Although today was mostly a travel day, we still had plenty of fun events! Some of my favorite moments of the day have been the unexpected ones. For instance, while we were on the bus to Monteverde we saw a massive group of Howler monkeys in the trees. Everyone was able to get off of the bus and see them up close. On an earlier stop on the bus, I walked through the most beautiful butterfly garden with endless amounts of butterflies. Also, there were chickens, horses, sheep, goats , and even a Texas longhorn. At the hotel in Monteverde, there were animals I had never seen before. I got so many great photos of all the animals!
During the bus ride through the pacific coast and the cloud forest of Monteverde, I noticed a stark difference between these places and back in Heredia. I could see that most of the houses were spread out and much older. I loved looking out the window of the bus and seeing all the farm animals which are definitely not as common in Heredia and San Jose. A vast majority of the land we passed was either farmland or untouched forest. I found the area to be so peaceful because of its natural beauty and because the land is mostly uncharted. On the sides of the roads, there were shops and restaurants, but only a few per town. I saw the traditional “soda” and market. My perception of Costa Rica as changed since arriving on Friday because I had no idea how mountainous the terrain is. There are over a hundred volcanoes in Costa Rica, therefore many of the hills are volcanoes which I find to be really fascinating and a little bit frightening.
In the afternoon, we listened to a presentation regarding the Quaker influence in the Monteverde region from Don Ricardo Guindon. Don Ricardo Guindon’s parents were part of the first group to settle in the Monteverde region and were the ones to name it as well. He showed us photos from the very beginning of Monteverde and of him and his family when he was growing up. I found the photos to be helpful in visualizing the lifestyle back in the early stages of Monteverde. I also did not realize that Monteverde is only seventy-three years old, which is honestly not that old. Originally, Monteverde was mostly a Quaker population, however tourism from other countries has completely transformed the landscape of the population. A major aspect of the Quaker community is the fine cheese business. Before this economic endeavor, there were no aged cheeses in Monteverde. So, becoming a dairy farmer and cheese producer was a popular choice. Currently, Monteverde is a built up town with many shops, restaurants, and hotels because of the tourism industry. Tomorrow, we get to visit Ricardo’s brother’s dairy farm and I am very excited!
Of course, last but not least, we ventured through the cloud forest on a nighttime nature walk. I jump at any chance I get to walk around in nature, thus this was perfect. Our guide was able to listen to sounds of wildlife and identify what species the animal was, and where the animal was in proximity to us. A few of my favorite creatures from the walk include the hummingbird only native to Costa Rica and the extremely rare golden-eyed frog. I appreciated how interactive the experience was due to us all having flashlights to find animals, or other things that piqued our interest. Although, I was just mostly into the frogs. See you again tomorrow in the cloud forest!
