Wrapping it all Up

Since my last blog, I've done a little bit here and there. We had class/group project work all day on Tuesday then on Wednesday, we presented our projects and took our final exams. The group projects required each group to research a US company and make a proposal to them as far as how they can become sustainable. My group researched the Glad Product Company. It was really interesting to listen to the other presentations and realize how unsustainable companies currently are such as Fruit of the Loom and Proctor and Gamble.
We all celebrated last night by going out to a bar that was always the first stop everynight throughout our trip. It was a blast. A bunch of us ended up going to McDonalds at 1 AM and ordering french fries. Good memories!
Today we woke up early and headed to Poas Volcano. Right when we walked up, the clouds cleared and we saw the caldera plain and clear. It was ironic that it happened because there was a group that had been waiting for 2 hours to see the clouds clear and we saw them clear right as we were walking up. Apparently you can only see the caldera 75% of the times you visit? It was really a pretty amazing sight. After that we went to La Paz waterfall which had a big bird sanctuary type thing, a butterfly house, a snake house, a frog house, and a hike down a bunch of different waterfalls which were all beautiful. It was funny because if we hadn't see any of the common Costa Rica animals/reptiles/insects while we were out on our other hikes, we could have seen all of them at this place somewhere. It was a nice place for close up pictures. We took a long busride back and everybody was sleeping the whole way. We just got back here to Veritas where they are having a party for "Welcoming students from other cultures" aka us. It should be fun. Tomorrow is our last day here in San Jose before we head back to the states. A big group are going bungee jumping in the morning but I'm holding out on that one to do with Jeff (awww). I think everyone sticking around here is going to head downtown for some last minute souvenir shopping and hanging out. I'm excited for the freedom we have tomorrow. I'm also excited to come home and not excited at the same time.
This has been an amazing trip and I feel like I've made so many close friends. It's going to be weird not having the same people around me that I have for the past four weeks. We've all clicked so well it's like we've known each other forever. I think we definately got lucky with this group. I'm definately going to miss them :(
I think I've learned alot being here too. Just trying to adapt to the differences in cultures has been rough and I still haven't completely but its been a good experience. Living with our host family was a learning experience too. I picked up a little spanish throughout the month which is exciting. I don't know if I will ever use it again but its been fun learning at the house. I realized that there are alot of differences between the opinions of Costa Ricans and those of the US in terms of politics. Our host family is from Peru so it may not be the common opinion of the ticos. Last night at dinner, our host father went on a speal about how he doesn't want Obama to be our next president solely because he's black. It caught us all off guard and it also caught him offgaurd when we said that his skin color didn't matter. Apparently in Peru, blacks are greatly looked down upon. He also told us that he likes President Bush because he helped the citizens of Peru when they had terrorist issues. When my roommate Lindsay said that she didn't favor him anymore, he couldn't understand why not. On top of that, when he started talking to Lindsay about her engagement, he went on about all of the things that a wife needs to be to make a marriage work. He said they needed to be loyal, loving, a good mother...then he said they need to be a good lover and sexual. It was very weird/awkward and I was expecting Carmen to interrupt him but she didn't. He went on about how you need to both like to dance with each other. It was all interesting and it made me realize how different cultures really are. Obviously alot of the marriage stuff is true but to be so forward in front of us was surprising. We ended up having our last dinner last night for two hours. We sat and ate and drank white wine and talked about all different things. At the end, Carmen gave us a few recipes that she had made us over the time we were here. I'm really excited to try to make them when I get home!
I think I'm really going to miss being here once I'm back but I'm also ready to be home. I've learned alot and it has been a great experience.

I hope anyone that has read my blog has enjoyed hearing about everything going on during my trip. You pretty much know everything. I hope to see everyone soon!

I'm putting this in here one last time. If you would like to help:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/soh/nattri08/aminneman

TNT

http://pages.teamintraining.org/soh/nattri08/aminneman

Coffee

As displayed in my other blogs, coffee is a very important part of many peoples lives in Costa Rica. I never would have thought that coffee production would be so prevalent.

On our many bus rides around the country, we´ve been able to see the different types of plants being grown and how they are being grown. It has been interesting to notice and learn how coffee growth is different at different alititudes and climate zones. We were able to visit a plantation that requires less work due to the climate conditions which is beneficial to the soils and surrounding environment. We´ve also passed several fields where shade screens were built over the plants to create optimal growth conditions in sunnier climates. In this case, environmental degredation is potentially much more prevalent.

