Guanacaste, Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast

Our day started with a Coffee Experience in Cerro Plano, Monteverde.  We were the only guests in this early morning session and because Stan and I showed a sincere interest in nature and growing things we got an in-depth lesson from Chris, the owner of the coffee plantation and demonstration garden.  First, he showed us how he creates natural organic fertilizers from compost for his coffee plantation.  Not much new info there.  I am well-versed in composting techniques.  But this young man is an organic scientist.  He showed his methods of composting other materials in huge sealed plastic vats with oxygen-release tubes to produce specific minerals for fertilizers from citrus materials and banana waste for example.  He creates natural insect repellent sprays in similarly sealed barrels by fermenting rainwater with molasses and other natural compounds, and much more.  We told him he should write a book or produce a YouTube series because his knowledge is very valuable but difficult to grasp and retain in one big dose. 

After touring his garden and getting a brain overload of information, we went back to his lab to experiment with the various aromas and flavors that can be derived from the same variety of beans with different roasting times and different times of exposures to hot water.   We learned that coffee like wine can have aromas like floral, nuttiness, smokiness, and herbal, while taste descriptors might be terms like acidity, bitterness, sweetness, saltiness, and sourness.  And as with wine, there is a technique for drinking coffee to achieve its full flavor and aroma.  To savor coffee, Chris said, it should be slurped, and held in the mouth a moment before swallowing.  Then breathe out through the nose for the aftertaste.  I told him on the farm, my grandfather liked his coffee and slurped it every morning from a saucer. 

We practiced slurping and breathing with several rounds of tastings made with different brew methods and brew times.  The class was fascinating and thorough.  Today, though, perhaps 8 hours later, I still taste a hint of the coffee in the back of my throat.  It was an experience I will never forget, and now I fear the everyday methods that Stan and I employ for coffee making and drinking might be an insult to the joy coffee can offer. 

While I do love a good cup of coffee, we don’t make a big deal of it.  What we experienced today is a little like the Chinese ceremony of tea-making and drinking.  It’s a ritual.  It is a social experience.  For me, just put some pretty good grinds in a filter or a few tea bags in a pot, then pour over some hot water, and in a few moments it’s good to go.

I love wine but I’m not a wine connoisseur.  I love coffee and tea but I’m no barista.  I like a fresh cup or two in the morning made in a contraption that’s not a chore to clean up and then I’m done. Now, do I enjoy a rare, fine cup of latte with a heart designed in the cream?  Absolutely!  Conversely, I will never be one like a few folks I know who will drink leftover morning coffee at 3 in the afternoon.  Bleah!!

At about noon we finally wrapped up our very interesting coffee experience and began our 3-4 hour trip to Playa Lagarto Eco –Development in Venado, Guanacaste. 

Costa Rican roads are hit-and-miss.  Some are beautifully paved with multiple lanes.  Some, more accurately most, are very bad.  Some roads look as if they received one coat of asphalt many years ago and have been left to deteriorate to holes and ruts since.  Yet many, many cars, motorcycles, dump trucks, and delivery vans cover these beat-up little roads every day.  And those are the paved ones; many of the roads here, however, are dirt and gravel.  Seriously, driving can be quite challenging here.

Our host of the Venado house recommended we shop for food supplies in Santa Cruz, a town about an hour from our little villa.  We did and I am certainly glad.  We stocked up on simple things to get us through the next week.  His advice should have been a hint that we might be heading toward a remote spot.  In the information he sent to Stan also said the restaurant is very good.  Hint number two. 

In reaching our next casa, we left a fairly good paved road to travel maybe 10 miles on a bumpy, curvy dirt road.  Could this be correct???  Imagine our relief when we finally saw a wooden sign pointing to Eco Lagarto to the left.  Another long drive on a questionable narrow dirt road finally, finally brought us to another hand-painted sign that read Bienvenidos to Eco Lagarto.  Over the hill, we could see the development.  Phew!  Here!!!

This community of small casas is about 2.3 km from the beach which is walkable for us.  That’s good.  It’s very attractive and reminds me of a Fairfield Bay start-up with a cluster of cute villas, a gorgeous swimming pool, and one restaurant on the property.  Nothing, absolutely nothing else is nearby.  I have been yearning for some serious downtime.  I think we have found it.

It was nighttime by the time we settled in.  In the quiet night, we walked out to take a look at the pool.  The shimmering water was inviting.  But above, the nighttime starry sky stole the show!    The sky was breathtaking.  From my experience, a starry sky can only be seen from a lonely road or campsite in Arkansas or Alabama.  In the city, I always know the stars are there, I just cannot see them.  City lights obscure their glow.  But here in outback Costa Rica, the stars are spectacular!!!  At first, there were hundreds of big white or yellow stars . . . here, there, and here, there.  Then more and more stars appeared showing their light. 

A sky full of stars makes a person feel so small, so nothing.  But we all have a part to play.

This next week is going to be medicine for my body and soul.

Nos vamos, chicos!!