Today we visited La Paz and a strawberry farm. The experience was like no other. The waterfalls at La Paz were beautiful and the strawberries were delicious. Both these two locations had something in common. They both were able to build a sustainable relationship between people, land, and commerce.

La Paz did the best at maintaining this very important relationship. In Costa Rica, one of the countries core missions is to preserve and protect nature and land. At La Paz you could tell that this mission was incorporated within the area. The hand rails going up and down the mountain looked to be made from wood from the forest and fit right in with nature. You could tell they were built to not disrupt nature. The entire La Paz seemed to make everything hand made to fit right in with nature.

La Paz was built with the land and nature in mind but you can also tell that it can make a good business. The multiple restaurants and lodging can create a real good business opportunity. The relationship between conservation and commerce seem to work nicely together. Commerce doesn’t seem to overpower conservation which I feel is a big issue in the United States. However, I would like to know how La Paz uses their profits and if they invest any back into nature. This could be a telling detail of the motives behind La Paz.

I had a blast today and I am excited to continue to explore Costa Rica!