Day 6: La Finca de Don Juan
This morning we left UGA for a town called La Fortuna. Sean mentioned that it is one of the wealthier towns in Costa Rica. We took a long twisty road to get there. Even though I get car sick, the scenery is worth it. It just seems so peaceful (or maybe that's because the students are sleeping :) We ran into some trouble when we were driving. There was a herd of cows in the middle of the road that were taking a stroll. Mario and Luis (our driver) handled it well. La Fortuna is very popular because of the active volcano that is there. This volcano is called Volcan Arenal. It was first an agricultural town and since to popularity of Arenal the town turned touristy. We visited a farm where we worked and spent the night. This farm is called La Finca Educativa de Don Juan. We had lots of fun here. This farm taught us about sustainable development. Our visit began with making compost. The compost at Don Juan's is used as fertilizer for his plants. He taught us about microorganisms from sugar cane and liquid smoke. They help the compost break down into a very rich and nutritious soil for anything to grow on. Don Juan doesn't sell the soil but when he does, he sells it at a low price so that other farmers can see the benefits of making your own compost and growing everything organically. After we made compost, the students helped harvest some plants. Prim even pulled a giant yuca plant that we later had for dinner. We then toured the farm and Don Juan played lots of games with the students to show them that going organic is not only good for you and the environment but also fun. His three main focuses are Production, Conservation and Education. He believes in passing on his knowledge to as many people as he can in order to save our planet. The students then learned how to make tortillas and we ate them at dinner. We finished the day with our Team Meeting and closed off with discussing our dreams and how we get there. Many of the students even drew life maps. Keep ya posted!