After staying in the areas of Costa Rica near San Jose and Heredia this past week, this morning I got to experience a 3 and a half hour ride down the coast of Costa Rica and up its mountains. On this journey to Monteverdie, I go to see what life outside of the cities in Costa Rica look like in this country. Even if I only observed from the window of the seat I was sitting on on the bus ride, I still could infer from what I have learned this far in the trip.

I first noticed we were on the Pacific Coast when the ocean suddenly appeared all around me, quite literally. I almost felt as if I was in the ocean because only a tiny bridge separated the bus from the water. On the water I viewed boats and ports for those boats. From here I got a taste of what happens after all the production of coffee, bananas, or other exports from the country. Costa Rican’s need the means to get their products to their buyers and the boats would do just this for them. I also imagined Ticos working for these companies or perhaps Nicagruans again from the borders. Aside from the coast, I observed Sodas on the streets and farms. We stopped at a souvenir store that was hidden near mango trees. The people that worked here seemed family oriented like the other Ticos I have met so far. As the drive continued I came to the conclusion that the areas outside of the city are much more spread out. Families or homeowners seem to have much larger areas of land to themselves with cattle or plants growing on them. The mountainside gave the same view with spread out houses appearing every once in a while. There was also signs for small towns near the mountainside. We saw what I thought was a glimpse of one of these small towns as we neared Monteverde and it was what I imagined. Small shops to buy and eat at were what we passed and after that the mountainside turned into views of the resort of Monteverde itself. Although the bus ride was long, it was nice to be able to see more of the land and culture that Costa Rica has to offer. The rural lands of Costa Rica were stunning and inhabited by similar yet different Ticos that I had run into thus far.