It will be enjoyable to notice more about coffee once we return to the US. I know that I will pay closer attention to the details and be able to explain the differences between organic and nonorganic. Learning about coffee in Costa Rica has been a very beneficial experience.

Tourism

Sea Urchins. Notice how close this picture is...there was no diving involved when taking this picture.
You can see all of the group out there in the water (those little spots are their heads).

We got a little more experiece in the tourism industry this past weekend on our trip to Manzanillo and Puerto Viejo.

What I really want to focus on was our snorkeling trip that we took on Saturday morning. I understand the benefits of bringing income to those who do not have opportunities and how it helps the economny, but I also see the downside of ecotourism. On our trip to snorkel in the Caribbean, I was given the perfect example.

I remember learning about El Niño in eight grade science class and how it was killing the coral reefs. I also learned alot about the subject in my oceanography class Sophomore year. What I found on our trip was that the protection of the reefs wasnt stressed as much as I was expecting. We snorkeled very close the reefs. You could touch them by simply putting your hand down as you were swimming around. Also, when the waves moved you around, you had a good chance of running into the coral like I did when I bumped my knee. It was very suprising to me that we were taken so close to this natural being when its so important to preserve them.

After experiencing the snorkeling trip, it made me realize that ecotourism can be benefical when put into practice correctly. It may bring income to those in need but without their understanding of why the tourists are there, the environment may be destroyed more than sustained.

Bananas

We finally went to a banana plantation!! Not just any plantation, the Chiquita plantation! We spent part of Friday exploring and learning more about banana production and Chiquita as a company. It was a very interesting visit to say the least.

We started the trip by learning about Chiquitas conservation project. They are helping the environment by promoting public knowledge on sustainability and also by planting trees and preserving areas surrounding the plantation. The Project brings in students and groups and gives them lessons on maintaining and preserving the environment.

We were able to ask questions and we learned alot about how Chiquita works hard on sustainable practices and the health of their workers. We learned about the recycling of the bags that they use for protecting the bananas from insects which I mentioned in a prior blog. They also showed us the clothes that workers have to wear to prevent health problems while working. It was interesting that they were so forward about how they protect their workers but didn´t jump too much into the reasons that workers are required to wear the clothes. We actually saw huge signs telling people to not enter into the plantation because of how bad the chemicals are. Not only do they affect the workers and surrounding citizens, but they also can produce runoff that makes its way into to surrounding fields and water supply systems.

Chiquita has the potential for common banana production issues but they also have very good solutions. Chiquitas solution to runoff issues is that they have planted forests surrounding the plantation in an attempt to work as a barrier against the chemicals. They also evacuate surrounding homes during chemical sprays to protect the health of citizens who live nearby. After learning so much about the hazardous affects that banana production has on the environment, I was surprised to see the tactics that Chiquita uses to minimize the risks.

According to my professors, Chiquita is actually alot more sutainable than other plantations. I think that if other companies can curb their objectives towards sustainable growth, then the consequences will not be as large of an impact on the environment in the long run.

Puerto Viejo Weekend

Heidi, Diane, and I on the beach in Manzanillo. It was beutiful.

Out by the water during our bonfire at our resort.

Our destination after we hiked down the beach. A frog...like you see in pictures. ha
At the Chiquita plantation. This lady is putting the stickers on the bananas.
A monkey!! We got to see this one up close !
Laying out and trying to catch some rays. I got burnt during this overcast beach time.
The view from our beautiful resort hotel.

We just got back from another long trip. This time we went to the Caribbean side of the country which was a lot different.

We started off our trip by driving to La Selva Research Station on Thursday. While we were there, we went on two nature hikes and learned more about the rainforest. We saw a lot of poisonous frogs and they were all bright colors (mainly red). We also saw more monkeys and wild pigs. We learned about strangler figs for about the fifth time too. They are trees that grow up and around other trees until they can block sunlight from getting to the main tree, then the main tree dies. Its pretty interesting the first time you hear it!

We left from La Selva on Friday morning then headed to the Chiquita plantation which was an experience. We watched a video on the project they started and got a tour of part of the plantation. You´ll hear more about it in my banana blog. After Chiquita we headed to Puerty Viejo and spent the night there. A bunch of us went out to a club on the beach which was a blast. They played music from the US which was super comforting.

