An early morning. Breakfast at 6:30 am, which was extensive and amazing and then on the bus at 8 am. Ozzy and staff have already secured our luggage on the bus. Ozzy had our seat assignments posted and Mr Peeples, the two toed sloth, is his able seating assistant. He lets us know which side of the bus exits first. All on time and settled in .., and we are off. First to a coffee plantation, Espiritu Santos, a local coffee farm that has been in the family for many generations. They take a great deal of pride in the quality of their coffee. Then lunch and shopping in Sarchi, a town well known for the local artists and craft items. Next a quick stop in Zarcero, and on to our home for the next two nights.
breakfast view with OzzyKaren, our guide, has worked for this farm for over 30 years, in many capacities. Inside a typical family home, Could have one or two bedrooms. This one only had one and was for a family of 11.
Passing the SJO airport, about a 15 minute drive from the hotel.This farm only uses Arabica beans. Every 20 years they cut the tree, clean the roots and replant it. This ensures the quality of the coffee. They also only pick red berries, and harvest is in the dry months from December to April.chickens everywhere
Espiritu Santos Coffee farm/plantation. They belong to the larger town co-op. This farm has been in the family for many generations. Coffee began in Ethiopia replica of a typical house, could have one or two bedrooms, this had one, and it my house a family of 10 plus.Story goes that when Grandpa wants to visit Grandma’s bed, St Anthony is turned upside down
Karen tempering the coffee pot with hot water to keep it warmKaren pours the coffee through the cotton filter. The original drip coffeeonly a small sample,,,,, but the taste !!! Bought two bags to bring home
adding ground to hot water. Stir and allow to sit for 5 minutesthe aroma is undescribableListening about how pickers bring their coffee to get weighed and paid
coffee and it’s 800 substances releases gases during this brewing time. Try and notice the iridescent bubbles. The smell is amazing. She left it brew for about 5 minutes
Coffee is weighed here. Each picker gets the profit from their baskets. Most times they can hand pick only the red cherries. from December to April, during the dry season. Each basket can hold up to 50 pounds and the average worker can pick between 12 – 15 baskets a day. They get paid $3-5 a basket.Coffee beans are roasted here for sale in Costa Rica. Anything the exported is not roasted, but shipped green.
After hand picking, the cherries need to be dried. they can dry in the sun for about a week, but need constant attention. If they are dried by heat it only takes hours. then the seeds are removed from the Cherries. Each cherry usually has 2 beans.Rainbow eucalyptus
Rained in December and it not supposed to. This coffee plant begun to bloom and bud. this coffee will need to be harvested way ahead of timebanana tree
Short bus ride to Sarchi, home to the original ox carts, of every size. Also famous for hand crafts. We had lunch here.
traveling along the Central Valley
Ox carts in Sarchi
Beautiful mural
close up of an ox cartThe bathrooms are beautifully decoratedYup, we were here. So windy my hat flew off and landed in the “do not enter” area. But one of our travelers got it back for me.
outside passageways at restaurantLargest ox cart in Costa Rica
Scenery on our way to Zarcerochurch of San RafaelGardens
Beautiful altarParque de Francisco AlvadoaChildren’s playground
Suzi Travels 
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