Day 13 - The Last Day

On our last day in country, we left the hotel nice and early at 6 for a day filled with touring. It was a lot of bus riding, but for me that just meant more time to nap. First, we went to a coffee plantation where they served us breakfast and we went on another short coffee tour where they explained to us again how the coffee is planted, picked, processed and roasted. 

Next, we went on a short hike to see the crater of an active volcano called the Poas Volcano. I was really excited for this at first, but when we got there, it was too foggy to see anything. Because we were so high up in the mountains, we were actually in a cloud. On one hand, this made it hard to see as I said, but on the other hard it was really cool to be walking through water particles suspended in air. It was almost like it was misting constantly.

The foggy view of the crater

The last thing we did today was visit the waterfalls at La Paz. These four waterfalls are fairly famous, and it was cool to actually get to see them in person after hearing about them a few times in high school Spanish classes.

My favorite part of the day however was getting another chance to observe the incredible number of organisms in the wild here. Both at Poas and la Paz, we went on small walks through the woods to get to our destinations, and our tour guide stopped us along the way to point out the more interesting plants and give information about them. And then at la Paz, there was a small zoo of sorts where we could see hummingbirds, monkeys, butterflies, snakes, frogs and jungle cats. While not all of the animals were native to Costa Rica, it was still entertaining to see.

I got to hold a toucan at La Paz!

Day 12 – Market Research in San Jose

Today, we broke up into our groups and went to different parts of the city to conduct market research on the coffee industry locally. Since most of the tours focused on gourmet coffee that mostly gets exported to wealthier nations, we wanted to see what kind of coffee the locals drink. My group in particular was assigned to a relatively residential section of the city that was not particularly welcoming to gringos. Our group of four split up into two subgroups so that we could talk to more people, so I explored the neighborhood with Allison Bonetti. First, we went to a small bakery that sold various pastries and cakes, along with Montaña brand coffee. We talked to the server about her coffee drinking habits, and it was kind of awkward because you could tell she was not in the mood to talk to tourists speaking Spanglish. Then, we moved on to a local convenience store chain called Super Mini. It was just as awkward here because as soon as we walked in, the three workers (who were the only people in the store at the time) all gave us dirty looks. Again, we talked to them about their coffee drinking habits, but they weren’t nearly as helpful, partly because they didn’t drink that much coffee. I was not expecting the locals to be so rude at times because The Ticos described Costa Ricans as always wanting to “quedarse bien,” and never wanting to end a conversation leaving a bad impression of themselves. However at the same time, I knew of the “gringo” reputation Americans have in Latin American countries from past Spanish classes coming into the trip, so I wasn’t really that surprised.

Day 7 – Coopedota

Today, we visited a coffee Coop in the small farming town of Dota called Coopedota. It is made up of 850 individual farmers, and Coopedota pays these farmers their fair share of the profits for their coffee cherries. The coop of then takes these cherries, processes and roasts them and sells them to large buyers like Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee. As a result of such cooperation, the Coopedota is able to produce an average of 50,000 bags of coffee each year. 

Coffee beans inat Coopedota

This is an effective method of organizing labor on this scale because even a small amount of coffee plants can be profitable, but the equipment for processing the plants can be very costly. Also, few customers want to buy so few coffee cherries at a time. The coop allows the farmers to work independently as they please without having to spent huge sums of money on equipment upfront.

To me, one of the most interesting factors that goes into the success of Coopedota is how socially growing coffee is not just a job or an activity, it’s a way of life of sorts. These farmers dedicate their entire lives to producing high-quality gourmet coffee to make a living. It’s a difficult job year-round and particularly stressful at times, but it is obviously rewarding and worthwhile for the farmers. In addition, the coop has taken steps to grow coffee sustainably. For example, they have implemented technology that reduces electricity consumption, they reuse their wastewater to water their pastures after filtering out the sediment out of their wastewater to create fertilizer and they’ve reduced their consumption of wood by 97% by using the parchment from the coffee bean instead. In a way, this reflects how the farmers view their work because it’s obviously not just a business where they try to maximize their profit, they want to create a sustainable industry that effects the environment around their homes as little as possible so that they can pass their knowledge of the practice down through the generations. 

