Today we traveled outside of the Central Valley to Monte Verde and drove past communities on the Pacific Coast and in the mountainous rainforests of Costa Rica. Visually, the style of most of the houses in the communities along our route was similar to what I had seen in Heredia; single story terra-cotta homes with gently inclined metal roofs and lots of metal bars covering doors, windows, porches and yards. The area I saw today was certainly more rural than Heredia and I saw more chickens, cows, and other livestock than I have seen around the more urbanized Central Valley. While much of the Central Valley has very much become a modernized service economy, it appears that agriculture continues to be a major component of the local economy of the coastal and mountainous rain forests regions of Costa Rica. Our host mother was telling us that many of the communities in these regions lack infrastructure for electricity and water and live in poorly constructed dwellings. Most of the homes we passed along the highway and major roads did not appear so severely deficient. In fact, some fancy new constructions were dotted along our route to Monte Verde. However, some of the homes did appear to be in poor condition, and I would imagine that further away from the major roadways the conditions are much worse.
The trip has slightly altered my perspective of Costa Rica. Monte Verde is renowned internationally as a prime destination for ecotourism, so I was expecting it to be very nicely developed and naturally beautiful. I was not disappointed in that regard. However, it was somewhat strange seeing some of Costa Rica’s less fortunate people on the way to a major tourist destination that is mainly designed for and accessible only to wealthy people. It is unfortunate that the tourism industry is able to generate a great deal of wealth in an area but for many people in that area to not see the benefits of that wealth. Another thing I was surprised by was the number of cargo ships and lack of touristy beaches along the coasts. This was probably just because we happened to pass by a port area on the coast, but I previously had this perception that all of Costa Rica’s beaches had been converted into magnificent tourist destinations, which is not quite the case.
While I wish the tourism industry in Monte Verde could help more people in the surrounding regions, I still think the industry is a net good, providing jobs to local people and helping to protect the natural environment. I am excited to see all that Monte Verde has to offer!