Saturday morning we got up very early and headed out to snorkel. It was alot more shallow in the Caribbean and the coral reefs were very pretty. They weren´t so pretty though after you jam your knee in to them...whoops!

After snorkeling we headed to Manzanillo and settled into our dream resort that we had all been waiting for. It was right on the beach, the bathrooms were nice (not common), there was a nice pool, the food was AMAZING, and the sun was shining. We spent the rest of the day at the hotel. Sunday morning, 4 of us got up really early and went for a 3 mile run. It was my best run yet! We ran a really fast two miles then ran the last part on the beach which is a lot harder than I thought it would be! Either way, it started my day off great. After breakfast we took a hike out to this big lookout point. It was beautifual. Once we got back to the hotel we relaxed during the afternoon because it was raining. It was still very nice to just relax. I tried wine from Chile last night which is supposed to be really good and I agree, it was delicious.

Now we are back in San Jose for the rest of the trip. We have classes tomorrow then group presentations and our final on Wednesday. It seems like it will be a little stressful these first two days but Thursday and Friday should be nice!

Tourism

Our trip to the Osa Peninsula was a perfect example of eco-tourism. We spent the majority of our time (besides the camp) in areas that weren't touched by humans. 

It was apparent from the beginning that the Osa was well kept when we took our first boat ride to our camp. There were very few cars and we were always transported by the same taxis. 

Our first day trip was to the park itself. The only man made thing around was the rangers office. Other than that, there were only untouched beaches and the rainforest. Our guide was able to bring us around the park without harming anything. The only part of our hike that looked unnatural was the path that was created by people simply hiking - no gravel or sand led the way. 

Our snorkeling trip even further displayed how eco-friendly our trip to the Osa was. We took boats again to Cano Island where the only thing there was a small building. We took boats out where we snorkeled. I'm pretty sure the only part of that trip that could hurt the environment was the boat motors. We were able to enjoy ourselves and be entertained by still maintaining the environment and enjoying its beauty. 

I think the trip we are taking to the Caribbean is going to be a lot different. There should be alot more commercial points of interest rather than natural (not including the beach). It should be interesting to contrast.

The Osa

These pictures are out of order again - fyi.

Here is a nice shot that our guide took for me when we were snorkeling. Its so nice to have a waterproof camera.
This was our view from our tents. 
I love this picture. Back behind me was the first waterfall we hiked to. Thats our amazing guide over there.
Jaguar prints!! ahh
If you eat this plant, you will die within 30 minutes. No cure. 
Playing in the second waterfall.
Snorkeling!
The guys helping the bus after it attempted a potentially dangerous move. Luckily, we all were told to get off first. We had to go on this road because there was a bridge out on the way there.
Here we are winding through a crazy forest on our way to the camp.
Our tents.
Playing cards...very common.
Here we are on our way to the 3 hour hike along the beach. We are all so pumped :)

So we took a long trip to the Osa Peninsula these past few days and it was an experience. After a long bus ride there with a few interesting stops, we made it to our boats that we took to the wilderness camp. We were welcomed by a family that centered everything around making us happy (can't complain there). We all stayed in tents with beds in them that were covered and the view was beautiful from the camp. You could see the ocean from inside the tent. 

Our first night there we relaxed and played cards for a few hours which came to be pretty much all we did while at the camp. They served us gourmet style food the whole time which was amazing.

Monday morning we hopped on the boats again and they took us to the preserved part of the Osa for a long hike. We spent 3 hours walking along the beach and right inside the rainforest. We saw monkeys, spiders, termites (which the guys ate...ahh), crazy foot prints from jaguars and the biggest mammal in Costa Rica. Our group stopped at a waterfall and we all went for a swim. It was beautiful. Our guide cracked open a coconut and we all got to drink the juice and eat some too. It was actually really tasty. We had lunch then hiked to another waterfall where we all swam. It felt amazing because it was so hot. After the hike we headed back to the camp where we spent the rest of the day playing cards and hanging out. It was a relaxing camp to say the least. 

Monday night is when the rain began. There was actually a big storm and the thunder was incredibly loud. It woke everybody up and it sounded like we were being bombed. It was still raining when we woke up but luckily it cleared up before we headed for Cano Island to go snorkeling. It was a rough boat ride over but I sat in the front we went up and down with the waves. Whenever we hit a big wave, it was like all of your bones smacked together once the boat hit water again. It was painful but it was a blast. The snorkeling was fun. We got to see alot of fish but I think snorkeling in the Caribbean will be better. 

