And just like that, Plus3 Costa Rica is complete! These two weeks flew by, but it also feels like forever ago that I was writing my first blog post. I learned so much through this experience and had a blast too!  This course was all about supply chain and the area that I specifically focused on…

At our final company visit today, we toured Coppedota Café Privilegios Santa Maria de Dota. We have toured many coffee plantations these past two weeks, however Dota differs from the rest as it is a cooperative. This means that it has many producers, specifically 900, that all contribute to the production and decisions of the…

After swimming in a waterfall and getting some much needed rest on our free day yesterday, we continued with some more company visits today focused on tropical agriculture! We visited a banana and pineapple plantation, which have a very different growing process than the coffee plantations we have studied so far. In regards to supply…

This morning we hiked the Misticos Hanging Bridges Park in Arenal. Although, at a glance, it looked similar to the cloud forest of Monteverde, these two areas are vastly different. Of course they were similar experiences in th sense that they were both hikes in a forest. However, the distinct different between the two was…

We wrapped up our time in Monteverde today with one of my favorite visits so far., Life Monteverde. We heard from the owner, Don Guillermo, about the Tico farmer lifestyle. The way that Ticos run their farms is very different from what I have seen in the United States. Specifically, Don Guillermo’s farm is much…

The hike through the cloud forest reserve this morning was something that I had never experienced before and it was absolutely beautiful. It also didn’t hurt that we got to see a few quetzals. The most interesting part of the hike, however, was learning about the importance yet fragility of nature and how we can…

As we traveled out of the Central Valley toward Monteverde, I noticed a lot of changes in the scenery around us. Most obviously, we were surrounded by a lot more nature compared to when we were in the city. It was cool actually driving up the mountains that we were only able to see in…

Today we visited Café Britt, which is one of the most well known coffee companies in Costa Rica. However, even though it is very well known, most Ticos don’t drink Café Britt coffee. This is because the company has focused so much on targeting their tourist population that Costa Ricans don’t see Café Britt as…

We had our first company visit at Doka coffee plantation today! Doka focuses on the growing of coffee beans and most of their supply is sent to the United States and sold at places such at McDonalds and Starbucks. It’s crazy to think that I could have had a latte that was made from their…

Learning that Costa Rica ranks in the top 20 of the World Council’s global “environmental sustainability” ranking makes me respect Costa Rica’s efforts in perserving earth’s natural resources. Especially considering the climate crisis that the world is in, it is encouraging to see how Costa Rica seems to be doing everything that it can to…