Day 11 – Leaving Monteverde

The bicycle used to make food for the goats

Unfortunately, today was our last day in Monteverde. We left the hotel at 8:30 this morning to go tour Guillermo’s local coffee farm. However, they didn’t just grow coffee like at the other sites we visited; they also had, for example, bananas, yucca, and rosemary, along with goats, pigs and chickens. In fact, we actually got the chance to see a newborn baby goat that was delivered while we were touring. I also had the opportunity to use their repurposed bicycle contraption to make food for the goats. I made as much food in 30 seconds as someone would have in a few hours with just a machete, and this was particularly interesting to me as an engineer because I think it’s cool using things for a job other than what it was originally intended for to solve a problem.

When we were done touring, we participated in a service project on the farm where my group planted trees and dug up clay that was particularly fertile because of the microorganisms found in that sample. It was rewarding to connect with nature and give back to the community, particularly because it’s been too long since the last time I volunteered, and it gave us a good chance to have conversations with the tour guides and workers.

Everyone there seemed really down to earth, and it seemed like they saw farming as not only a way of life but also medicine for the soul. It was really interesting to listen to the way they talked about the various animals and plants during the tour, at times as if they were deriving the meaning of life through their practices.

Day 10 – Exploring the Cloud Forrest

Today, we had the chance to observe the incredible amount of biodiversity that The Ticos mentioned first hand during a two hour hiking tour through the cloud forest, and it was beautiful. There were so many different organisms, with trees germinating on and growing off of other trees, insect zombies with mushrooms for brains, completely translucent butterflies, orange wasps with purple wings and so much more; it was breathtaking. And our tour guide was so knowledgeable as well. He had carried a telescope with him to give us a close look at the treasures “his office” (as he put it) had in store and could spot micro orchids less than half the size of a fingernail from 20 feet away effortlessly. With the help of his bird calling, we even saw a Quetzal, a very traditional bird with of lot of symbolic significance throughout Central America.

We then listened to a short lecture about the history of Monteverde from a coffee farmer named Guillermo, and I feel he affirmed a lot of points made in The Ticos. For example, according to the book, Ticos are increasingly holding individualism dear to their heart, and indeed Guillermo cited the local farmers desire to work on their own individual farms as a reason why coops have been successful. Additionally, the text claims that family ties are strong and that farm life encourages large families. According to Guillermo seven out of ten founders of the coop were directly related, and he currently has 85 cousins on his mother’s side alone. Finally, the rising demand for labor on farms as a result of locals seeking better pay and working conditions in the hotels of Monteverde, as Guillermo explained, shows the effects of the transition into a service based economy as mentioned in The Ticos. While these are only a few examples and a small sample size, I think it still speaks volumes about the accuracy of the book. This makes sense to me because in my own experience, I think it prepared me fairly well for the trip. Reading about the history was particularly interesting to me because it’s pretty unique to Costa Rica, but I think the first section on the land and the people (particularly the parts about the people) were the most helpful overall. It gave me a good set of expectations of cultural norms and such during daily interacting with the locals and a good base of knowledge on how to present myself while doing so.

Day 9 - Arriving at Monteverde

 

Today, we had a long bus ride today to stay the next couple days in Monteverde, a small town located in the cloud forest on the Pacific side of the country. The bus ride was a little scary riding on windy dirt roads a few feet from the edge of a mountain, but the breath taking views in nearly every direction sufficiently distracted me from the danger; it's easily one of the most beautiful places I've seen in my life. For a majority of the afternoon, everything was overwhelming and felt a lot like a dream to be honest.

Now that we're at the hotel and have time to enjoy ourselves, I don't want to leave. We went to lunch as soon as we arrived and I don't think I could be happier with the meal. The rice, beans, chicken and fish were so good I had to get three plates. As soon as we finished lunch we went zip lining through the canopy, and it was definitely the highlight of the day (and possibly the trip so far). Obviously the scenery was beautiful, but interacting with the tour guides was probably my favorite part. They were full of energy, always happy and smiling (like most Costa Ricans) and constantly joking around with us. Then we went to dinner, and much like lunch, there is nothing I can complain about (and I ate way too much haha).

On one hand, I couldn't be happier that I'm here right now, but like I said earlier I'm sad we only have two days to spend here. However, I'm excited to see what it has in store nonetheless.

Day 8 - Tortuga Island

Today, we woke up bright and early at 5:15 to take a trip to the beach on our free day. We definitely felt a lot like tourists today and you could tell the locals looked down on us because of it, but it was also a lot of fun. We had a long bus ride to Puntarena on the Pacific Coast of the country. From there, we boarded a catamaran and had a two hour ride to Tortuga Island, an island that has no human inhabitants except for a handful of workers living by the beach. The boat was a lot of fun. It had a pool on the upper deck and a great duo of a dancer and a singer to keep us entertained.