We spent the rest of the day at the camp again and again, we played cards and hung out. The man who owned the camp made us a big jug of "juice" and he threw a party which was alot of fun. There was a lot of dancing involved. 

We had a long trip back yesterday. These bus rides just keep coming. 

This trip taught me alot about how the natural world could be if humans were not to alter it. Costa Rica has proven to be a very beautiful country that knows how to work the tourism industry. It was amazing to actually see all of the natural life in its prime. You will notice how eco-friendly this trip was in my Tourism blog. 

We leave for the Caribbean in about an hour which is exciting. We'll get back on Monday and then wrapping up the trip is all we have left (I say that casually but there is actually a ton to do). Hopefully no rain this weekend!

Manuel Antonio busride

This is just a little clip of how college students waste time on busrides to salsa clubs. After happy hour.

Random

This has nothing to do with Costa Rica but I just got two donations towards my goal for Team In Training!!! I`m so pumped!!

Bananas

My other posts on bananas point out their history and cultivation but they do not address the effects that they have on the environment.

The major affect that initially starting a plantation will have on the enviornment is detrimental. Many natural features, such as rainforests are being destroyed to make way for the creation of banana plantations.

Several large banana plantations such as Dole, Chiquita, and Del Monte are focused highly on the appearance of their bananas with little regards to the environmental affects on the earth. Many pesticides are used so that insects will not alter the appearance of the banana, which brings along many other issues. If the insect species that is being targeted is not present when sprayed, then the beneficial predetors may end up being killed. The pesticides used on these insects have also shown to be harmful to surrounding wildlife such as birds and fish which are predators to the insects that these pesticides kill.

A startling fact is that bananas are actually the most pesticide-rich topical fruit produced for international trade. Even more shocking, in Costa Rica 280 different pesticides are approved for use on bananas and one third of banana production cost in Costa Rica is spent on pesticides.

Although Costa Rica has ideal conditions for banana production, it also provides the an abundance of rain. This can become an issue because the rain water carries away pesticides from the plantations to other areas of the country. In fact around 60 - 85% of all chemicals are lost to leaching or runoff due to raining and absorption.

Banana plantations also have issues with the disposal of waste. Twenty percent of waste from plantations requires special treatment. The Ministry of Health found that in Costa Rica, 78% of plantations did not dispose of waste properly. Waste exists from the disposal of bad banana production and also plastic bags and ties used to protect the plant from insects.

It is apparent that banana production seems to have a very detrimental affect on the environment. Companies are starting to improve the ways of production so that there are less effects occuring. Later in our trip, we are visiting an organic plantation where I'm hoping to learn about more sustainable ways to grow bananas.

(http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/15843/Banana-Production-and-the-Environment-Sarapiqui-1)

Friday, May 30, 2008

Hello everyone. Today is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the temperature is perfect, Stephanie and I went on a nice run this morning...its just great. Oh, and class got postoned an hour. I'm very happy.

I don't have much to talk about really. We had 3 classes yesterday and they were all pretty interesting. We talked alot of about risk management and ecological services. It was really interesting to learn more about what pushes companies to "go green". I didn't realize how many people can have an affect on companies and the way they use our resources. There are alot of stakeholders who put pressure on companies to become more sustainable such as the media, competitors, and non-governmental organizations.

We also watched the movie The 11th Hour last night which is narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. First, I'd like to say that he shouldnt have narrated the movie because he's an actor and it looked like he was acting when he was talking about our effect on the earth. Not a good choice in my opinion. Either way, the movie was insane. I'm pretty sure they were using the fear tactic to make the viewer realize that everything on earth will die if we don't change our habits. They talked alot about water scarcity, the extinction of oceanic life, dead zones, storm enhancement, etc. It was really interesting and it kept my attention the majority of the time. It did motivate me to act because I feel more conscious about my water usage and throwing away trash among other things.

Jumping back to the present - our trip to the Osa Penninsula ended up getting postponed to Sunday because of Tropical Storm Alma. Today, we're having class instead and starting to work on our group projects. Instead of next Thursday, we're going white water rafting all day tomorrow then coming back to San Jose before leaving for the Pennisnula tomorrow. I'm pumped to have this nice break with nice weather and rafting tomorrow should be a blast.

