On Wednesday, May 29, 20204 a group of 13 travelers, consisting of Summit Prep high school students and adults, began the journey to Central America for The Summit’s third International Trip.

We are thrilled to share our adventure with you, our Summit blog readers! Our goal is to post daily on the high school blog, so you can experience the thrills of Costa Rica and Panama with us! We would love to have you follow our adventures and read our posts. Be sure to FOLLOW The Summit’s high school blog so you get our daily updates. We have been told our internet connection may not always be reliable, so have patience with us and we may have to post multiple blogs on the same day. Each day, a different traveler will share their perspective with you and recap our daily activities. 

We have already learned a new catch phrase during our journey: Pura Vida. It literally translates to “Pure Life” andis the unofficial slogan of Costa Rica. It is used to express a simple, cheerful outlook. You can use the phrase in almost any context: an answer when someone asks how you’re doing, a happy expression when you greet someone, or a confused statement when you’re a tourist and can’t think of the correct Spanish words to communicate. Did you know that Costa Rica is known as the happiest country in the world? ¡Sí, Pura Vida!