On our final day, we visited strawberry gardens and La Paz waterfall. The strawberry field experience showed us how to grow strawberries in a sustainable manner with no pesticides, a common theme surrounding Costa Rican produce. The La Paz waterfalls were beautiful, and the animal enclosures surrounding them showed us the diverse ecosystem that Costa…
Tag: plus 3 2024
San Jose Tour
Today, we visited San Jose and got to experience the local culture and visit museums that delved into the history of Costa Rica. Through walking down the streets, I noticed the influence of bananas and coffee on the culture. For one, there were banana and plantain stands out on the streets, and the market had…
Pina y Platano
Today, we visited the Plantain and Banana plantation and the pineapple plantation. The focus today was on the sustainability of these farms. For example, at the banana plantation, we cut down our own fruit and made it for our lunch, and then the guide explained how the chopped-down tree was for fertilizer. Additionally, other plants…
Service Project Day
This morning, we had a service project at a local school where we interacted with the children, practiced our Spanish, and painted the fence with them. This volunteering was very beneficial for us since it allowed us to give back to Costa Rica. We have so much to be grateful for as far as this…
Day 6: Say Cheese
This morning, we left the hotel in Amsterdam and made our way towards Rotterdam. Before arriving in Rotterdam, though, we made a stop at Zaanse Schans, a small neighborhood in Zaandam. We had the opportunity to explore this typical Dutch town and its magnificent windmills. There were many shops here, as well as farm animals…
Up in the Clouds in Monteverde
Today we visited the cloud forests in Monteverde and had first-hand experience with nature. We got to see a three-wattled bellbird, which was like nothing I’ve ever seen before and is apparently very rare. Also, the views of the lush mountains were spectacular. This was especially interesting to me because I am very interested in…
Living in the Mountains: Monteverde
Today we traveled to Monteverde from Heredia. This part of Costa Rica is significantly different than Heredia because of the slightly cooler temperature, differing landscape, and much less of a human population. While on the way, I noticed we were passing through neighborhoods of lower income. These areas gave me a new perspective on Costa…
Touring Cafe Britt
Today’s activities included a walking tour and an immersive experience at Cafe Britt. While similar to the walking tour of Doka, this tour was much more entertaining and engaged us at a much higher level. This is mainly due to Cafe Britt’s dedication to marketing. The tour started with two very enthusiastic guides who walked…
Coffee at Doka: ¡Que Tuanis!
Today we went on a walking tour of the Doka Coffee Plantation, and learned all about the process from picking the coffee cherries to roasting them into coffee beans as we know them. Our tour guide took us through the entire manufacturing plant, and explained all the steps in detail. The first step, picking the…