In case you feel like helping me out, you should go to this website:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/soh/nattri08/aminneman

Coffee

I was reading more about sustainable coffee growth and I found some information about indications that coffee is grown sustainably. The five that were listed were:

1. Certification
2. Country of Origin
3. Botanical Variety
4. Roaster
5. Price

In regards to certification, the cost of certifying your coffee organic can be great so some organic coffees do not have a seal. In the event that organic coffee does carry a seal, there are several types that may be present. One type of seal is that of bird friendly growth. In this case, it is required to be grown organically so you are getting coffee with sustainability and biodiversity kept as high priorities. To be certified organic by the USDA, it means that most but not all chemicals were eliminated from the growth process and most are grown with at least partial shade. Other types of seals exist such as from the Rainforest Alliance

The country of origin is important because some countries no longer use shade to grow their beans. These countries are more likely to use shade growing: Mexico, Bolivia, Ethiopia and a few others. Countries likely to use sun growing are: Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam.

Botanical variety relates to the two species of coffees sold commercially. These two are Arabica and Robusta. Arabica is high quality where Robusta is generally low quality and mass produced with a lot of chemicals.

It is recommended that you buy coffee from a small, specialty roaster. This is because small roasters tend to have better relationships with the farms that grow their coffee and they know exactly where it came from. They are also more likely to know how it was grown.

The topic of price and sustainable coffee is just as one may guess: cheap coffee is probably not sustainable. It takes more money to grow organic, sustainably coffee; therefore, the cost will tend to be higher.

I think this will help me to make a more educated decision when the day comes that I decide to like coffee. I don't think the day will come but maybe whoever reads this will benefit.

Pictures from Manuel Antonio

This is a view from the bridge we stopped at on our way to Manuel Antonio (note the five gators, crocs...whatever they are)
Here's the crew out in the Pacific while it was raining but warm thank goodness.
A monkey!! Its very small peeping its head up in the middle of the picture.
Happy hour!
This was the view from our hotel...it was beautiful. Unfortunately, it was always raining.

Manuel Antonio

Tuesday and Wednesday were an experience...not the most amazing but still and experience. Our whole group of 27 (minus our instructors) went Manuel Antonio Beach in search of a nice relaxing trip and to catch some rays. It ended up after our 4 hour bus ride there that it rained the entire time.
We went to the beach anyways and got to enjoy the huge waves and riptides. It was a good time other than my ear becoming full of water. We were all diving into the waves and getting flipped around and upside down by the currents which was really scary at first but still a blast.
We all went to happy hour where that had 2 x 1 tropical drinks and we took over the place which made it alot of fun. Our bus ended up taking us to a salsa and meringue restaurant/bar/club which was sooo much fun. I didn't really know what I was doing but the guy leads so all I did was just spin around.
We actually got to sleep in the next morning and nobody went to the beach because it was raining again...surprise, surprise. Then we took a long busride back as everybody talked about how the rain was depressing us. Either way, were in Costa Rica but its hard when the beach trip wasn't what we were waiting for.
We woke up this morning to more rain and found out that there is a tropical "depression" over Costa Rica right now which is why it has been raining non stop. Its called Tropical Storm Alma. Apparently, if the storm doesn't go North like its supposed to, then we may have to change our plans for the weekend. We're supposed to be going to the Osa Penninsula which is the hardcore rainforest/jungle that nobody goes to because its so hard to get to (combo of driving/boating/hiking). This is where were supposed to see all of the exotic creatures and sleep at a nature preserve under mosquito nets. Sounds like a good time...if its not raining. If you can't tell, i'm soo hating rain right now.
We're scheduled to have class all day today to make up for our trip to Manuel Antonio. We're one class in with two more to go. I'm starting to realize that class is the most relaxing part of our trip because we're sitting still. The material is really interesting too which helps. We talked about all of the negative parts of the world today. That made you feel good about life. All of the water shortages, deforestation, desertification, etc. I heard a lot about it in my geology course but to hear about it all at once just makes you realize alot about how we live. We also have our midterm/"short exam" this afternoon. We'll see how it goes.

Well I have to go back to class. I'll add pictures eventually when we have more free time.

Tourism

We got a little better taste of eco-tourism on our trip to Arenal and Monteverde this past weekend. We were tourist because of the natural landscape and features.

