When deciding to travel abroad, tours are a great way to choose a place you’d like to visit. They help spark an interest in one option over another. Kathy and I agreed on Croatia as our first option easily— great beaches, loads of history, not overly expensive and close proximity to other interesting day trip destinations. When that trip fell through, we had to make another choice pretty quickly.
After taking a look at which countries were allowing American tourists, Central America and the Caribbean islands rose to the top of the list. If you know me, endless beaches leave me…🙄 I’ll say, less than excited (Kathy may actually read this one). So, I vehemently put my foot down. “The Caribbean is out yo!” You know how real men do it. Umm…yeah, just kidding.
After a little debate see-saw, I was never going to agree to that location for a four-week stay. We finally settled on Costa Rica. It seemed to have a little of what we both enjoy in travelling. Sun, fun, and culture.
But what sealed it for me was The Cloud Forest in Monteverde. If you read my earlier post, you know I really feel a reverence toward clouds. I couldn’t miss an opportunity to physically breathe with them. “I’m in,” I said. And once we agree, nothing stops us from making it happen. Once everything was confirmed, I excitedly told my circle of friends and family about The Cloud Forest. I researched the forest, gazed at photos, read reviews and watched vlogs ad nauseum.
I was beaming with excitement. When we booked the trip, we were aware that it was close to the rainy season in Costa Rica, so we expected rain and we got it. The first week every morning, afternoon, or both…it rained. It rained on our cross-country drive to Puerto Viejo. Luckily, we didn’t begin any tours until the second week, and amazingly enough, the rain stopped. Week 2 there were chances of rain forecast but none transpired. So, let the tours begin.
Tour 1: BITES AND SITES: This was a great tour with a great guide. Young Ms. Gladys walked Kathy and I around San Jose for around three hours.
She talked about how farmers continue to be an integral part of Costa Rica’s economy. Mainly bananas, chocolate, oh and coffee. Gladys moved from topic to topic—art, culture, food all while we walked block after block tasting different fruits and local delights. One of my favorite stops was at a banana vendor in the Central Market. We found out bananas don’t normally grow to the size we see in the grocery store. Now they are genetically modified to ripen faster and grow larger so we can enjoy them any time. Another stop was at a family diner in the market. Where K had an empanada and I enjoyed a tamale.
I found out making tamales in Costa Rica are enjoyed as a Christmas time family bonding activity. They gather around a table each person adds some ingredient to the center of the tamale. The most experienced person ends it all by wrapping it up in the banana leaves nicely so it doesn’t burst or fall apart. Then, they enjoy! The tour was as its title described with a cool local guide.
Tour 2: BRITT COFFEE TOUR AND CHOCOLATE TASTING: On this tour, driving time is included in the estimated length of the tour. This one was four hours, which includes two hours driving (there and back), one hour touring the facility, and one hour to eating and shopping. And of course, we learned all you ever wanted to know about coffee.
The facility, including landscaping, flowers, and butterfly garden, was beautifully maintained. You could even hear goats bleating in the background. As we walked through the grounds, we heard about how beans change colors (green to red) and how a good “peónes” (coffee picker…great word right?!?) can pick seventy to 120 pounds in a day. During our tour, there were coffee tasting stations where you could enjoy different Britt brewed flavors.
Another interesting tidbit is the guide said great tasting coffee doesn’t require cream or sugar. It should taste delicious as it is if it is brewed correctly. Also, we learned coffee shouldn’t be put in the freezer because it destroys the flavor of the grounds. The tour concluded with a short movie, a stop at the gift shop, and lunch.
As lunch was ending, I remembered the driver said she would be back around three. It was only 1:15p. I was also thinking, the tour was called “Coffee Tour and Chocolate Tasting,” and I hadn’t tasted any chocolate. That’s the main reason I chose this tour. Kathy likes coffee; I like chocolate. So, I asked the manager and he quickly said, “No chocolate on this tour. Your van will be here at 1:30.”
Damn! I wouldn’t have picked this tour if there wasn’t going to be chocolate. At least I got to see some butterflies. On the van ride back, all I kept thinking was at least I’ll enjoy the cloud forest.
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