Tico Time

What can be done in Costa Rica in three and a half days??  Well, A LOT.  In my short time here at CATIE I have already fallen in love with the people, the culture, the food, the class, the ecology, and our amazing adventures.  Costa Ricans (and the crew here at CATIE) are very friendly.  Since we are the first generation of SSS (Sustainability Seminar Series) students at CATIE, we are acting as the guinea pigs for the program, but we have already learned so much!  

 

On Thursday we took a field trip to a local farm where they make Queso de Turrialba, which is a highly desired cheese in the region.  I even milked my first vaca!!!   

I am milking a cow for the first time with Carla, our wonderful tour host.

 

We drove up to the closest point of Volcan Turrialba, which is a National Park in CR that has been closed for some time now due to the activity of the volcano.   

MIAM + SSS in front of Volcan Turrialba

 

We experienced the nightlife in Turrialba with a group of students from the MIAM program (Master's in International Agribusiness Management) and the MIST program from UNT (Master’s in International Sustainable Tourism). 

Me, Denisha, and a student from MIST at Charlie's, a local bar

  

Our first class was great and our instructor provided us with an introduction into the concept of sustainability and into sustainable tourism.   

Carla, her second cousin, and Eric Norman, our instructor for SSS.

 

Last night, we went to a festival in Turrialba that included local arts and crafts, live music, a DJ, and dancing.   

Vendors at a local festival in Turrialba

 

Today we white water rafted on the Rio Pacuare, the fifth top rated river in the world! It was a fantastic 19-mile stretch filled with unique wildlife, first generation rainforest, and intense class 4 rapids.  

Me, Denisha, and Juan (our UNT counterpart) rafting Rio Pacuare.

 

And to think, we have just begun…