Botanical Gardens

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

There is not speech or language where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth, 

their words to the ends of the world.

-Psalm 19:1-4

Our sustainability house is located right next to the beginning of the botanical gardens. Yesterday, we got to go on a 2 1/2 hour tour through it. It is so incredible how diverse the foliage is! This is just 1% of the fruit they have in the botanical garden, and each one is completely different. 

There are fruit that have as much caffeine as a red bull, fruit that are used as bowls, tons of different coffee bean varieties, smelly fruit, different kinds of citrus, and so much more!

This ecosystem is so intricately woven, that even little changes in bugs, moss, really anything can kill off species quickly. 

I just thought this was so beautiful :) 

This is a bamboo plant, and we were lucky to see it blooming! Bamboo trees only bloom once in their lifetime, which doesn't usually happen until the tree is about 80 years old. They say you only see it happen once in your life! 

Not sure what this one was called, but it is so fascinating! Both the male and female components are in the flower, so after pollination, it is able to fertilize it'self and will fall off the tree. It only blooms for a day.

This was a HUGE tree. Didn't even get all of it in the picture, but there are so many other plants/bugs on the tree that use the tree for support/nutrients.

An artist out of San Jose painted this. It's hard to see, but he painted on it the elements of nature. It represents how nature needs all of them to survive.

It has been wonderful here so far! It's so wonderful to get to see God's creation all around us. Our lecture time has been so fascinating. Sustainability is a very important part of everyday life to survive and thrive in the long run. We're now starting to focus our attention on sustainability as it concerns tourism. Stay tuned for more later!

Pura Vida!