Powerpoint Template
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Globalteer orientation guide Costa Rica All the tips, information and recommendations you need to get ready for your upcoming volunteer placement. Contents 1. Welcome to Costa Rica! About Globalteer Getting out and about Useful local contacts 2. Getting ready for your placement Visa and insurance information Packing guide Getting to Costa Rica Arriving into Costa Rica 3. Volunteering in Costa Rica A brief history of Costa Rica Climate Health Safety Responsible travel Expenses Culture shock Keeping in touch with home This Globalteer Costa Rica information pack will ensure you arrive fully prepared for your international volunteering and travel experience. Welcome to Travelling to a new country always causes a few 1 worries and apprehensions, and this guide will give you all the information you need to turn Costa Rica! those worries into excitement. You will also receive an additional project Congratulations on your decision to specific information pack before your arrival. volunteer with Globalteer! We are certain that you will have a fantastic So sit down, have a read, and start getting ready for your trip of a lifetime! time and also help out your project in an amazing way. We also have additional project information on our website, including FAQs, previous volunteer This guide is for everyone who will be stories, photo gallery and further accommodation coming to Costa Rica to volunteer with information. Globalteer. If you still have questions after reading this guide, please contact us by email. Our team is well travelled and we are able to help answer anything further you would like to know about the project, getting prepared for your placement, and in-country travel! About Globalteer Globalteer was founded as a UK non-profit organisation in June 2006. Globalteer is a registered charity in the UK (registration number 1119706), which means that Globalteer is legally required to ensure that 100% of all monies received are used to achieve our charitable objectives. Our Strategies To work with projects that meet genuine local needs, as identified by the communities they serve, and that meet our criteria for sustainability and responsibility. To work closely with our partner projects to ensure that all volunteer placements are of genuine value to the project and are in keeping with the projects’ short term goals and long term objectives To place suitably experienced volunteers within approved partner projects on tasks where there is a local shortage of necessary skills. To encourage the transfer of volunteer skills to local staff wherever possible. To help fund the continued development of partner projects. To help all our partner projects to become fully self-funded and locally managed with minimal requirement for external support. To continually assess the needs of the communities with whom we work and identify new partners and new initiatives as necessary. Getting out and about Costa Rica is a country that is easy to travel around and has many beautiful sites to visit around the country! This section of the orientation guide will give you more information about what to do in and around Costa Rica. Our travel partner can advise if you wish to book excursions before you leave home and if you do book through them, they will make a small donation to Globalteer. Please visit our website for details of our travel partners However, don’t forgot to ask project staff for recommendations once you arrive in San Jose, especially regarding any local upcoming festivals, or places to visit near your project site. What to do in Costa Rica Costa Rica’s diverse terrain, which is comprised of lush forests, wildlife reserves and tropical beaches, offers something for every traveller. Traveling is quite easy in Costa Rica via public bus or tourist shuttles. Below is a list of things that you can arrange to do before, during or after your volunteering period: Chill out on the beaches and rainforest of the Nicoya Peninsula. Visit El Arenal, one of Central America’s most active volcanoes. Enjoy wildlife and bird spotting in the Manuel Antonio or Corcovado National Reserves. Marvel at the unique biodiversity of the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Indulge in surfing and the nightlife at the Caribbean village of Viejo Puerto de Talamanca. Spot crocodiles, jaguars and sloths in the Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge. Bathe in the hot springs at Tabacon near El Arenal Volcano. Snorkel in crystal clear waters off Isla Tortuga or many of the other beautiful beaches. Useful local contacts You will be provided the essential project contact details in your travel confirmation email from Globalteer. Here are some general phone numbers and addresses for your stay in Costa Rica. Upon your arrival, project staff will also be able to provide recommendations for quality medical clinics in San Jose if needed. Emergency numbers US Embassy Police (Fuerza Pública) – 1117 Calle 120 Via 