Today, we spent the morning and early afternoon driving from Heredia up the mountain to Monteverde. About halfway through the trip, we took a quick stop at a farm where we ate, pet animals, and got a beautiful view of a lush garden overlooking the Costa Rican countryside. 

Along the drive, I could clearly tell which areas were benefiting from ecotourism and which areas were not. In the more rural areas, I noticed a greater number of fruit and vegetable stands on the side of the road. Thus, I observed that the rural areas are more dependent on independent/family-run agriculture. However, as we entered Monteverde, a town thriving off of tourism, the fruit and vegetable stands disappeared, being replaced with gift shops. Additionally, the areas we drove through that were dependent on ecotourism had more billboards in English, whereas the more rural areas had more billboards in Spanish. 

After Professor Teeter generously treated the group to ice cream, we refueled, regrouped, and relocated for a brief lecture. Ricardo Guidon, son of one of the most famous original Quakers in Monteverde. Through pictures and engaging descriptions of his childhood, the group got a taste of what it must have been like to restart in a foreign country and build an economy from the ground up. The history of Quakers in Monteverde starts with Marvin Rockwell; Rockwell served in the Second World War as a nurse and became disgusted by war. Quakers refused to enlist, and as tensions rose with the U.S. government, they sought out a new place to live. Costa Rica happened to be the perfect spot. With no constitution and no military under a new president, post-civil war, Costa Rica aligned with Quaker values. 

Monterverde stuck out to the Quakers because the mountains near the Central Valley were too expensive, and the lowland heat had mosquitoes. Once the Quakers encountered Monteverde on a day with undoubtedly perfect conditions, they quickly made their mark via deforestation, roadwork, and cheese. Their community also includes schools, libraries, and recreational centers. Nowadays, Monteverde’s economy is fueled by ecotourism, not cheese. 

Overall, I found Ricardo Guindon’s brief life story to be interesting. I hadn’t known that a group of Quakers colonized Costa Rica, and I certainly did not know that the currently lush, biodiverse Monteverde used to be categorized by pastures. However, I would have preferred if he had delved deeper into the reforestation effort, conflicts, and hardship. With a brief history of Monteverde in mind, I am ready to take on the Cloud Forest tomorrow.