Today we left Heredia in the Central Valley and headed to Monteverde close to the pacific coast. Coming to Costa Rica, I had two expectation: we would see a city style like San José and Heredia, and then we would see the beautiful mountains and nature. While those two expectations were met, I didn’t even imagine how beautiful it would be. The Pacific Coast is so different compared to the city. It is less locals and many more foreigners. Even when we stopped on our way here to explore the gift shop, we met other people touring Costa Rica who were also from Pittsburgh.

I personally think the scenery on the Pacific Coast and Monteverde is much more beautiful than in San José and Heredia. It is much more green and there are many plants and animals. Tonight, we even went on a night time hike through the forest to see animals that are nocturnal and you can only see at night. We saw a scorpion, howler monkey, tarantula, pit viper, and many more. I really enjoy how quiet and safe I feel here compared to when I am in Heredia.

During our lecture with Don Ricardo Guindon, he spoke on how his family migrated to Costa Rica and actually developed Monteverde in the 20th century. I thought it was really interesting that the people who settled in and built Monteverde from the ground up are still alive. He told us that his parents and their friends decided to leave the United States because they didn’t agree with the laws on drafting for the war. When they chose Costa Rica, they started to build businesses such as the cheese shop. From there, they were able to convince more and more people to move to Costa Rica and build a live there. This started an economy and a certain culture in Monteverde.