Day 2: Bioreserves, Volcanoes, and Steep Winding Roads, Oh My!

Well folks, buenas tardes de La Fortuna, near the infamous el volcan Arenal! Today has seriously been an epic one. We started out with the national breakfast here, gallo pinto. Afterwards it was off to INBioparque in Heredia to learn about the biodiversity of the area. It was an EXCELLENT introduction to the wonders of this country that we will be seeing in the next few days. Then it was off to beat the clouds to the crater of el volcan poas and we... Didn't. But what we did get was our first big soaking of the tour and everyone was certainly glad to have their raingear. Also, all learned what it was like to literally walk in the clouds as, at 10,000 ft, we were certainly in the clouds, and therefore not able to see the crater of the volcano. Everyone proved to be good sports about it and still had a great time. For human geography and world history students alike we were able to see, throughout the tour the real cultural landscape of this country-- the human imprint on the physical landscape. Dependency theory, core-periphery models, and globalization all began to really make sense today. This is not the United States, but one thing that we clearly see here is a general level of contentment. Several students commented that impressive how the Costa Rican people equate happiness with strength of family and not with size of home or other possessions. The national psyche here is unique indeed as pura vida is more than just a phrase but seriously a couple centuries long way of life. Nick Baker I think put it best today when he said that he's glad he's out doing the things that he's only seen on tv. The visit to Poas was followed by about a four hour ride to the next destination of Arenal. Not for the faint of heart, it's a long and winding road full of sharp turns and narrow bridges, but our driver is boss on these roads. Well I'm falling asleep now, so I'm logging off. Tomorrow, we jump deeper into arenal. Pura vida!