My brief study abroad experience was to learn about the natural history and conservation issues of the small country. Seeing the beautiful landscapes with the likes of the cloud forest, the coast of the pacific gulf and the bountiful flora and fauna that lived there were often framed by the issues that plagued them. Greedy pineapple plantations who drain the water from precious rivers and tourists who overload cities and generate unfathomable waste, to the difficulties of a small string of towns on the gulf who are slowly regaining their fish population after it had been decimated a few decades before. Costa Rica may have vastly improved from where they were in the 1980’s, but this program showed me what they are still recovering from.

But there are people we saw who are trying to do their part in reversing these issues. We visited an organic pineapple farm and a sustainable, almost entirely self-sufficient farm. It was fascinating listening to how they grow pineapples without the extreme use of pesticides that their neighbors, like Dole, use for crops, and how the sustainable farm uses fermented mountain microorganisms in their soils and on their livestock to help recover the land and strengthen the health of their animals. Overall it seems like that although there are a lot of issues that face Costa Rica when it comes to keeping the land healthy, they do have many passionate people who work incredibly hard to take care of the incredibly biodiverse country.

Apart from learning the dire aspects, experiencing the incredible biodiversity of Costa Rica first hand was an amazing experience. Being in a place where every tree and rock is absolutely teeming with life was indescribable, I was in awe for most of the places we visited. The amount of wildlife we witnessed was incredible as well. Howler monkeys crossing the same bridges as us, vipers hanging alongside trails, and the incredible amount of birds was impressive. I would need to have much more than 10 days to truly explore and understand more of the country, but as this was my first time outside of the United States, it has left me hungry for more travel.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: CAFNR: Tropical Ecology and Conservation in Costa Rica