I have to say, I wasn't thrilled when my alarm clock went off in the morning. I think the only thing that really got me out of bed was knowing there was a two hour bus ride ahead of me and I've going to roll out with a pillow in one hand and my blanket in the other. (After stopping by the breakfast bar of course for some (fresh) comida.
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| Breath-taking views.... spectacular. |
There was some breath-taking views en route to Earth University, which is near the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. There is so much diversity in the terrain here. I suppose the same could be said about places in America, though. I just never... well, I shouldn't say never... get in the car and drive one direction, taking in the scenic changes; or maybe the differences are just not as amazing/beautiful/wondrous as they are here.
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| 8,000 acres of this... amazing. -Earth University- |
Earth University was huge. Our tour guide was extremely friendly, and funny enough, the US Ambassador was visiting that same day. That's two times we have been "this" close to where she was and didn't' get to meet her despite our pre-trip planning attempts.
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The entire focus of Earth University is based around entrepreneurial endeavors and sustainability.
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They were founded by donations from countries like the US ($35M), in order to create a place for students to come learn entrepreneurial skills and sustainability. At Earth, they also grow all the bananas that are shipped to the Whole Foods stores of America. I was joking about marking a bunch of bananas and looking for them in the stores in two weeks.... Love Whole Foods...
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The bananas on a "track," a motorized system to bring the bananas into the "factory."
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| Up close view of the bananas.. this gate comes down like a rail-road crossing when the bananas come through. |
First, we went to see how the bananas are cut, cleaned, and "processed" in a way. Want to know what happens to all the spotted/brown bananas? They go to the Gerber factory in the US. : ) They're completely good, but since consumers purchase bananas based on what the skin looks like, they send the "bad" ones off to become baby food.
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| Main campus of Earth University... everything wide open. |
We went back to the main campus at Earth University and had a scrumptious lunch along with entertainment from the students doing traditional dances from their native countries. It was fun watching all the different cultures come together and seeing the work they do.
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| One group of students' entrepreneurial project was these flavored teas. Many of us bought a pack. |
After lunch and watching the dancers. We went off to see what one group of students did as their project: They were finding news ways to grow more plants in one area, and different substrates to the grow them in. Their goal was to make it possible for anyone to be able to know how to grow their own gardens, grow produce, and give back to the environment.
We also got to do a small project with them in groups. We re-used plastic cartons and turned them into a mini-greenhouse sort of contraption. This was our last thing here, and as we left earth university with a new appreciation for how pineapples and bananas are grown, I marveled at how vast the green spread across all of Earth University... all of Costa Rica actually. I wonder what it would take for Americans to be so conscious of the natural world, a balance of life and have a deep, genuine desire to create a sustainable natural environment.
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| The bamboo grew incredibly tall here! |
Afterwards, we made our way home.
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