This weekend, my classmates and I went on an educational weekend trip to the province of Limon, on the east side of the country. On trip out there, we made a few stops, including a coffee plantation, pinapple farm, and banana plantation--all three of which are important exports for Costa Rica. The top pictures are of the piñas, and I´m not going to lie... I always thought thaty pineapples grew on trees but I was wrong!
These next few pictures are of the Del Monte Banana plantation. 
It was really interesting to see them sort and count bunches of bananas--they have to sort them into different categories based on quality, make sure there are a certain amount of bananas in each bunch, and then put a specific amount of bunches in each crate depending on where they are being exported to. Apparently the US recieves the most specific and highest quality of bananas. They also use lots of pesticide, 
and I can see why because there were tons of huge lotuses all over. I don´t think anyone would want to open up a box of bananas and find that inside...
It was really interesting to see them sort and count bunches of bananas--they have to sort them into different categories based on quality, make sure there are a certain amount of bananas in each bunch, and then put a specific amount of bunches in each crate depending on where they are being exported to. Apparently the US recieves the most specific and highest quality of bananas. They also use lots of pesticide, 
and I can see why because there were tons of huge lotuses all over. I don´t think anyone would want to open up a box of bananas and find that inside...
We stayed in the town of Limon at this really nice hotel right by the water. 
Limon is a very different province compared to all other parts of Costa Rica. It is often referred to as the forgottedn province because it is a lot poorer and more corrupt--the education and health care systems are not nearly as good as in San Jose. Most of the people that live in Limon are descendents of slaves that were brought from Africa by the colonizers in order to work on banana plantations. We stayed there for two nights and had to conduct a few interviews for an assignment. On Saturday, we went to an iguana farm that is run by indigenous people. 
Iguanas are important to their culture because they eat them and the iguanas also help out in the ecosystem of the area. It was really wierd seeing huge iguanas eveywhere... I felt like I was in Jurrassic Park! After the iguana farm, we spent four hours at the beach.
We swam in the really salty hot water, watched monos swing from trees, and I even got to play some frisbee, finally! 
Limon is a very different province compared to all other parts of Costa Rica. It is often referred to as the forgottedn province because it is a lot poorer and more corrupt--the education and health care systems are not nearly as good as in San Jose. Most of the people that live in Limon are descendents of slaves that were brought from Africa by the colonizers in order to work on banana plantations. We stayed there for two nights and had to conduct a few interviews for an assignment. On Saturday, we went to an iguana farm that is run by indigenous people. 
Iguanas are important to their culture because they eat them and the iguanas also help out in the ecosystem of the area. It was really wierd seeing huge iguanas eveywhere... I felt like I was in Jurrassic Park! After the iguana farm, we spent four hours at the beach.
We swam in the really salty hot water, watched monos swing from trees, and I even got to play some frisbee, finally! 
Well, that´s all I have for now. Hopefully I will be able to have more updates soon!
5 comments:
Great photos Rachie!! Oh man those lotuses are so scary!! Don't bring any back to the green house! ;)
I'm so glad you're having a great time! Your home looks so cute and quaint! :) Can't wait to read more!
omg big locuste!!!! :D
nice pic man!
greetings from italy!
Marius
Rachel,
Thanks for the updates! I love hearing and SEEING what you are up to this quarter. And I'm feeling a little bit thankful for pesticides . . .
Hola! Love all the photos and in-depth descriptions. My favorite? The monkey! Pineapple will never taste the same! Or bananas. Keep writing and doing pix!!!
I think I remember that Columbus landed in Limon. If you see a really bright blue small church...I helped paint it!
I remember the locals were trying to feed us tortoise eggs. Think you'll try one?! :)
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