The drive up Monteverde was very scenic. The first difference between Heredia and Monteverde was the different animals. In Heredia there are stray dogs, but other than that there are no wild animals. On the bus ride up the bumpy dirt road, there was a large assortment of wild animals including, cows, chickens, oxen, and dogs. The land itself is very different up here on the mountain. Heredia is much more developed, as soon as you enter the town, you can see people and tell there are people inhabiting the town. However, the first 20 minutes up the mountain I was convinced there would be nothing at the top except our hotel. Once we began driving on the paved road, the community was evident. Seeing a school and neighborhood caught me of guard, I was not expecting anything more than a few houses. While on the subject, the houses are another major difference between the two communities. In Heredia, the houses are right on top of each other, sharing walls and splitting floors. On Monteverde the houses are mostly single complexes and have some green space in between the house. Their houses are mostly constructed from medal, and wood; In Heredia they are brick and drywall. Overall Heredia seems much more developed, but both places seem very pleasant.

I have visited Costa Rica once before so I knew what to expect coming in (mostly). Heredia is very much what I expected Costa Rica to be. Moteverde is something out of a movie. This community is very unlike any I’ve seen before; It seems like a sort of utopia. It was created about 100 years ago by ex Americans and is very iscolated from other civilization. I imagine people on this mountain don’t have any desire to leave for years. I did not know there were communities such like Montevedre in Costa Rica. It is very ignorant for me to say, but I thought all of Costa Rica would consist of beach towns, San Jose city, and everything else would be similar to Heredia. Boy was I wrong, Monteverde is a thing of its own. Im glad we are getting to experience a town such as Monteverde considering there are very few like it in the world! My perception of Costa Rica has not changed, rather expanded!!