Costa Rica - Coffee

Growers, Not Roasters
I was out early to drive to the nearby coffee plantations.  The views were stunning.  Folks from Cartago are very proud of their home province and I can see why.  Of course, the flip side is the amount of rain needed to create this greenery.

I was staying in a small town in Cartago called Rio Macho, a fitting name given the venom and power of the small river it's named after.  I don't think I could survive a fall into it.

I walked on one of the many suspension bridges spanning the river.  Most of these were just big enough for two people to pass each other on foot.  Cyclists walked their bikes over one at a time.

I stopped for a snack at the entrance to the suspension bridge.  A couple and their young daughter were manning a small road side stall.  I ordered coffee and something called an enyucado, a pork and onion mix wrapped in a cassava crust.  I struck up a conversation with them to practice my Spanish and watched cyclists fly by, dozens at a time.  The small, winding roads in the area must attract hardcore riders looking for an intense workout.

A few miles down the road I saw my first coffee farm.  These young plants were tented to keep the sun, rain or both at bay.

This small farm had neat diagonal rows of adolescent plants.

The farms are everywhere in Rio Macho, some more commercial than others.  I use the word "commercial" liberally - I didn't see a single tractor or truck or machine.  I saw people walking along the road, with machetes tucked into their belts and hoes over their shoulders.  I saw young boys riding their bikes with rubber baskets tied around their waists, on their way to pick beans.

Coffee growing in these parts is truly done by hand.  The amount of work required for that daily cup of joe is now clearer to me.