The Voyager Club is open to students and civilians with a passion for travel, culture, and worldly exploration. Providing educational tours abroad and in the U.S. and teaming up with a travel company called Explorica, the cost of the trip included airfare, transportation, hotels, guided tours, three meals a day, and a lifetime of memories.
This year's extravaganza was a tour of Costa Rica including a visit to the country's capital, San Jose. Seven others, including students from Washington State University and Albany residents, joined the club to meet a larger group totaling 46. They would spend the next 10 days together.
On the agenda was a trip to an active volcano, Arenal via Poas, and a visit to the tropical beaches and rain forests of Manuel Antonio National Park. Excursions included kayaking, hot springs, river rafting, and horseback riding.
"This has probably been the most educational trip we've had," said Dr. Harrison. "A lot of my trips have translated directly into my classes. I find as a teacher, having been to these places makes it more exciting to talk about in class."
One of the activities they embarked on was planting avocado trees in the Santa Elena Biological Reserve. The avocado tree is a favorite fruit of the quetzal bird and planting them is part of a conservation attempt of the bird's migration path and preservation of the forest ecosystem.
The avocado tree takes 50 years to bear its first fruit. Dr. Harrison is optimistic he will return back to their fruiting trees one day.
"I'm going to go back. I'll be 105 years old, but I'm going back."
For Warren, a club member for two years and psychology major, the town of Santa Elena won her over. She recommends future visitors to Costa Rica stop and get to know the locals.
"Everyone I met in Costa Rica was very nice and genuine, but the way I was made to feel in Santa Elena was wonderful. There are some exceptionally nice people in that town that will open their doors to you with comfort and joy."
During leisure activities, such as river rafting, the guides would pull over and show the group wildlife and plant life in and around the water. Even their tour bus driver would teach them about local culture and its history while en route to destinations.
"The guides are the key to these tours," said Dr. Harrison. "We had great guides."
To prepare for the trip abroad, the Voyager Club had several meetings with guest speakers that talked about the country from personal experience. One speaker was a student that lived there in an exchange for four months. Another was a bird watcher sharing expertise and another was a Spanish teacher, teaching the basics helpful in travel.
"This trip gave me a sense of independence. I learned how to be more independent because when I was exploring Costa Rica some places the people didn't know English. I had to use the little bit of Spanish that I knew and learn how to communicate with them when I was lost or needed banos (bathrooms)," said Warren.
While people at home in the States were watching the World Cup, the group saw first hand football-mania in Central America as they watched locals viewing the games.
"We saw a crowd erupt and explode with excitement," said Dr. Harrison.
For Dr. Harrison the highlight of the trip was visiting an elementary school in Monteverde and bringing them school supplies.
"The guys played soccer with the boys and the women played games with the girls. They knew a lot of American music so that was a connector immediately between us and the kids."
Warren's favorite activity was their kayaking trip in Lake Arenal, near the active volcano and the Monteverde cloud forests.
"We started by partnering up and getting settled into our kayaks. Then when we were all snuggled in our life jackets and helmets our tour leader set way to an island in the middle of the lake. When we were on the island the tour leader let us swim around in the lake for a bit before we made our way back. Our tour director told us that were the very first group to not flag down the boat to carry them to shore. We were truly Voyagers then."
Past adventures of the Voyager Club have been to France, Spain, Greece, Italy—even Barak Obama’s inauguration in 2009. Next on the list is Cuba for the 2015/16 school year.
Dr. Harrison is committed to helping students who want to come on future trips with fundraisers and financial aide possibilities. In the past, some trips have been taken by students for credit therefore certain financial aide applied.
Contact Dr. Harrison at harrisr@linnbenton.edu for club and travel inquiries.
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