Hola Todos!
Sorry for the late post everyone, we had no internet access for 2 days (hope we didn't worry you)!!
Today was our long awaited day to travel to Manuel Antonio to finally visit the famous beaches of Costa Rica! We woke up, ate breakfast, and were on the bus by 8:15. Our first stop on the trip was Dos Pinos Milk Cooperative within a half hour drive of our hotel. The weather was warm and made the tour a little rough to stand through, but it was pretty interesting. Our tour guide was the Head of Public Relations, but unfortunately couldn’t speak English making a translator necessary. This made the tour slightly more difficult to understand.
However, what we did learn about the cooperative was very interesting. We learned a cooperative provides many benefits to the people who are members of it, including: wider distribution, name brand recognition, and specialization. As the tour guide spoke, we watched as the workers took samples of milk from the truck to measure levels of antibiotics, cell count, and bacteria. Following our tour of the milk collection site, we entered the building to examine the pasteurization and packaging processes of Dos Pinos products. We also learned that they sell other products than milk, including orange and mango juices. After a tour of the factory we were thrilled to receive samples of Dos Pinos ice cream products and made a toast to a great trip to Manuel Antonio. As we were leaving, each of us received a plush mascot of Dos Pinos Cooperative named Lula (see pictures below).
Next was the trek through the mountains. Prior to leaving, we were all offered a motion sickness pill. We understood why as the bus the snaked through the mountainside. We enjoyed an on bus movie, What Happens in Vegas, and saw some beautiful landscapes as we made our three and a half hour trip. There was great excitement when we received our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean and soon after arrived at our second stop, the eco-hotel Si Como No.
The presentation at Si Como No was focused heavily upon the benefits of joining the green market in Costa Rica. We learned of the green scale, a rating system in Costa Rica that shows how eco-friendly a hotel is. A hotel with a rating of 1 is not eco-friendly, while a rating of 5 is the closest to 100% eco-friendly a hotel can be. We also learned that a hotel cannot market itself as green unless it has a rating of at least 3 on the green scale. Hotel Si Como No prides itself in being one of the few hotels with a rating of 5 on the green scale. Following the presentation we received a tour of both a butterfly exhibit and reptile exhibit. We met Elliot, Hotel Si Como No’s alpha-male crocodile in the reptile exhibit and learned of all the benefits he gets from being the boss. Elliot’s benefits include: eating first, being the only one who can mate, and kicking out the other males when he wants to swim the females. Next to Elliot there was an array of caimans, turtles, and snakes.
We then left Si Como No for a brief driving tour of Manuel Antonio. We arrived at the hotel, checked in, and sprinted to the beach to catch the last of the sun. Everyone relaxed on the beach, whether they were tanning or swimming in the lukewarm water. After the sun set, everyone headed out for dinner in separate groups to either of the surrounding towns, Quepos or Manuel Antonio.
EL FIN!
Anthony Franco, Lauren Fuller, Erik Schroeder
Thank you for the details on your community service project during your trip to Costa Rica. As a family we try to give back to families who are less fortunate than ourselves. I was thrilled to hear that you have included giving back as part of the Sophomore Experience.
ReplyDeleteTravel safely.