People visit Arenal to see a sight that you can't see many places in the world: an active volcano. We were able to enjoy hot springs heated by the volcano and take a hike through the park that lead to a lava flow from the most recent eruption. It was all marked off so that we stayed on specific paths so that the park could maintain its natural beauty.

Monteverde was just the same. The rainforest was preserved for the most part so that we could take our night and morning walks and see the wildlife and insects that lived in the forest. I think the ziplining was a very commercial version of eco-tourism because we were able to enjoy the rainforest and also the thrill of flying through the trees and over the canopy (which I can't stress how amazing it was).

Many people believe that eco-tourism is still tourism and negatively effects the environment whether or not it is a natural sight. I agree that this is true but when you compare traveling to visit naturally maintained sights rather than commercial areas, you are doing something beneficial rather than harmful. Also, in cases such as Costa Rica, income is being brought to the country by those who want to see these sights. Not only can it be very beneficial for the economy of the surrounding areas, but it also encourages that who could benefit financially to maintain the beauty and keep the environment untouched.

Over the past 2 days, our whole group (less our instructors) took a trip to Manuel Antonio to visit the beach. It was obvious to me that the environment is a key attraction after noticing the view from our hotel room. In many other beach locations, the coast is lined with huge hotels and homes and the natual landscape is no longer natural. Despite the small stores and restaurants, Manuel Antonio seemed almost untouched. Standing outside our hotel room, you could see how beautiful the coast was. There were trees everywhere and it was much prettier than say Florida or California.

I think that eco-toursim is much more benefical when the right natural features exist and can be utilized. I'm excited to see more of what Costa Rica has to offer in the next few weeks.

Pictures...out of order but here they are

A pretty bird we found while hiking en la mañana. This is through a telescope thing.
A beautiful waterfall that we hiked to on morning hike in Monteverde.

This is from our night of relaxation and good conversation. ha
View from our boat as we crossed Lake Arenal on our way to Monteverde.
Bob and I during the zip lining. You can tell how happy he was when he realized that I had a camera out in the rain...forest."Just Livin Life, Doin Work, Playin Mafia"
Here I am inside of a tree in the rainforest.

Arenal Volcano...it was very clear and beautiful!

This is a sideways view of the dam that we visited on our hydroelectric plant tour.

This is a distant view of the waterfall that we all hiked to.

Here we all are at the bottom of the massive, amazing, beautiful waterfall.

Here we all are hiking across the volcanic rock (aka lava flow). It was unreal.

Long Amazing Weekend

Wow, well we just got back from a long weekend that was amazing.

It all started on Friday with a long drive to Arenal Volcano. The first thing we did after we got to the hotel was go to Baldi Hot Springs. We got to relax in the huge warm pools of water and order fun drinks. It was a nice bonding experience for the crew :)

We stayed at a nice hotel right by Arenal and we got to see it alot because the sky was clear the majority of the time we were there. Apparently that doesnt happen to often so everyone was pumped. We even got to see it erupting on Saturday night.

Saturday was packed too. We got up early to go to a hydroelectric plant which was interesting. It was cool to actually see a dam after learning so much about them in my geology course. We got to see how they divert the water then where it comes out and generates electricity which was crazy.

After the plant, we went horseback riding to La Fortuna waterfall which was amazing. At least the waterfall was. I learned that i´m not a horse kind of girl to say the least. I was sorta kinda scared out of my mind. The waterfall was beautiful and huge. We all got to swim around under it and relax after the horseback riding so it was nice to cool off. After the waterfall, we hiked through Arenal National Park. We walked right up next to the volcano and walked through our first "rain forest." We walked until we got to the lava flow from when the volcano erupted in the 60's. There were massive black rocks every and you could how the flow wrapped around. You could also see Lake Arenal in the distance which was beautiful. It was literally a breathtaking experience. We ended up walking back to the bus in the poring rain before we went to dinner at a steakhouse where we ate chicken. ha

Sunday was my favorite day by far. We woke up and took vans to Lake Arenal. We all jumped on a boat and cruised across the lake. It was surrounded by mountains and the lake was beautiful. We had a full view of the volcano too which was amazing. After the boat ride, we got back on some vans and took an insane ride to Monteverde. The roads were horrible. There were rocks everywhere. We found out that they do this intentionally. The people of Monteverde keep their roads really badly maintained because they want people to stay longer. It takes longer to get to the park which is the motivation to stay longer from what I understand. Either way, we only stayed one night but we had a rocky ride there and back.

