ERIE, Pa. – This is a series of daily logs that will chronicle the Gannon volleyball team's trip to Costa Rica August 3-10. The daily posts will be kept by Gannon student-athletes and coaches. Follow @GUKnights on Twitter and pay attention to www.gannonsports.com throughout the week for updates on the trip (frequency of the updates will depend on cell phone and internet service availability).
Day One– Friday, August 3:
¡Bienvenido a Costa Rica!
Today we had an amazing day in Liberia, Costa Rica. Our travels started very early in the morning with our flight from Cleveland to Miami and then from Miami to Liberia. Once we got here, we strapped our luggage to the top of our tour bus, hopped on, and arrived at an authentic Costa Rican restaurant. Our meal encompassed all of the food that Costa Rica is know for: rice, beans, plantains, and fresh pineapple juice. After we satisfied our taste buds, we headed into town for our first volleyball clinic.
We were greeted by the girls from the Club Liberia Volleyball Team. The girls ranged in ages from6-22 years old. We split up into four groups and taught them several skills including hitting, blocking, servingand passing. We finished up with a small game of 6-on-6 and then all enjoyed some fresh fruit that was brought in from the parents of the athletes. It was amazing! We took a lot of pictures with the girls and exchanged our social media accounts so that we could stay in touch. It was an awesome experience for our team, as well as for the girls we got the opportunity to coach.
After the clinic, we headed to our hotel, which was about an hour and a half away on the beach Tamarindo. We got here just in time to catch the sunset, which was unbelievable! We all sat down for a taco dinner and then went to our jungle bungalow for a good night of sleep.I'm looking forward to see everything else Costa Rica has to offer!
¡Adios amigos!
Ashley Kerestes (Loves Park, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) #22
Day Two/Three– Saturday, August 4 - Sunday, August 5:
We started the morning off by hanging ten, or at least attempting to... For many of us, it was our first time surfing and we couldn't have picked a better place to catch our first waves. The instructors were incredibly patient and helpful, and the waves were rather mild. After a couple of failed attempts we got the hang of it and were soon able to stay on long enough to takes pictures.We also couldn't have picked a better morning for the surf lessons. It was sunny, but not too hot and the water was a comfortable temperature. It was an overall wonderful experience and I'm glad that I was able to spend it with my team. After hitting the road, we spent the evening playing a match against a top club team in San Jose. We didn't fully know what to expect coming in, but when it comes down to it, volleyball is volleyball and we played our game. Everyone contributed on the court for a successful match. The other team had great sportsmanship and were fun to play against. It felt good to get out on the court and play as a team for the first time this season, especially playing with new people on the team. All in all. it was an exciting and eventful day! Toni Leitshuh (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central)#18
Day Three – Sunday, August 5:
Today we played a club team in San Jose. The court was an old wood floor, and we could feel the breeze through the doors as we played. There was only one referee, so we used an honor system when calling lines. It was a close 5-set match ending in our favor. The club team was very scrappy, so it kept us on our toes. Everyone contributed to our success. The San Jose team was a great team... competitive, but very kind. After the match, we took a group picture and got to talk for a bit. The club team surprised us with homemade Costa Rica bracelets. It was an amazing experience getting to play in another country and we are excited for the games to come! Alexandra Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) #11
Day Four – Monday, August 6:
Following breakfast this morning, we headed over to the gym for practice. We focused on fixing a few errors from the match Sunday night and getting used to the international balls. After a good few hours in the gym, we crossed the street and roamed the mall to find something tasty for lunch. Then, we were back to the gym to work a youth clinic for the local players.
The girls were awesome, and their ability to speak English made things a lot easier! They worked hard while trying new drills and supported their teammates with great enthusiasm during game play.
Afterwards, we enjoyed some snack packs provided by players' mothers while getting to know the local girls. The players were very happy and thankful for the clinic, making the experience very rewarding!
We went off to have dinner before driving to a different gym for our match against a top San Jose club team. We played well against a challenging opponent, winning three out of five sets. The San Jose players were very competitive and possessed great sportsmanship throughout the match. Now, we're in for the night, getting ready for an early bus ride to La Fortuna tomorrow!
