Today I started the day with a huge breakfast and a small dessert made by my Mama Tica for my birthday! After breakfast, we started our bus journey to Monteverde. On the way, we were able to see some animals, go in a souvenir shop, and see monkeys in the trees!
On the drive to Monteverde, it was amazing to see a different side of Costa Rica as we left Heredia. Instead of city surroundings, the drive here was a lot of natural sights like mountains and trees. Additionally, there were few houses and they were spread out. The drive here was more reserved and quiet, and some homes had animals like chickens or cows.
Another thing I noticed on the ride was breathtaking scenery. As mentioned before, since there aren’t a lot of houses, the nature was incredible. I found myself wanting to take photos every minute of the ride!
After arriving in Monteverde, my understanding of Costa Rica improved even more! It’s interesting to see a new side of the country, going to city from rural. Additionally, we were able to see some more locations geared towards tourists, like a souvenir shop with prices in dollars, and touristy signs. Even in more reserved areas Costa Rica offers places for tourists to explore, which is very impressive.
Foreigners and tourists have an impact on Costa Rica’s economy. Don Ricardo Guindon’s family moved from the United States to Costa Rica, and a cheese factory was founded. This lead to a change in Costa Rica’s economy and culture because people could work there, buy from it, and its functionality required new roads, which improved the area. These changes made by foreigners all allowed for positive changes in Costa Rica!
Tourism affects the economy as well. There have always been tourists around Monteverde since the beginning (around 1972), but it picked up a lot in the 1980s. This has affected economics because owners of land make money off of the tourists, as the land the hotel we are staying in used to be a dairy farm!
Costa Rica is truly beautiful, and there is nowhere else I would rather spend my 19th birthday! I’m looking forward to exploring more of Monteverde tomorrow.
