Tropical Weather In Kansas

The rainfall and humidity has been excessive in some areas this spring and early summer. It almost reminds me of Costa Rica, which sees rainfall almost every afternoon because of its location in the tropics.

I visited Costa Rica almost 7 years ago to the date as part of an all-expense paid trip through the National FFA Organization (an organization that teaches leadership, personal success, and career growth through agricultural education). In order to quality for the trip, you had to be nominated for a national award and then be interviewed by a panel of judges. A tedious process worked out in my favor and I was fortunate to get the opportunity to travel with a great group of FFA students, most of them 4 or 5 years older than me at the time.

I don't want to bore you with all the details of the trip, but our purpose was to spend 10 days in Costa Rica learning how agricultural practices are different from those in the United States. The weather is ideal for growing sugar cane, bananas, pineapple, and coffee beans, which keep the farmers in that area busy almost year round. I had the chance to pick coffee beans by hand, but that was before the tour guide informed us there are pit vipers that hide in the coffee plants. Refer to my blog entry called "Facing Your Fear". I hate snakes!

We did see all kinds of different animals in our journey through Costa Rica. The best part about the trip was soaking in the hot springs just outside of San Jose. The water is natually heated by Volcano Arenal, which erupts almost daily. If there is a big interest in other details, I'll write more in another entry. Enjoy the pictures and look for a KWCH connection in a few of them.