Today we left the Central Valley, saying goodbye to our Mama Ticas and Heredia. We took a 3-hour bus ride through windy roads and the countryside. On this path, there were smaller communities compared to the big cities that we have been in. It was very interesting to see little fruit stands, fewer people and shops, and more wildlife and nature. We saw wild mango trees with hundreds of mangos on the ground and in the trees. Also, one of the biggest surprises was finding monkeys! We saw a troop of about 20 howler monkeys in the trees right on the side of the road. Here are some pictures!

Being only a few days in the country, my understanding of Costa Rica has changed a lot. For one, there is so much more importance placed on tourism than I previously thought. I knew coming in that they relied financially on tourism, but even in the quiet places, there are shops and locations for tourists to visit. It is so cool the way they set up their economy around it!

After we finished lunch, we had the chance to learn a little bit about the Quakers in Monteverde. Yep, that’s right, Quakers live in Costa Rica! It was really interesting to hear about their impact on the economy and culture. They started out specializing in fine cheese making, creating jobs in their factory and contributing to the market. Additionally, they chose to conserve the wildlife in backyards and made it into the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. We are going to journey through this tomorrow. I can’t wait to tell you all about it! 

(Also, I am going to add a flower photo section at the end of my blogs as long as I remember…)