Traveling Across Costa Rica

When I was preparing for my month away from home, I knew there would be discomfort in the unknown. I packed my bag knowing I would be leaving behind the lifestyle I had grown accustomed to. It’s a rare opportunity to try something completely new for an entire month, an opportunity I was both excited and nervous for. I crammed three pairs of shoes, a month worth of clothes, and as many toiletries as I could rationalize into a carry-on sized suitcase and hoped for the best. I was prepared for minimalism. La Selva Biological station, the first stop on our trip, did not disappoint.

La Selva was beatiful. Last week I spoke about the amazing experiences I had during my time there, and these experiences continued to amaze me through the following week. However, the living situation was a big adjustment. The twenty students on the trip were spread out in four different cabins. The cabins were just large open rooms with enough bunk beds for the group, and then a single bathroom. As much as I would have appreciated the privacy in my little four-person room, we were unfortunately not the only occupants. We grew used to the ever present trail of ants weaving through the common spaces, and sometimes onto our beds. We shared our showers with a few adventurous spiders who seemed to think our curtain rod was a better place for their webs than any of the millions of trees right outside. Mosquitoes had no awareness of personal space, unwelcome and ever-present indoors and outside. 

I have come to find that air conditioning is a luxury. There is no escaping the hot, humid Costa Rican air. I learned this lesson quickly at La Selva. I could shower in the morning and my hair would still be wet at night. The constant sweat and rain only exacerbates the issue. The lack of air conditioning inside, and the dense humidity outside, means wet towels, clothes, and shoes stay wet. 

It was a harsh adjustment, but as our twelve days at La Selva progressed, I learned to live with the change. Towards the last day there, my initial discomfort faded, and was replaced with a fondness of the routine and simplicity of life at La Selva. I grew used to the afternoon lectures in the class room and study sessions in the library. I found trails that I liked to hike in my free time. I began to like the structure forced on us by the reserve: We ate three meals a day, no snacks. The portions were small but always delicious, and never without rice and beans. We were always active, from the start of the day at 6:30 AM, to bedtime at 11. It felt like a small community of my peers. La Selva eased some of my home sickness, and made me feel safe in routine. However, this course is about sustainability in Costa Rica, not at La Selva Biological Station. We had a lot more country to explore. 

We moved on to Rancho Margot, a sustainility farm on the east side of Costa Rica. Rancho Margot marked the beginning of our unit on ecotourism. I fully support the hands on approach to learning about tourism: being a tourist. While at Rancho Margot, we visited a nearby waterfall which we swam underneath. We visited a natural hot spring, which was essentially an adult water park heated by the Earth. We spent time around the ranch, enjoying free yoga classes, an outdoor pool, and a cafeteria and bar. The food wasn’t as good as the food at La Selva in my opinion, but it was nice to have variety and choice. 

However, because Rancho Margot is a farm and not a hotel, it did have its downsides. The living conditions at Rancho Margot made me miss the hot, insect-ridden cabins of La Selva. Rancho Margot had no air conditioning, bunk beds, and insects galore, all of which was standard at this point in our trip. However, now instead of separate cabins, we were now all sharing a bunkhouse with the entire group as well as more staff and volunteers. The bunkhouse divided the twenty of us into small closet-like rooms, barely big enough for our beds. We had three showers to share with thirty other people. There’s rarely opportunity to do laundry, so the nature of the trip forces you to be okay with living in stink. 

After two weeks of constant dirt and grime, we arrived at La Foresta today, an actual hotel on the west side of the country. The six hour bus ride was well worth it. I have my own king sized bed here, and a bathroom I only have to share with one roommate. We have a whole front porch to ourselves to dry our things. There’s WiFi that occasionally works with some patience, a rare find. Most excitingly, there’s air conditioning! We only have two nights here, but it’s a nice breather at our half way point. 

It would be wrong to boil this trip down to a change in lifestyle. I have learned far more than just how to cope this past week. We’ve visited different farms to try to learn a little bit more about what makes Costa Rica a leader in sustainability. We started the week at a 100% certified organic pineapple farm. The farm turns to nature for solutions to their pest and disease issues amongst the crop, rather than harmful chemicals. How do you save a pineapple from rats? Release more snakes. Do you have a bug burrowing through some of your fruits? Release butterflies which happen to eat those little nuisances. The pineapple farm works with the environment, rather than against it.

We also visited a banana farm. The banana farm was a much smaller operation than the pineapple farm. It is located in a small rural community on a plot of land that has been passed down through generations of our tour guide’s family. She told us her family has always lived by the moto that if you want quality food, you have to grow it yourself. They grow many other crops other than bananas, which is good for the environment because it promotes biodiversity. 

Once again, the small, family farm turns to nature to solve their problems. Their land is surrounded by a pineapple farm run by Dole, the prominent fruit company popular in the States. Dole runs acres of monoculture across Costa Rica, with all of its farms being doused in harmful chemical pesticides daily. These pesticides travel through the wind and put nearby families, such as these small farmers, at risk of dangerous health issues. The woman who owned the banana farm claimed the pepper plants they had lined around the edge of their property cleaned the air before the pesticides being dumped by their neighbors could reach them. I have a hard time believing none get through. It makes me sad that our consumerism is leading to real dangers for rural communities both at home and abroad. 

Costa Rica has made a strong effort to boost their sustainability image across the globe. Their national slogan may be “Pure Life,” but in reality they are struggling to stay green and clean. We’re learning about the part the United States and other major countries have played in pulling Costa Rica away from environmentalism and towards consumerism. It is sad. Despite the odds, Costa Rica is fighting back. Their government has passed a series of laws which demonstrate the country’s dedication to conservation. This is more than the United States can say. Farmers and citizens are offered financial rewards for helping the environment. Thirty percent of Costa Rican land has been reforested in the past thirty years. 

This experience has shown me that even though the planet’s future looks grim, there is still hope. However, we have to act now. If we want to save the world for our children, then there needs to be real, institutional change fast. We need to follow Costa Rica’s example and make the Earth a priority.