Not Just Monkeying Around

Here's what fifth-graders at Washington's Rock Creek International School put up with on their recent field trip to Costa Rica: mean monkeys, sneaky scorpions and hot, sweaty, uphill hikes to get their meals.

Did they have a blast anyway? You bet.

The Costa Rica trip has been an annual tradition since Alejandra Maudet, the middle school's director of recruitment, visited that Central American country six years ago and fell in love.

"I said, 'I've got to bring the kids here,' " she recalled. "But I didn't want it to be just a trip. We decided to make it a science trip."

In late February, 13 students, three teachers and Maudet spent 10 days in Costa Rica. Most of their time was at Ecolodge San Luis, a research facility in a cloud forest in the northern part of the country. (A cloud forest is a wet, tropical location near the peaks of coastal mountains where it's always, well, cloudy -- even during the dry season. The ecolodge is a biological station where students from the University of Georgia study the environment.)

Before leaving for Costa Rica, each Rock Creek student chose a project to work on. They included the study of insects, animals and plant life in the lush forest.

"We found out a lot about insects," said Keara Scallan, 11. "We found out that beetles basically rule the world. Beetles are 30 percent of all insects."

"I guess my favorite part of this trip is that I got to see a lot of nature, especially the plants," said Anaël Kimble, 11. "There's a plant that's so soft it [makes up what is] called the 'toilet paper jungle.' "

But it wasn't all schoolwork. There was lots of fun -- and a few hardships.

The fun parts included horseback rides near the ecolodge, swimming under a waterfall in San Luis and a dip in the 101-degree hot springs next to the still-active Arenal volcano.

"I thought my foot was on fire," said Kennedy Simmons, 10.

There was a party where the kids learned local dances including salsa. Bakari Camara was named best dancer. "I danced with all the girls," the 11-year-old said proudly.

Some of the tougher parts of the trip were the long hikes, including three each day to the cafeteria -- all uphill. "We hiked more than anything," said Spencer Pisinski, 11. "I earned the best hiker award because I kept up and I didn't complain -- much."

Capuchin monkeys threw food at some kids, and a scorpion scared Maudet and teacher Maria Hornido out of their beds one night.

"We killed it," Maudet said, "but it was pretty scary the rest of the night."

For all 10 days, the kids did without TV, radios and electronic gizmos. "We wanted them to be aware of what was going on around them," said Maudet.

Some were even bitten by the travel bug. "I would like to go visit the world," Anaël said.

-- John Maynard