Day 6

Oct 29. 2014

Outline:

  • Orientation at Escuela Creativa with Willow Zuchowski
  • Interview with some hotel owners
  • Handing our surveys and meeting business owners

I met up Willow again, this time at Escuela Creativa and she oriented me with the gardens ProNativas have implemented there. Each garden had a theme, which generally attracted different wildlife: a bat garden, a hummingbird garden, a frugivorous (i.e. fruit-eating) bird garden, a mixed wildlife garden, a restoration garden, a memorial garden, an International Peace garden and more. Escuela Creativa’s campus is huge and also next to a forest with beautiful trails (I know; I’ve taken it). Willow and I couldn’t help but agree that it’s so easy taking the natural surroundings here for granted as it is indeed so readily accessible (though the students here are busy, going to school as early as 7 and coming home as late as 5!)

Below are pictures of Escuela Creativa:

CEC1 CEC2 CEC3 CEC4 CEC5 CEC6 CEC7 CEC9 CEC10 CEC11 CEC13 CEC14 CEC16 CEC17 CEC19 CEC20 CEC22 CEC23 CEC24 CEC26 CEC29 CEC30 CEC32 CEC34 CEC36 CEC37 CEC40 CEC42 CEC45 CEC47 CEC48 CEC50 CEC51 CEC53 CEC54 CEC56 CEC58 CEC59 CEC60 CEC70 CEC71 CEC73 CEC74 CEC75 CEC77 CEC79 CEC80 CEC82 CEC84 CEC87 CEC88 CEC90 CEC93 DSCF1701 DSCF1705 DSCF1707 DSCF1708 DSCF1714 DSCF1720 DSCF1721 DSCF1722 DSCF1725 DSCF1726 DSCF1729 DSCF1731 DSCF1734 DSCF1735 DSCF1737 DSCF1739 DSCF1742 DSCF1750 DSCF1752 DSCF1761 DSCF1762 DSCF1763 DSCF1765 DSCF1770 DSCF1772 DSCF1773 DSCF1775 DSCF1777 DSCF1782 DSCF1785 DSCF1787 DSCF1788 DSCF1789 DSCF1791 DSCF1793 DSCF1795 DSCF1796 DSCF1798 DSCF1800 DSCF1801 DSCF1802 DSCF1804 DSCF1806 DSCF1807 DSCF1808 DSCF1809 DSCF1810 DSCF1811 DSCF1812 DSCF1813 DSCF1815 DSCF1816

Pictures of hotel:

DSCF1937 DSCF1938 DSCF1942 DSCF1943 DSCF1944 DSCF1949 DSCF1950 DSCF1952

Pictures of Casa de Arte:

DSCF1953 DSCF1954 DSCF1956 DSCF1957 DSCF1959 DSCF1961 DSCF1962 DSCF1963 DSCF1964 DSCF1965 DSCF1966 DSCF1968 DSCF1970 DSCF1971 DSCF1974 DSCF1975 DSCF1977 DSCF1978 DSCF1980 DSCF1982 DSCF1985 DSCF1986 DSCF1987 DSCF1989 DSCF1990 DSCF1992 DSCF1995 DSCF1998 DSCF2001 DSCF2002 DSCF2003

A hotel owner’s thoughts on tourism in the Santa Elena area:

  • Only 1-2 tourists for a natural history walk
  • Half dry and rainforest on west side versus rainforest on east side
  • Coffee tour very popular here. most associated with Costa Rica
  • Don’t realize about biodiversity here until they come but too late because travel agency already booked them for only a day
  • Selvatura is the Disney world +> to get everything done in a day; but quality is not great => better butterfly garden in Cerro Plano and better hummingbird garden at Monteverde Cloud Reserve for much cheaper
  • People don’t want guides when they hike
  • Zip Line is more popular to do here
  • No history of Monteverde Tour; only in a book
  • There’s nothing to do in Santa Elena but pass by
  • No parks, no ecotours in Santa Elena
  • Have to go far out to do something naturey

What’s Next:

  • Observation and data collection at Bajo del Tigre
  • Search for more site plans and documents from the Monteverde Institute
  • Interview with Felipe Negrini; i.e. the famous landscape designer of Monteverde
  • Review new documents from the Monteverde Institute