I started my first, and almost the last, morning in Monteverde by waking up to a full rainbow outside of my hotel balcony. After admiring that, we visited and took a 2 hour long hike around the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. We later attended a lecture at the Monteverde Institute, where we first learned some brief Costa Rican History, then about the operations of Monteverde Institute. While both experiences focused on sustainability and conservation, they approached these ideas from completely different perspectives. During our walk through the cloud forest, I noticed the conversations between Jose and Professor Teeter about the old trails, and that these newly formulated trails may feel restricted. Despite this, I found the regulated trails to be helpful, as they direct you to each point throughout the hike as needed. The paths were narrow and uneven, so as we continued I further understood the methods behind directing the traffic to specific parts of the trail. Although limiting tourism may disappoint some visitors and affect local businesses in the short term, I believe these policies represent good stewardship because they protect the environment that both tourism and the community depend on.

The lecture at the Monteverde Institute introduced another view, as our guide explained that sustainability is not only environmental, but also social and economic. One thing that stood out to me was how they work directly with local students and various universities from the united states to educate them about Costa Rica and their environmental habits, rather than focusing only on bringing in tourists. They explained that sustainability needs to have a balance between conservation with the needs of the local community, which made me think differently about the reserve’s new restrictions. Even though reducing visitor access could potentially lower tourism for the forest, not protecting the cloud forest could result in environmental problems in the future, which could close tourism in the forest completely.