The entertainer showing some of the girls how to dance

Once we got to the beach, we had four hours or so to relax and enjoy ourselves. They served us a delicious lunch of chicken, fish and rice along with a glass of wine. The scenery was beautiful and the water was so refreshing and clear it would have been hard not to have a great time.

One thing I was interested in particularly was how clean the tour company kept the beaches. The first rule they told us when we arrived was to pick up after ourselves so that this remains true, and they limited us to only a small section of the island in order to disturb the ecosystem as little as possible. You could tell they were doing a good job because you could see plenty of animals and insects, mostly wild pigs and bees, throughout the beach. This environmental consciousness is consistent throughout the country, and it was not something I was expecting based on T'he Ticos. However, this seems reasonable to me because it was published in 1999, and the big push towards environmentalism was not as strong a force throughout the world at that time.

Day 6 – Starbucks and Museums

Today, we went to the ISA office to hear a presentation from Starbucks representative about their modified version of practicing Fair Trade called Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices. The main difference between the two is that Fair Trade is only applicable to small farms, while C.A.F.E. Practices are applicable to all sizes of farms. The mission of the program is to create long term relationships with suppliers who use sustainable methods of growing their crop. Starbucks’ goal is to have 100% of their suppliers using C.A.F.E. Practices by the end of 2015, and as of 2013 they had 95% of their goal accomplished.

This kind of innovation demonstrates the kind of creativity involved in the organization of the company. There is constantly research being done to find ways of improving their product and increasing efficiency. This is not unique to Starbucks though, as Café Britt had a similar mentality towards research. Because of this fact, I think this characteristic might be applicable to the gourmet coffee industry as a whole, just by its nature. It’s an industry that constantly striving for both perfection and to be socially responsible, so improvements always need to be made. And because it’s a rapidly changing and volatile industry, innovation is absolutely necessary to accomplish those lofty goals.

Day 5 – Café Britt

Today we toured a small Café Britt plantation to learn about the history of coffee, how it’s grown, and the precautions the company takes to ensure their coffee is the best in the world. Originally, it only sold coffee, but gourmet coffee is not as profitable as it might sound. The market price of coffee beans is highly volatile, and as a result, most companies will resort to buying lower quality beans to compensate. However, Café Britt buys the only the highest quality coffee, so their profit depends largely on the harvest that year. In fact, it almost went bankrupt multiple times in the 1990’s because of this, despite their high quality products and brand loyalty. To make up for this, the company expanded their scope of production to include products such as chocolate covered coffee beans, cookies and candies since around the turn of the century.

I learned what I would look like as a coffee picker during the tour today

We had the privilege of meeting the CEO of the company, Pablo Vargas, to have a brief Q&A session. According to him, Café Britt stores are in 13 different Latin American countries. Because each country has their own coffee preferences based on whether or not they are a coffee producing nation and such, the stores have to be customized based on their location. For example, those in Costa Rica sell Costa Rican Coffee; in Peru, Peruvian Coffee; in Colombia, Colombian coffee; etc. This anomaly makes Café Britt a fairly unique company. It also brings a unique set of logistic challenges, but at the same time creates a brand loyalty so strong that people from all over the world have their coffee shipped to their house because they refuse to drink any other brand.

Day 4 – First Day at a Coffee Plantation

This morning, we woke up bright and early to take of a tour of the Instituto Nacional de Café (ICAFE). It’s a chamber of commerce of sorts that regulates the production and sale of coffee in Costa Rica along with researching ways to improve the quality of the crop in sustainable ways.

Our tour guide, Mario

They get their seeds from their onsite nursery, and are currently experimenting with genetically modifying certain species of the plant to potentiate traits conducive to a bountiful harvest. They are either grown onsite or sold to local producers, to whom ICAFE recommends strains to use in order to control the quality of the crop collectively between plantations.

The coffee plant takes 9 months to produce its cherries, and on average yields 23 bags per hectare when using pesticides, in Costa Rica specifically. 50% of the crop is dedicated explicitly for research, and the rest is given to the workers or sold. The plants are also pruned every seven years so they can be reused without having to replant a seed. However, they can only be pruned four times before the plant needs to be replaced.

