Today, we traveled up to Monteverde which is at a higher altitude in the mountains. To be honest, the majority of today is kind of a blur because I was really tired and socially drained. That’s the con of being an introvert on a trip with a ton of loud, extroverts that are in my face all the time. So my energy was depleted but, I’ll try my best to dig in my brain and tell my recollection.

During the drive, I dozed off into a deep slumber and when I woke up, I saw a lot of green trees on tall hills, pretty houses, and the beautiful blue sky with clouds in the distance.

I just remember thinking about how refreshing it was to see a lot of greenery and untampered nature in Costa Rica. That’s something I craved when I was at Pittsburgh. There was so much disturbing construction and I really wondered why humans are so selfish, always taking more from nature to build all the time. But, Costa Rica is the opposite. This country deeply cares about sustainability and they are appreciative of their environment every day. Seeing their efforts and the beauty of their nature in person has made me more impressed.

The best part was when we arrived at the hotels in Monteverde. It was absolutely stunning. The greenery, the architecture, the beautiful view of mountains and the lake with fish was incredible. But, something that was weird was that it was warmer than usual, so climate change is definitely messing things up.

There’s just so much more to Costa Rica and even though we still have the rest of this week and next week, I’m sad that we’ll be leaving eventually. I just love this place, the serenity, and the friendly culture of the people here. The US culture is the complete opposite and that frustrates me.

So, after we ate lunch, we listened to a presentation from Don Ricardo Guindon about how Quakers came to Costa Rica in the Monteverde region and really elevated the place with their ideas and innovations. Quakers don’t believe in violence so Costa Rica was right up their ally since they don’t participate in war. So they came to the Monteverde area and started farming there because it had great soil. They used their great farming skills and started a dairy farm and started making cheese. The Quakers also built homes and founded schools. They accepted all cultures and races and really wanted to instill an atmosphere of appreciation of family, nature and simple life.

And that’s all I got or can remember. Well overall, arriving in Monteverde was nice today. Hopefully I’m in a better mood to enjoy the cloud forest hike tomorrow.

Pura Vida!