Today we left La Fortuna and made our way to Monteverde, where we got to stop by a large wind turbine plant, tour another coffee farm, and finish the day with a canopy night hike through the rainforest. One thing that really stood out to me about the wind turbines was that not all of them were spinning at the same time which seemed a little wasteful at first, but we learned that Costa Rica is able to store and balance energy usage depending on demand, so not every turbine needs to constantly run. We also talked about how Arenal used to provide around 60 percent of Costa Rica’s hydroelectric power but now only provides closer to 25 percent because the country has diversified into other renewable energy sources like wind and geothermal, as well as building more dams on the Caribbean side. Even though I already knew Costa Rica relied heavily on renewable energy, seeing the massive turbines in person while surrounded by such a beautiful landscape furthered my appreciation of how committed the country is to sustainability. It was also interesting learning that much of the area used to be fully forested before being cleared into pastures for farming and development over time.
The coffee farm experience felt much less touristy and more hands-on compared to some of the other tours we’ve done. For part of a small service project, I actually got to help plant some beans and corn after removing weeds and cultivating part of the land myself. It definitely gave me a greater appreciation for how much work and patience farming really requires, as the crops we planted won’t be harvested for another three months. One way the farm tries to waste as little as possible that I thought was pretty cool was how they use their coffee wood to create charcoal, which is then mixed into the soil along with a fermentation process that helps restore healthy bacteria. At the same time, I was a little surprised that they use pesticides and chemicals as many of the places we’ve visited previously have talked about the importance of using organic and natural practices. Though they did explain that they are actively trying to reduce their reliance on them over time. I actually appreciated that honesty because it made the sustainability efforts feel more realistic and genuine instead of pretending everything is perfect already.
At night we also got to do a canopy hike through the Monteverde rainforest, which was super cool and honestly a little surreal. We got to see all kinds of wildlife including spiders, stick bugs, and even a translucent glass frog, which was probably my favorite thing we saw all day. Overall, today helped me deepen my understanding of sustainability and how it’s usually not about finding a perfect solution, but instead about constantly trying to improve and balance environmental protection with practical realities like energy needs, farming, and economic growth.
