This Ain't Arkansas Anymore

Around Campus Editor

   Imagine being in a sky tram 100 feet in the air. The lush green foliage surrounds you. The sounds of howler monkeys, birds and insects pulse through the jungle.

   This isn’t Arkansas. This is Costa Rica.

   In 2008, a group of students, educators, and faculty members from the University of Arkansas at Monticello experienced a trip to remember. They spent 10 days exploring Costa Rica. The students received undergraduate or graduate-level credits for the trip, part of UAM’s field course program.

   This summer, another group of students will travel to Hawaii for an eight-day trip exploring the island’s rich environment and history. 

   Before Chris Ellington, a UAM biology/biochemistry major, went on the Costa Rica trip, he had never left the country. His experience in Costa Rica mirrors the experience for many UAM students, especially those who have not had the opportunity to travel to such exotic places.

   “It was probably the best 10 days of my life,” Ellington said. He will be travelling with the group to Hawaii this summer.

   Several professors sponsor the field courses. Jim Edson, professor of geology and John Hunt, associate professor of biology, sponsored the Costa Rica and the upcoming Hawaii trip. William Shea, professor of history at UAM, will also attend the Hawaii trip. 

   “It seems like students are wanting to go further afield now. Our Costa Rica trip was one of the best attended in recent times,” Edson said. “This is our first time to Hawaii. Right now, it looks like we might have to turn people away. We’re planning on taking 15 to 18 people, and we’re getting close to that number now.”

The Costa Rica Itinerary

   On the Costa Rica trip, the group stayed two days in San Jose, the country’s capital. Seven different courses were offered as part of the field course experience. Courses emphasized biology, geology and teacher development. Ellington’s experiences during the trip focused on geology. 

   “I had to have a notebook about my experience when I returned home due by the end of the month,” he said.

   The 17 people in the UAM group joined a caravan tour of 50 other tourists. A tour guide named Tony stayed with the caravan for the entire trip, leading them and providing information about the attractions. He also helped the group communicate with the natives and their bus driver, Rafa.

   “We got to meet a lot of people. I met this couple from Long Island, people from Texas, from Colorado and California,” Ellington said.

   A pile of pictures Ellington took during the trip show the beauty of Costa Rica. One shows the Poás volcano, a popular tourist spot. The summit of the volcano rises 8,884 feet. Ellington said a bus took the group close to the volcano, and then they walked a short hike. 

   “The first night (in San Jose) was free time. We got to do whatever we wanted. Some of us went to museums. This is where your pocket money comes in. Some went to bars. It was all up to you,” Ellington said.

   Ellington said wildlife surrounded him at times. He has pictures of a yellow eyelash viper, a blue-jeans poison dart frog, howler monkeys and a sloth carrying her young.

   From San Jose, they traveled to Tortuguero National Park on the Atlantic side of the country and stayed for two days. Ellington said the park can only be reached by boat or plane. 

   “There’s no highways. We drove the tour bus for a few hours down these backroads. We stopped at a banana plantation. Then w_e got to a boat, put our luggage in, and rode the boat for an hour and a half,” he said.

   The group stayed in small two-bedroom cabins with wooden platforms built around them. Howler monkeys climbed around trees and on top of buildings.

   “You could hear them howl at four o’clock in the morning,” Ellington said. “You’re surrounded by nature. The people were really friendly everywhere we went. We had a fiesta the last night in Tortuguero. All the people that worked there were dancing around and they had a band playing.”

   After Tortuguero, the group traveled west to La Fortuna and saw the Arenal Volcano, one of the world’s ten most active volcanoes and the most active one in Costa Rica. Arenal, a massive stratavolcano made of layers of rock and ash with a summit of 5,437 feet, provides awe-inspiring opportunities for tourists. The group saw some avalanches and hot rocks, but no flowing lava. Ellington has a postcard of the volcano erupting at night. The group stayed in Fortuna for two days as well. 

   They then traveled further west to Puntarenas on the Pacific coast, their last destination before returning to San Jose for the flight home. Puntarenas, Spanish for “sand point,” lies on the Gulf of Nicoya, making it one of the biggest ports of Costa Rica.

   “During the day we went to Monteverde, a national park right on the Pacific beach,” Ellington said. “Once we got there, we could do whatever we wanted. Some played on beach, hiked the trails. You could go shopping in a local village.”

   After two days in Puntarenas, the group traveled back to San Jose to return home.

   “The trip helped how I look at the world,” Ellington said. “I’ve never been out of the country. My family’s never been out of the country. It was one of those things I always wanted to do. I had never had an opportunity, and Costa Rica was like my first foot out the door. It made me look at world from a different view, and I guess it kind of changed my character. It guess it helped me grow up.

   "I wouldn’t lie, it was probably one of the best 10 days of my life. I was not ready to come back home.”

The Hawaii Itinerary

   The trip will begin on June 19 with flights to Kona, Hawaii. The group will stay seven nights at the Kona Coast Resort, small villas Edson said will be the best they’ve ever stayed in.

   “They’re going to be spoiled,” he said.

    The itinerary for specific events hasn’t been finalized yet, but students will travel across the island, visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the Onizuka Visitor Center for International Astronomy, Pu’ukohola Helau, Kaloko Honokohau and Pu’uhonua Honaunau national historic parks.

   Students will see active and dormant volcanoes, astrological observatories, and diverse flora and fauna. Twelve courses will be offered as part of the trip, including courses in biology, geology, history and continuing education. There will also be time for students to do things on their own. For instance, when the group visits the observatories at night the daytime hours may be open for the students to do as they please.

   The trip costs $1,295 plus tuition and airfare. Tuition costs $360 per three-hour undergraduate course or $540 per three-hour graduate course. Airfare costs vary depending on carrier and route. Those interested must pay a $300 nonrefundable deposit.

   Edson said with all the trips they’ve had over the years, his wife sometimes questions him “Where are you not going next year?”

   Edson will put together a guide booklet for the Hawaii trip. The trip will focus on the Kilauea volcano, probably the world’s most active volcano. Kilauea began erupting in 1983 and continues to this day, pushing an active lava field roughly seven miles to the sea. Students will also visit several dormant volcanoes like Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

   “Mauna Kea is actually home to one of the largest array of telescopes and astronomical observatories, so we’ll go up there and see what we can see. It’s so far removed from air and light pollution,” Edson said.

   “We’ll talk about the development of the islands in terms of plate tectonics and hot spots. We’ll also talk about the effects of tsunamis.”

Field Course History

   UAM has had field courses off and on since 1980, beginning with a three-week trip Edson and Shea offered.

   “We had an old school bus,” Edson said. “We traveled in this old bus with a couple of geology majors that happened to be mechanics as well. With several breakdowns here and there and tales you wouldn’t believe, we wandered the West.” The group traveled across Utah, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and Colorado.

   Edson said the trip worked very well, so they began planning more. Groups have gone to the midwest U.S. They’ve visited Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. They’ve seen the Great Lakes. They’ve awed at the expansive beauty of the Canadian Rockies. They’ve seen gigantic Mount St. Helens. They’ve jumped over to Key West. They’ve crossed the border to Mexico. 

   Edson said students can suggest different places to visit, but he must make the trip affordable for students so they can get the credits they need to graduate. 

   Interested students can ask Edson or Hunt for more information and applications can be obtained from Edson’s website. Space will be limited at 15 to 18 people for the Hawaii trip, so interested students need to act quickly.

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©The Voice 2011