Aug. 18, 2007

Hola Horned Frog Fans!

Following a busy, but very rewarding, final two days in Costa Rica, the TCU Horned Frogs are ready to return to the United States on Sunday. After an early 4:15 wake-up call, TCU will depart San Jose at 7 a.m. and is expected to land in Houston just prior to noon. After nine days without cell phone service, frantic dialing and text messaging is sure to take place at that time. The Horned Frogs will arrive at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport at 2:30 and will be back on campus by 4 p.m.

Friday morning, TCU headed out to Colinas del Poás on a canopy trip. One person at a time, the entire team and staff completed all 10 zip lines. The final line went 600 meters, which is more than a third of a mile, and was easily the fastest run on the course. The zip lines overlooked a beautiful mountain region, which is renowned for its coffee bean production. After finishing the course, which took approximately two hours, the team had lunch on site.

TCU enjoyed down time until its 8:30 game against the Costa Rica National Team, which actually tipped off at 8:15. The Horned Frogs capped off an impressive run in Central America with a 51-point second half en route to a 22-point victory (76-54). The Frogs went 5-1 on the trip, all during a 7-day span. TCU's only off-day over that time was Wednesday on San Andres Island.

To cap off the journey, TCU traveled more than two hours by bus to the Pacuare River, one of the world's top five rivers for white water rafting. The team went 18 miles over 3 ½ hours through the rainforest on Costa Rica's eastern side. The Horned Frogs went in groups of five or six, plus each team had an experienced guide in the raft. Following the trip, the Frogs ate at the Exploradores Outdoors site before returning to the Hotel Intercontneal in the late afternoon. The final excursion was the highlight of the trip for many members of the traveling party.

TCU had an amazing experience in Central America both on and off the court. Please check back with GoFrogs.com for final thoughts and more pictures from the Frogs in Paradise tour.

More Facts About Costa Rica
• There are more than 200 volcanic formations in Costa Rica, and five volcanoes are currently active, including Arenal, one of the world's 20 most active volcanoes.
• Costa Rica has not had an army since 1938.
• Intel computer chips are Costa Rica's No. 1 export. Coffee only ranks seventh.
• There are seven provinces in Costa Rica, which is only the size of West Virginia.
• There are 858 species of birds in Costa Rica, more than you can find in the entire United States.
• Due to the lack of winters, trees in Costa Rica do not have rings.
• Costa Rica's literacy rate of 96 percent is the same as Canada's, and just one percent behind that of the United States.