Today honestly felt like the most “Costa Rica” day possible. We visited a plantation called “The Best Pineapple Tour in Costa Rica,” and somehow it actually lived up to the name. Our guide Daniel made the whole tour feel less like a class and more like an adventure, especially when he told us about the work that goes into growing pineapples. I learned Costa Rica has some of the best soil and climate for pineapples, which is why they export so many around the world, but the job itself is way harder than I expected. Workers have to cover themselves from the strong sun and even snakes hiding in the fields, and the pineapples are treated over and over with things like garlic, chili, nitrogen, and magnesium to help them grow. By the end of the tour, I was looking at pineapples completely differently instead of just thinking of them as something you grab at the grocery store.

The best part was that we got to actually experience everything instead of just hearing facts. We drank fresh piña coladas, ate pineapple that honestly ruined all other pineapple for me forever, and learned how to pick a good one by looking at the green crown and the size of the eyes on the fruit. It made me understand why younger generations in Costa Rica are becoming more interested in tourism than traditional farming. Tourism turns farming into an experience people want to travel for, and it probably feels more exciting to younger people than spending long days doing physical labor in the heat. At the same time, I can also see the risks because if too many people move away from farming, Costa Rica could slowly lose traditions and knowledge that have been passed down for generations.

The waterfall hike after the tour sounded relaxing at first… until I realized it involved about 500 stairs down and then 500 stairs back up. Going down felt easy because the waterfall looked unreal and the whole trail sounded like a jungle movie with all the birds and rushing water. Climbing back up in the humidity after piña coladas was a completely different experience, and every time I thought I was near the top there were somehow more stairs waiting for me. Somehow though, the sore legs almost made the experience funnier because everyone was struggling together. Between the pineapple fields, waterfall views, jungle sounds, and learning how tourism and agriculture connect in Costa Rica, today ended up being one of my favorite experiences so far.