been for three years already;
our heart is in this area. Beautiful
host families have supported us with loving care for our volunteers. Puerto
Viejo has been our dream as a foundation and it has been the place where we’ve
seen the biggest change as an organization.

For this party, we asked one of our dear
friends if we could use his hotel to host the party, Kaya’s Place. The place
was perfect. We decorated the entire place with balloons, lots of games for the
kids, great snacks, drinks, excellent support from the hotel staff. It was a
party on the Caribbean Coast. The ocean was in front of us and the tropical
breeze was refreshing. We didn’t have a
piñata for this party, but we had live music and an excellent fire show.

All of
our Puerto Viejo friends were present that day. Good times.

See pictures here: http://www.tropicaladventures.com/gallery.php?g2_itemId=2773

Our third Christmas party was on the Bribri Indigenous
Reservation in the town of Bambu. It was a sunny
December morning in Costa
Rica. We arrived there around 10 in the morning full of gifts, food, great
enthusiasm and party decorations. When
we arrived, Sister Blanca was finishing the daily morning exercises with the
residents in the activity room. We were trying not to disturb the residents
with our presence when we got there (we wanted to be respectful of their
space), but Sister Blanca encouraged us to play music
and start the party
immediately, so we did. The residents were extremely playful that day. We all started to join in and play with them.
We danced, played with bubbles, balloons and typical Costarican games. We
provided a lot of food (fruit cocktails, drinks, lunch, ice cream, pastries,
coffee, tea and shakes). We gave away gifts at the end, thanks to all the donations
we received through the year from all of our supporters. It was a fun,
satisfying and beautiful day. This party was different;  it was more about sharing with the residents
and just “being there,” if you know what we mean.

See pictures here: http://www.tropicaladventures.com/gallery.php?g2_itemId=2391

Our last party was hosted in the big Cultural
Center of Bambu, also on the Bribri Indigenous Reservation.
It was a rainy day and
we seriously didn’t know if we were going to make it all the way to Bambu. The small
rivers on the way there were transformed into big rivers. Two of our cars were
damaged that day trying to cross the rivers, but we made it in one piece! When
we got there, everyone in the community was waiting for us. So, they all helped
us out with the decorations.

In total, we had seventeen folks volunteer with
us for this party. It was quite the scene! If you can imagine, we had the
majestic cultural center surrounded by the rain forest and lots of kids
everywhere waiting for the action. For this party, we invited all 75 of the students
from the Bratsi School, host families, teachers, retirement home staff,
neighbors and friends in general. All of
our guests had a great time; it really was one of those unique experiences in
life. Just getting there was a lot of work, but
it was so worthwhile. The most
fun games ever, great surprises for the winners, ice cream, candies, hot dogs,
drinks, cakes, great gifts for all the kids donated by the Schneider family,
toothbrushes for everyone, great food packages for the host families donated by
the company Magui, and the big finale, the Piñata, which was devoured by the
kids. It was the best time ever.

Just a few days after this party, the Segehuis
family visited Costa Rica from Canada to volunteer with us. They brought more
than a hundred backpacks, with all the necessary supplies for the school year
for each one of the kids on the Indigenous Reservation.

See pictures
here: http://www.tropicaladventures.com/gallery.php?g2_itemId=2871&g2_navId=x013d6dd9

This year we’re going to be adding a Christmas
party in Guanacaste (Camaronal, Hojancha, Monte Alto, Barra Honda and the
Monkey Park Animal Refuge.) This has been our first year working in the
Guanacaste Province, and it has been a tremendous start for us in this area.

Last year when we did these types of events for
the first time, we were kind rolling with the punches and
going with the flow. We were receiving endless calls from
individuals and families who kept asking for our plans for the holidays as an
organization, so we came up with the Christmas Parties and the Summer Camp in
Puerto Viejo. We received a lot of support from friends and volunteers with
lots of donations and gifts. Past volunteers such as Phyllis and her husband
came for the second time to volunteer with us. Almost all of our past
volunteers sent Christmas presents for their host families, and we already have
people in Puerto Viejo asking us for the Summer Camp in December.

This year, it is our decision to continue with
this legacy of beautiful work. We’re planning on hosting
five big Christmas
parties. This is how we want to spend our holidays, bringing joy where is
needed and doing something great for these communities. They deserve it. If you
are a past volunteer, and you’re reading this, you know what we’re talking
about.

There are no words to describe how wonderful it
is to celebrate with these fantastic and loving people. If
you feel you are
called to share your time with us and others this holiday season, know we’d
love to have you join us!

Happy Holidays in advanced to all of you!

Tropical Adventures Family.

Self
Discovery Through Exploration