The first thing we did when we got to Monteverde was unload into the lodge we stayed at in the park. It was like summer camp. We had rooms with 3 bunks and we shared bathrooms. It was alot of fun though. In the afternoon we went on a canopy tour which was my favorite part of the weekend. I was prepared for around 5-7 ziplines through the rainforest but it turned out to be soooo much more. We started off on a few easy ziplines then they got longer. Out of nowhere came this huge platform thats called the "tarzan swing." Image this: first you jump off the platform and the rope isnt tight. Then, all the sudden as your falling, it tightens and you start swinging really far and really high. I was incredibly nervous but it was so much fun. That wasn't even the best part. We had two more ziplines that are hard to describe. I started out in the forest then as I was gliding along the trees just open up and I was just out in the middle of this huge valley hundreds of feet in the air. It felt like I was flying...like I was the only person around. It was amazing. The second one was just the same but it was through a cloud. I almost couldn't see it was so dense but it was incredible. I wish I could do it again right now! The only downside was that it was pouring down rain the entire tour but it didn't matter.

We came back soaked then they surprised us with dinner at a pizzeria and everybody was pumped. The pizza was amazing and we all dessert for Rob's birthday. We ended up going on a night hike in the rain and we saw a trantula (sp?) and a ton of bats. We saw a lot of random insects too.

We woke up this morning at 5:30 am to go on another hike at 6. We got to see a few birds and more insects. I finally felt like I was in a real rainforest. It was dense and wet and you could tons of birds.

Overall, this weekend was amazing. The next few are going to have to be pretty good to top what I just experienced.

More Bananas

As you can tell from my last blog on this topic, bananas have a rich history and contribute greatly to Costa Rica's economy. 

Banana cultivation in itself is a very interesting process. Cultivation requires specific conditions and optimum soils to produce good bananas. The terrain must be flat with deep, well-drained and structured soils. Costa Rica is ideal for banana production because of the volcanic ash deposit in the soils that exist. Also, conditions are ideal because bananas require 10-15 months of no frost and temperatures constantly above 53 degrees F.

The production of bananas consists of four stages: plant growth, fruit protection, harvest, and cleaning, packing and shipping. The plant growth lasts about 6-8 months and consists of the growth of a stem with a large bud. Once the stem has arrived, the fruit protection begins. The fruit is protected by removing damaging leaves and bagging the fruit to prevent sun and insect damage. At this point, colored ribbons are tied to the bags to mark the fruits scheduled harvest. At this point, fruits are supported by twine to prevent wind damage. Also, this is the stage where pesticides and other chemicals are applied. When the bananas are matured, they are cut from the vine and placed in water tanks to be cleaned. Once cleaned, they are cut into bunches and packaged to be shipped. Bananas usually arrive on refrigerated trucks and shipped within 24 hours. The fruit generally arrives are supermarkets within 3-11 days of harvesting. 

I had no idea of the process that brought this wonderful fruit to my grocery store in Ohio. Later in our trip, we are going to visit Chiquita and another organic banana plantation. I'm looking forward to seeing the process in real life. 

Tourism

Tourism and eco tourism have been on the rise in Costa Rica as well as many other Central American countries. This is occuring due to these countries containing natural beauty from their landscapes and fascinating beauty. Costa Rica has a lot to offer. The beaches, rainforests, vocanoes and wildlife are the major ecosystems that attract tourists from all over the world. In fact, tourism is the second highest source of income in Costa Rica after the production of silicon chips. To better understand eco tourism, it can best be described as traveling purposely to natural areas purely to understand the natural history and culture of the environment. This is done while making sure to not alter the ecosystem. This leads to more economic opportunities to make conservation beneficial to the local citizens and also provides incentive to preseve the natural surroundings.

We got a little taste of the tourism industry here in Costa Rica on our trip to Cafe Britt today. We were thrown into this tour that made you feel like a product being pushed through the process. Compared to yesterdays plantation, Cafe Britt was very commercial. You could sense that tourism was a major industry just through this experience. As far as eco tourism goes, today wasn´t the best example. We stayed on a paved path the entire time and were explained the coffee production process. We also got to see how the beans were roasted and packaged. We then learned how to test coffee and smell and feel it. I wouldn´t call this eco tourism because we didn´t get to see alot of the natural part of the plantation. We were surrounded by coffee plants but we didnt get to see the natural beauty so much as the production side. Either way, it was very evident that the plantation had the tourism act down. I think that in the next few weeks we will continually experience this.

