Day 7: Environmental Justice

Hello! 

Welcome to Day 7 of Turrialba, Costa Rica. This is Makayla, Michelle, and Sarahi, your Lideres del Dia! Today was truly an adventurous day for all of us. 

We started our morning with a nutritious breakfast which included pancakes, fruit, granola, cereal, and scrambled eggs . After breakfast we engaged in a game of would you rather. Then we did a few stretches to warm up our body for the challenging day ahead of us. At 9:00 am the bus arrived, we were all prepared. Throughout the bus ride we bonded over music. We sang “Pretty Little Bird” by SZA, “Let It Happen” by Tame Impala, and many more. It was a bumpy ride up and down, it felt like a roller coaster. We expected the bus ride to be longer than it was, but the singing made the bus ride feel a lot faster.

Around 9:30 am we arrived at the waterfall, Las Trillizas. We picked up our sticks and began our journey. When we arrived, the excitement started rising throughout the group. We were all eager to see the waterfall, since many of us knew it was a “once in a lifetime experience”. It was a long muddy walk to the waterfall. Some of us took a tumble and got muddy. We yelled out “steep”, “rocky,” “slippery”, “muddy”, to ensure our safety. We took several water breaks and checked up on each other to ensure everyone was okay. Finally we arrived at the waterfall. It was breathtaking. Many of us immediately jumped into the water despite the fact of it being cold. We swam in the water, we observed the waterfall, and took several pictures. Nino mentioned that not too far away, there was another waterfall. Given the opportunity to check it out, many of us hiked to the other waterfall. After that we hiked back up. It was a long, heavy walk. We were all so exhausted and hungry or as they say here “mucha moncha”, which means very hungry. We had lunch at the restaurant that was located at the start of the hike. Many of us really loved the jerk chicken cooked in coconut milk. 

Once we were back, we had an hour of free time to relax and get ready to greet our guest speaker, “Fofo”. Fofo is a local of Turrialba who studied Environmental Science at several institutions and is very knowledgeable about the area. He came to discuss with us the topic of Environmental Justice and Ecotourism. He informed us that the Oso peninsula at the south of the country is home to 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity, which means it is incredibly important to protect the ecosystems within it. We also learned that a hotel at the north of the country called the Riu destroyed important Mangrove forests that harmed the environment a lot. Even though it was illegal for them to do so, they still took away the wetlands. Many locals protested the building of their hotel and continued detriment to the environment. 

Another plus was that Fofo led us in a really fun and heated debate! We were split into three groups: government, locals, and hotel developers. The objective was trying to convince the government to show support for the development of a new hotel with the insight of the locals. The local group was fighting to protect the mangrove forests and wildlife migration patterns. We were all surprised with the hotel proposal the group put together! They vowed to create a very sustainable hotel that employs 95% of local Costa Ricans and also pushed tourists into the towns to support the local economy. Ultimately, their proposal, while maybe a little far fetched, was sustainable and a great model for what businesses should strive to create in the world to protect our planet. 

Finally, we had our nightly meeting. Fun fact: today was our night with the MOST Big Love!! We had almost everyone share a big love shout out for someone. This truly shows just how close our group has become in the last few days. We lean on each other for support and show our appreciation as often as possible. That was also so clearly shown in our hike, where EVERYONE was looking out for each other and making sure we were all okay. 

That’s all from us today. We love and miss you all!

BIG LOVE,

Makayla, Michelle, and Sarahi

Note from GG Staff:

Comments submitted on this blog are reviewed by the Global Glimpse team before appearing publicly. Approved comments will be visible on the website within 24 hours. Thank you for your patience and for supporting your student’s journey!

Los comentarios enviados en este blog son revisados por el equipo de Global Glimpse antes de ser publicados. Los comentarios aprobados serán visibles en el sitio web dentro de las 24 horas. ¡Gracias por su paciencia y por apoyar el viaje de su estudiante!