Lydia Lukomski (Portville, N.Y./Portville Central)#9
Day Five – Tuesday, August 7:
Today we woke up early and left around 8 a.m.to drive from San Jose to La Fortuna. We stopped at a rest stop on our way that had a gift shop and a beautiful scenic view of the mountains.
When we arrived in La Fortuna, we walked around the town to grab lunch and shop for souvenirs. Next, we headed to the hanging bridges tour to see the rainforest and animals such as ants, tarantulas, monkeys, etc. We crossed 22 total bridges and 6 of them were hanging bridges that traveled from one side of the rainforest to the other. We enjoyed being outside, hiking togetherand seeing the wildlife in Costa Rica. After the tour, we headed to our hotel. We swam in the pool and hot tub for around an hour and then headed to dinner. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant and had delicious pizza. Overall, it was a great day with the team. We look forward to our day tomorrow in La Fortuna and for the rest of this trip! Johanna Gregory (Rochester, N.Y./Penfield) #20
Day Six – Wednesday, August 8:
This morning we woke up with a beautiful, slightly slippery hike to the La Fortuna waterfall in the rainforest of Costa Rica. We were welcomed to the roaring waterfall with a classic rainforest downpour and freezing cold water at the bottom to hang out in. After a rigorous hike of 1,000 steps back up the mountain, we began our zip line tour. Laura Bebinger (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington)#6
The tour included seven zip lines with a spectacular view of the foggy mountains from crazy high heights and a brief tour of the Maleku tribe's artisan crafts. From there, we ate at an amazing Costa Rican buffet style restaurant and for dessert, and artisan chocolate shop!
To end the day we visited natural hot springs which were so peaceful on a rainy afternoon. There were slides, fish, and water temperatures ranging from 35-50 degrees Celsius to make a great place for everyone to enjoy and relax. It was an adventurous day filled with sweat and lots and lots of laughs!
Day Seven – Thursday, August 9:
Today was aday fullof volleyball! I'm sad to say it was our last day in Costa Rica, but we loved every minute of it. We started out by stopping in La Fortuna to explore the stores once more before we left to head to San Jose. The town was filled with hidden gems and our team got to experience them all! Then we took a long but absolutely stunning drive to San Jose to host a clinic full of young girls. There were a couple of girls with great potential! I remembered asking coach if he was recruiting right now and he said "yeah I'm going to leave some business cards lying around."Clinics are always a great time. Mixing Gannon players with the younger playerstruly makes the atmosphere incredible.
Shortly after, we played against the Costa Rican national team for a second time and swept them in three. We definitely learned from the previous game and used that to our advantage. All in all, our last day was well spent. We are so grateful for this opportunity and it will be something to take with us for a very long time. Lexi Johnson (Chandler, Ariz./Basha) #17
Follow the Gannon social media accounts and pay attention to www.gannonsports.com throughout the week for daily updates.A breakdown of the complete planned trip itinerary can be found below.
FRIDAY, AUG. 3
- Arrive in Liberia
- Lunch
- Host youth volleyball clinic
- Travel to Playa Tamarindo(Spend two nights here)
SATURDAY, AUG. 4
- Surf lessons at Playa Tamarindo
- Dinner on the beach
- Free time for sightseeing and shopping in town
SUNDAY, AUG. 5
- Drive to San Jose (5 hour drive)
- Stop for lunch
- Match against top Costa Rican club team (Spend two nights here)
MONDAY, AUG. 6
- Morning practice
- Host youth volleyball clinic
- Evening match against top San Jose club team
TUESDAY, AUG. 7
- Bus to La Fortuna (2 hour drive)
- Lunch in old town of La Fortuna
- Hanging bridges tour through rainforest
- Check-in to resort with view of Arenal Volcano (Spend two nights here)
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 8
- Morning hike to waterfall in La Fortuna
- Zip-line canopy tour
- Lunch
- Visit nearby artisan chocolate shop
- Night soak in natural hot springs
THURSDAY, AUG. 9
- Last-minute shopping and sightseeing in La Fortuna
- Travel back to San Jose
- Host youth volleyball clinic
- Final match against top San Jose club team
FRIDAY, AUG. 10
- Morning sightseeing in San Jose
- Depart for airport
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