Day Camp for Kids Combines Fun, Nature

Children who want to explore the wilds  of Costa Rica can do so at an eco-friendly day camp planned for Jan. 5 to 9. Adventure Kids, a bilingual camp for kids 6 to 12, will be based out of the western San José suburb of Escazú, from where kids will travel to the University for Peace’s recreational facility in Ciudad Colón, southwest of the capital, and to Braulio Carrillo National Park on day trips.

The camp is run by former Tico Times editor Carol Weir and her husband, Carlos Chacón, a Costa Rican biologist. Weir says campers will “build an alligator, learn to identify local birds, win prizes at a carnival, soak each other during a water day and have other kinds of fun.”

Weir was inspired to start the camp last year as a way for her two children to make friends they can see every year here.

Camp counselors are chosen from bilingual private high schools, as the participating children are a mix of bilingual children and children who speak only Spanish or English.

The camp is part of Adventures Under the Sun, an Escazú-based company owned by Melida Barbee that also runs bilingual wilderness adventure education programs for teenagers.

Last year, several low-income children were sponsored by donors. To nominate a low-income child in the Escazú area for sponsorship or to sponsor a needy child, e-mail [email protected].

The camp costs $125 per child or $120 each for siblings. The group will not exceed 40 kids, Weir says. For more information, call 2289-0404 or visit www.ausunkids.com.

–Elizabeth Goodwin