Join America's First Fair Trade Town Committee member Ira Josephs as he journeys with members of the National Fair Trade Towns Steering Committee on a trip to origin. They will be visiting  Fair Trade Certified farms, non-certified farms, farming and artisan cooperatives, a Fair Trade Town and ecologically sensitive areas that have been affected by tourism.

Day 1 and 2

My first impression of the country is that it is very beautiful. The second is that the people are wonderful. We stayed at a B&B in Heredia and waited for all of our crew to arrive. Had a nice bountiful dinner and a good sleep.

We got up early on Sunday and had a 5 hour bus trip to the Pacific beach in Dominical. We had a couple of stops that included observing  a dozen large crocodiles lazing on a river bank just below the bridge we drove over. At the beach we had a boat ride where we saw a mother and baby humback whale, exotic birds and fish while snorkeling. Its a little warmer than Philadelphia : )

Our lessons for the day were how corporate tourism is hurting the environment, global warming is causing communities to be displaced as coastal waters rise and CAFTA is not helping the people.