This morning, we left Heredia for the mountains. We’ll spend the next two days in Monteverde, hiking through the Cloud Forest and watching golden orange sunsets from the mountaintop. As we got further and further away from the central valley, the scenery transformed. Precariously perched on winding cliffsides, the bus climbed higher and higher through lush forests and across narrow bridges. This made for an incredible view, from hour one to hour four. Here’s a photo for reference:

What I found most striking was the integration of domestic life with the surrounding environment. Occasionally, we would pass by a village tucked away behind the trees, the dividing line between home and brush unclear and unimportant. Although I had no occasion to speak to any of the people living in these settlements, I’d like to assume their lives and the ecosystem are both fluidly and strongly intertwined.

Rather than changing, my perception of Costa Rica has only been reinforced since Saturday. I’ve come to admire the incredibly friendly and positive culture. Additionally, rather than being met by a third-world country of primarily farmers, we’ve learned from estate managers and university graduate students just how advanced and developed the nation has become.

After lunch today, we had the opportunity to hear from Don Ricardo, a second-generation settler of the Monteverde region. In rejection of the selective service draft during and after the second World War, a group of Quakers moved to Costa Rica after discovering the country had disbanded their military and was wanting for foreign investment. Don Ricardo’s father was one of these pioneers. After searching for months for a place to settle, he helped establish a a new community on the green mountain – Monteverde. This settlement of Quakers helped contribute to Costa Rica’s economy and culture by creating the country’s first cheese factory, and by establishing a local school for children. In addition, the developing society in the mountains provided researchers a base for investigating an incredible variety of new species that evidently could not be found anywhere else. Ultimately, this inspired Don Ricardo to become a biologist himself, enabling him to satisfy his love for the natural world.