We are now closing our second week of being in Costa Rica, and I feel like I have learned so much about this gorgeous country and its people. As we slowly acclimated to life at La Selva, our conversation shifted from biodiversity to agriculture and ecotourism. Dr. Libby started this shift in conversation with a lecture over declining insect populations and the use of pesticides by large-scale monocrop organizations that are littered over the Costa Rican countryside. The first plantation we visited, which was an organic pineapple plantation, started to reshape my previous perspective on organically grown produce. The steeper price used to deter me from purchasing organic fruits but after learning of all the hard work and effort needed to produce organic crops, I now think the price is fair. The pineapple plants are used twice by organic farmers, unlike large-scale organizations who only use the plant once. The materials that are necessary to keep the plants alive without pesticides are also more expensive. Their commitment to staying pesticide free is also necessary with the continued growth of large-scale plantations that spray tons of chemicals that are harmful to the environment. The guide talked about how these chemicals are changing local wildlife characteristics, for example howler monkeys have been shown to have yellow-tinted fur from the sulfur sprayed on farms. The lives of animals in the forests are not the only ones that have been affected, many of the workers on these plantations are immigrants from Nicaragua who are forced to work many hours of hard labor inhaling and ingesting potentially dangerous chemicals. These chemicals are deemed so unsafe that they must get several blood tests in a year. The pineapple from the organic farm was honestly the best that I have ever had, and the insight on working conditions has shifted my perspective on buying organic produce.
Moving from a larger-scale plantation, our next stop on the agriculture tour was a small family-owned banana plantation. This was honestly my favorite of the three tours that we have been on. Our tour guide was passionate about her business and the history of banana farming in Costa Rica. She told us about the many varieties of bananas around the world, and how we now only eat one kind, the Cavendish. She also allowed us to help cut down some plantains with the machete, which we then used to make plantain chips. During the tour, her daughter came and joined the group for a little bit, which made me realize how much the livelihoods of many families in Costa Rica are based on agriculture. After the tour, we all got to help make the plantain chips, which were amazing. The chocolate tour was the most tourist oriented, and they taught about the history of chocolate in Costa Rica and how a fungus was destroying many cacao trees. Although it was more of a tourist destination, I still enjoyed learning about the history. The unexpected aspect was the extremely long hanging bridge that shook so hard I almost lost balance, but I would do anything for the chocolate. The chocolate was darker and more bitter than expected, however it wasn’t an unpleasant taste. We also saw biodiversity interconnectivity in action because a tayra, which eats the cacao seeds, was walking across the trail during our hike to the chocolate demonstration. This portion of the class made me more receptive to the agriculture plantations that we passed. As we were driving past the larger plantations I noticed that they had housing set up for the families that worked there, which looks good on the surface, but after this section it makes me wonder how these families ended up in the banana industry.
The last day at La Selva was bittersweet, but that quickly turned around when we arrived at the boat for Tortuguero. The boat ride was my favorite part of the whole trip so far, it was gorgeous. We were truly ecotourists at that point and the accommodations in Tortuguero were luxurious compared to La Selva. At the dining hall we had our first encounter with a monkey when a capuchin jumped onto the table and robbed someone of their key lime pie, which is indeed a common occurrence. The 5:30 am boat tour was also gorgeous and we saw many species that were previously not seen at La Selva, such as iguanas and caimans. It was hot and sunny most of the time that we were there and I took advantage and laid by the pool almost all day. It was a relaxing vacation after the research collection in La Selva. However, the whole time I could not help but wonder if this really was ecotourism, as I did not feel particularly ecologically friendly during my stay. There were still many buildings built into the national park and many motorized boats in the water. While they were more than likely ecologically friendly compared to other hotels, it still just felt like any other vacation stay. The town and beach experience made it feel more like an ecotourism destination, as Johnny educated us with his first-hand experience about the history of sea turtles in Tortuguero. He said that when turtles were initially protected, his father was angry because hunting them was how he lived. It was interesting to hear about the different perspective on what it takes to make an animal protected, because many don’t think about the families that benefit financially from the activity. Overall, Tortuguero was an educational and relaxing experience, but I still just felt a tad disconnected from nature.
The last two lessons in the class over agriculture and ecotourism have really made me look into how I live, and what things I can change to become more sustainable. For example, I want to try and buy organic fruits because I now know the effort that goes into producing food without harming the environment. Also, I want to be more cautious about where I choose to vacation, and try to choose more ecologically friendly places who want to protect the environment around them instead of the usual tourist spots that do more harm than good.
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