Berkeley Heights Troop 368 Enjoys High Adventure Trip to Costa Rica

Boy Scout Troop 368 of Berkeley Heights, N.J. traveled to Costa Rica for an eight day high adventure trip in early August. The 31 person crew headed to Costa Rica from August 3, 2011 to August 10, 2011.

They traveled through three parts of Costa Rica - the South Pacific Ocean side, the Arenal Volcano area and the Pacaure River.  The crew was led by Eagle Scout Ryan Donohue.

In Costa Rica, the crew snorkeled and scuba dived in Manuel Antonio National Park and whitewater rafted down the Pacuare River (class III-IV rapids).

Other activities included:  Walking over hanging bridges through the canopy of the rainforest, rappelling down waterfalls, hiking by the Arenal Volcano, zip lining through the canopy of the rainforest and hikes through the rainforest.

During the week the crew did a service project in a small village called
"Bajos El Tigre" (population of 125 people).  The service project was to
paint the 'Escuela Los Angeles' school and do some general cleanup around the school grounds.  Two suitcases of school supplies were brought down by the crew and the supplies were given out to three different schools.

The crew met up with "El grupo de guias y scouts 336" a Costa Rican Scout Group (#336) in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. The Scouts together had a campfire where they exchanged stories, talked about traditions and traded scouting items.  In Costa Rica, the Scout Groups are coed, which serves youth 6-17.

All the crew members worked hard for the past year to raise funds for their trip. They learned about the Costa Rican culture and history, the science of a volcano and about the environment of the rainforest.

The crew was comprised of:  Matt Allegra, Scott Brookes, Matt Buthe, Ben Carlick, Matt Chen, Akshai Chundru, Brandon Donohue, Ryan Donohue, Andrew Friedlander, Andrew Krasny, Peter Krasny, Daniel Lee, Uday Manchanda, Michael Middlebrook, Michael Mitreuter, Tim Park, Jason Ross, Ryan Stahlin, Chris Tribuna, Ryan Vargo, Jeff Whyte and Bennett Wacaster. 

The adult advisors were:  John Brookes, Bhaskar Chundru, Rick Jurgens, Bill Mitreuter, Jason Pfund, Kyle Reavey, Bill Schulz and Eric Whyte.

In 2011, Troop 368 of Berkeley Heights, N.J. is celebrating '50 years of
Adventure'.  Any youth member ages 11-17 interested in joining the Boy Scouts can go to www.beascout.org.