Doka Estate ( coffee plantation )

One question ahead: who does not crave a really good coffee? Personally, I would go to Great lengths for my caffeine-infusion!

The plantation I visited is located on the slopes of Poás volcano. It's fertile soil contributes to the high quality. Doka is considered to be one of the oldest plantations in the country (famous for their wet mill, that sorts out the different qualities) plus it is still a family-run business. An astounding fact is that the indigenous people don't do the daunting picking anymore. More than 90% of the workers call Nicaragua, Costa Rica's northern neighbour, their home. Another aspect that surprised me that the people here don't keep their supreme quality beans. The vast majority will be exported. That is because people drink a LOT of coffee, which is usually 

prepared  with lots of milk and sugar. Consequently quality comes in second place. 

There exist three different types of raw beans that differ in their quality:

The most desired one is the so-called peaberry in which the coffe's natural occuring sugar is preserved. That is because of a genetic defect. Attempts to grow this special kind have failed.

Next comes the "normal" Arabica bean ( only Arabica is grown anyways)

Lastly there remain the beans that are not considered "perfect" as they have either still their skin, are too small, wrinkled or whatever.

Young coffee plants

Older coffee plants

Banana and mango trees are grown throughout the plantation to distract insects

Arabica bean

The last quality category

And here comes the coffee queen: peaberry (roasted in this picture)

Manuel Antonio Part II

Manuel Antonio

Today's post will be about one of Costa Rica's Top tourist- and indegineous destinations. As the title already suggests I'm talking about the famous national park Manuel Antonio. Being located on the pacific coast it offers the possibility to convenienly combine beachtime, hiking and wildlife-watching. The 682 ha park is more or less a peninsula with several trails differing in length and difficulty. Throughout the park are information points, bathroom facilities, drinkable water and picknick-areas. It is possible to hire an experienced guide for a tour or you set out to explore the beauty of nature and wildlife on your own. I would recommend to opt for the latter which I did as it is not difficult at all to spot wildlife. I guess due to its poularity the animals have become acustomed to humans.  But as the saying goes a picture paints a thousand words, let me just visually show you what kind of species you are likely to encounter in the forest!

Need a souvenir? But be aware, you'll pay a premium in this tourist-hotspot!

Deer

Tiny crab on a leaf

Small lizard inhabiting a tree

Sleeping sloths, I mean what do you expect if this mammal only moves for about 10% of their time?

HUGE lizard

Capuchin monkey with baby

The other kind of potential pickpocket; plus another (non-scientific) proof that we humans and the monkeys had the same ancestor some million years ago!

The Bus-System

Ok, admittedley the topic may initially not sound overly exciting. But as there are basically only buses as means of public transport it is important to be mentioned. 

One thing in advance: there will be no such thing as logic in the following sentences!

Next you have to differentiate between long-distance and short-distance buses.

Let's look firstly at the ones that operate on short distances:

- there exist no ticket vending machines, you have to pay the driver in cash when you embark ( coins   are prefered)

- try to get on quickly and have your money ready to hand over ( the drivers dislike it if people stand in the entrance for too long, as the result of the photoelectric barrier might get messed)

- you ALWAYS pay the same fare - no matter where you get on and of

- the fare is displayed in the front windscreen as is the destination

- there is no airconditioning, but several windows instead

- stations can sometimes be hard to spot since they oftentimes only consist of unapparent signs

Secondly, let's analyse the long-distance buses:

- you CAN buy tickets in advance and SHOULD do so, as they only run a couple of times a day and seats are asigned with your purchase. Consequently you might have to wait for the next one if you haven't aquired tickets in advance ( the downside is that you can only purchase your ticket at the respective terminal your bus will depart from and these are usually not very comfortable places)

- watch out as there are direct connections and busses that are collective which means they have numerous stops along the way ( this can add at least 2 hours to the time of the direct route! )

- NEVER showcase any valuable objects and keep your luggage, bags and all your belongings on your lap, don't store it in any case under or above your seat!

- these buses will make a stop at a service area for roughly ten to fifteen minutes where you can refresh, buy something to drink or a bite to eat

For any kind of travel in Costa Rica I highly recommend keeping coins in some sort of outer pocket of your bag in order to avoid exposing where you store your wallet ( which obviously makes you an Easy target for robbery)

Pictures will follow!

Volcano Poás

Costa Rica may be a small country in terms of squarekilometres, but when it comes to altitude Costa Rica is literally reaching for the Stars. Mountains as high as 3.800m (Most of these 

peaks are volcanos) contribute to the country's diverse and unique scenery. Within a couple of hours you can get from lonesome sandy beaches through tropical rainforest with an immense biodiversity to lush green meadows in the mountains. Typical  for the volcanoes' slopes are the grasing cattle whose milk provides the basis for a local specialty: old-fashioned cheese of the highest quality. Other distinct features are the strawberry fields which grow even at this altitude due to the fertile volcanic soil. When driving up narrow, curve-loaden roads that clinge to the rocks you will encounter every 500m at least some streetvendor praising the freshness of his products.

If you have made it finally to the top, you are required to pay a small of entrance fee of approximately 10$. At Poás you can admire one of the world's biggest craters in terms of its diameter, an extinct crater and a beautiful lagoon. If the godess of luck is on your side you can even spot some wildlife (Well, I only got to meet a very extrovert squirrel). However, I would highly recommend you to arrive early in the morning as chances are high to catch a glimpse at the volcan's hot, sulfur-rich bubbling water. If acidity should increase significately the park might have to be closed for safety reasons. Later in the day this stunning view might disappear behind thick clouds. For the geography nerds out there: the exact height of Poás is 2,704m above sealevel. Nature is the most powerful force which it proves by the fact that The original crater has collapsed eons ago. Instead you can now admire a so-called caldera.

Rainbow Forts and Bad Roads

On Sunday I have finally arrived in Costa Rica. Since then two whole days have passed during which I have made what feels like a zillion new experiences. I have found out quickly that shoes with a steady sole are a must since the pavements and roads are indeed in an extremely bad condition. As I live in a residential area you encounter beautiful houses ( mostly Bungalows ) that are painted in various shades of the rainbow. However, all those buildings are protected by man-high cast-iron fences through which you can glimpse a view at neatly cut lawn and well trimmed flower beds.

I hope you can get an imagination of how a cota rican suburb looks like!