A big environmental concern is the use of pesticides. Killing insects obviously harms the natural balance of the ecosystem, but at the same time, a certain amount of chemicals can still be used without harming the insects. Based on the amount of insects and their predators we saw while touring thought, it’s clear that ICAFE is limiting their use of pesticides appropriately.

Overall, seeing the institute was an enriching experience. It was our first site visit to an actual coffee producer so far, and it made me excited for the rest of the trip.

The group exploring the coffee fields

Day 3 – A Day of Lectures

The group spent today at the ISA office building attending a lecture about Costa Rican society, culture and history and a crash course in the basic Spanish necessary to survive abroad. It wasn’t the most exciting day, but it was worthwhile and entertaining at times nonetheless.

The highlight of today by far was lunch at La Terracita de Papá. It was a small restaurant that serves only breakfast and lunch with only a few of table. First of all, the man who waited on us was quite friendly. He took time to talk to us and explain the menu, giving us suggestions based on what he liked. In fact, he convinced me to change my drink order from pineapple juice to cas juice, his personal favorite and made with a unique species of guava found only in Costa Rica. He told me once I try it, I’ll ask for it everywhere I go. And boy was he right; it was delicious!

And the food was equally as good. We all got cansado, which is a plate of rice, beans and a choice of meat (I got pork) served with fried plantains and salad. What I like most about the food here is how fresh all of the ingredients are because most of the places I’ve eaten at so far only use products from Costa Rica. As a result, when I finish eating, I feel satisfied more so than full like I do in States, and it’s a much more pleasant experience.

I was a little worried about the food before coming, but after my experiences so far, all my worries have been ameliorated. 

Day 2 – Exploring San Jose

Group outside of our last destination today, the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica

While walking around the city today, I was introduced to several cultural nuances of Costa Rica that differ considerably from the United States. For example, our tour guide, Mario, explained the living situation of their president. Rather than moving to the White House with an entourage of Secret Service agents like in the US, the Costa Rican president lives in his own house under the protection of a single police officer parked on the street outside, and he chooses the location of his office upon his election. In fact, the current president’s office is a room in the Hotel Jade, the hotel we’re staying in!

In addition, the way that Costa Ricans interact with foreigners is very different than the way they do with the locals, as expected. In large groups, we attract many stares and smiles from Costa Ricans going about their day. In fact, many times when I have interacted with them, such as at dinner, I occasionally see them chuckle to themselves and my assumed ineptitude. The weird thing is when I speak in Spanish to them out of courtesy, some Costa Ricans respond in English, as if to spite me. However, because according to our require reading The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica, Costa Ricans always try to save face, the conversation always remains polite and they maintain a friendly disposition throughout.

Finally, during the tour today we passed the University of Costa Rica as Mario told us a bit about the education system in Costa Rica. Much like the US, the private high schools usually produce smarter students than their public counterparts, but the interesting difference is that students in public colleges in Costa Rica tend to find jobs easier than private school students. I'm curious about this last detail because The Ticos claimed that students that attend private high schools usually will also enroll into a private university because they're parents can afford it, and additionally, that these students will find jobs more easily because they're parents have connections throughout the country to give them more opportunities. Its not based as much on the quality of your education as much as who you know.

Also, the University of Costa Rica is supposed to be the most prestigious institution in the nation, but the facilities were fairly basic and, in some places, quite run down. This was odd to me because at home the most prestigious schools are normally the most beautiful as well. However, I suppose this different makes sense given the socioeconomic status of Costa Rica. 

Day 1 - Arriving in Costa Rica

After a long 36 hours of packing, traveling and no sleep, we've finally settled in at the Hotel Jade in San Jose. This is my first time traveling abroad and the first time in nearly a decade since I have been on a plane, but traveling in such a large group made the negotiating through the logistics of TSA and customs much less stressful. It was comforting being like a sheep in a heard among my peers and professors, allowing me to become better acquainted with the various steps of flying to another country without having to personally confront and major decisions.

In addition, the size of the group has eased the transition into the Costa Rican culture and lifestyle. While we have only been here for 7 hours now, we still had the chance to explore a few blocks near the hotel (the mall and local restaurant mainly). Similarly to it's effect at the airport, traveling in a large group through San Jose added a level of comfort for me. Filled with curiosity about the city and what it has in store for us, we could freely ask questions, bounce ideas off of each other and express our shared interests as we pleased.

All in all, it was a long day, but being with my peers was comforting. I'm excited to see what adventures these two weeks have in store.