This shows you how commerical Cafe Britt was. They put on a play to explain the history of coffee. It was bizarre.
My cappucino that I ordered in the restaurant (it was very strong).
Here we are enjoying our coffee drinks in the restaurant.

Costa Rica...ya gotta love it

This would be mi amigos dancing last night. We had a latino dance class which was a blast.
Here I am with Heidi and my roommate Stephanie. It was 230 colones (50 cent) beer night.
The road to the coffee plantation. Note that we are in a huge commercial sized bus.
Beautiful Costa Rica on the walk to the plantation.
This massive bug was hanging out on the ground when we were at the plantation.

So you have heard all about my coffee plantation trip. It was a lot of fun and it was really interesting. The coffee was just too strong but I had to try it. We ended up getting back here to San Jose and we had a survival spanish course which seemed like it took all day because we had to keep playing out scenarios in groups but I learned a little and I now have another booklet to help me out.

I started my Team in Training triathlon training two days ago when Stephanie and I went for a run. We went out again this morning and ran for 30 minutes which is really good considering their are hills every 100 meters. It gets me pumped to get ready. In case anyone doesn´t know, Team in Training is an organization that benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I´m participating in the Nations Triathlon in Washington D.C. in September which is an Olympic distance triathlon (1.5K swim, 40K bike, and 10K run). I´ve started to raise money but I have no donations but my own :( My fundraising goal is to raise $4,500 by mid-August. I have a long way to go but I will keep moving. I know I can do it! If you want to help me out, then I would be very, very happy!!!!!!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/soh/nattri08/aminneman

We are going to Cafe Brit tomorrow which is the big coffee company here in Costa Rica. It should be a lot different then today and we should be able to buy more bags of coffee. I´m really excited! Miss you all!

More Coffee

Today we visited a coffee plantation just outside of San Jose. It was owned by a succesful business woman who bought the plantation ten years ago. We took our bus back a long bumpy dirt road then walked a long way down to where we learned about the plantation. Here is a picture of me next to a bunch of coffee plants.


Here is a coffee bean. If you squeeze the seeds out, you can eat them. I didn´t take time to test it out but I heard that they didn´t taste like coffee :(

Here I am with my freshest cup of coffee that I will ever drink (and the strongest).

I found alot of what I learned today to be very interesting. First off, this specific plantation just won an award for best coffee in Costa Rica (aka best coffee in the world according to the Ticos). It used to be an organic plantation for three years but changed back because of less profit due to low production capabilities. When the plantation switched to organic, production went from 800 sacks to 30 sacks. This played a big role in the change.

On the way up to the plantation we saw fields that been overused and degradation was taking place. It was cool to actually see some of the effects of overuse even though these farms can no longer be used sustainably.

We heard alot from the owner about how she has changed things at the plantation to become successful. Ever since they won the award, they have been able to sell their coffee at very high price compared to in the past.

She also talked to us about where her coffee is sent and sold. She mentioned that her beans are combined with other beans and sold in bigger batches to major companies. That was the only thing that surprised me. She told us that many coffee growers will label their beans as organic when they actually are not. Basically, the ethics are no longer there. Thats too bad for all those organic lovers out there!

Coffee is an export that is considered suitable for fair trade. Fair trade is a movement to alleviate global poverty and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards related to the production of a variety of goods. Fair trade can lead to equality in international trade. Sustainable development can be achieved through better trading conditions and securing the rights of producers in workers. This mainly relates to those in developing countries. The plantation that we visited and the woman who owns it could possibly benefit from fair trade. On the other hand, this woman completes all steps of production from planting and cultivating to exporting; therefore making use of fair trade is not necessarily beneficial in her case. Also, she has found that separating herself can allow her to work more directly with customers which has proven to work through her apparent success.

The main downfall of this plantation is its lack of sustainable growth patterns. Due to the location of the plantation, few pesticides and growth enhancers are needed and the altitude and lack of a lot of sunshine provide for very positive growing conditions. The reason sustainable practices are not in place is due the higher expenses with less attainable profit for the woman who owns the plantation.

Tomorrow we are visiting a coffee plantation that operates using more sustainable practices and has the benefit of being very successful.