104, Pavas, San Jose Fire Fighters (Bomberos) – 1118 (506) 2519-2000 Red Cross (Cruz Roja) – 1128 / 2221 5818 Transit Police – 2222 9330 / 800 8726 7486 Canadian Embassy Drug Control Police – 800 376 4266 La Sabana Executive Business Centre, Building No. 5, 3rd Floor, behind the Contraloría Immigration General de la República, P.O. Box 351-1007, Department of Immigration San José La Uruca, San José, next to the Dirección (506) 2242-4400 General de Aviación Civil 2299 8026 Australian Consulate-General 900 1234 5678 for appointments Centro Corporativo Plaza Roble, Edificio El Patio, 3rd Floor, Escazu, San Jose, Costa Rica Embassies and consulates (506) 2201 8700 British Embassy Edificio Centro Colón, Paseo Colón and Streets For other nationalities, you can find a full list 38 and 40 of embassies in Costa Rica here. (506) 2258-2025 Visa & insurance Getting ready information 2 Getting your visa It is the volunteer's responsibility to arrange an for your placement entry visa. The visa application process is usually very straightforward, but you should check visa Now that your placement confirmed, it requirements immediately. Normally volunteers is time to start getting prepared for your only need tourist visas when participating in our projects, but every country has different visa trip of a lifetime. requirements and the length of stay they grant can vary. This includes organising flights, insurance, visas and of course trying to It is best to tell immigration officials that you are fit everything in your bag! simply a tourist on vacation. The concept of volunteering is not always understood in the countries we operate in, and can be confused with Everything in this section will help you working, which normally requires a special visa that know exactly what you need to do is harder to get. before coming to the project and starting your placement. You can read more about getting your visa on our website. Travel insurance Insurance is not included in your volunteer placement fee. Travel insurance is only a boring subject if you are unlucky enough to get sick or injured, or find yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere on your big trip. Being uninsured in such situations can work out much more expensive than the cost of an insurance premium and can also be dangerous. In developing countries reliable healthcare and emergency treatment can be hard to find, and extremely expensive for foreigners. This is why we strongly recommend that all our volunteers take out suitable travel insurance. You can read more about the importance of travel insurance and our insurance partner here on our website. Packing guide Almost everything you need can be bought in Costa Rica. Packing clothes is a personal thing as some people prefer to pack light and others take as many items of clothes as can be fitted in their backpack! This is only a general guide that should be adjusted to your personal preferences. The average size of people in Costa Rica can be smaller, so if you require large size clothing or shoes then it may be very difficult to find them locally. For volunteers at the Sea Turtle Conservation Project, please be aware that you need to bring your own bedding (including pillow) and mosquito net. Also ensure to bring dark coloured clothing and a flashlight or head torch with a red light, or red cellophane covering the normal light, for night patrols. We recommend bringing a backpack as suitcases can be difficult to manage on bus and ferries when travelling in Costa Rica. You will also need a day pack. Bring clothes that you are happy to get dirty when volunteering. Essentials Accessories Passport (and some photocopies) Camera, memory cards, battery charger Travel insurance documents Torch or headlamp ATM cards (remember to tell your bank you are Books going overseas!) Phone and charger if required Card listing vaccinations received Electrical converter if necessary Copies of tickets for any onwards travels US dollars, euro or pounds as back-up cash Copies of essential project phone numbers Bring your own sleeping bag or sheets and pillow, and mosquito net to protect you at night from bugs and torch with red light (for turtle volunteers) Clothing Health 1 x sandals for warmer days Insect repellent 1 x walking/running/hiking shoes that are Shampoo/soap comfortable when walking on sand Deodorant light and cool underwear and socks Sunscreen long trousers or shorts (a pair of trousers that zip Toothbrush and toothpaste off the legs to make shorts can be handy). Long Tissue (to take on days out, just in case none trousers will protect you from bugs at night available in toilets) Note: toilet paper can’t always t-shirts that are loose and lightweight be flushed in Costa Rica 1 x long sleeve shirt for sun and bug protection Hairbrush/comb/shaving gel if required 1x warm top Feminine hygiene products (tampons can be hard 1 x hat for sun protection to find and expensive) 1 x swim suit (depending on travels) Personal prescriptions 1 x nightclothes Painkillers for headaches, etc.