A lot has happened in the past week that needs some blogging. I am going to start with the most recent happenings since they are the freshest in my mind. Saturday and Sunday the whole group went on an overnight trip to Arenal, where one of the world's most active is. It erupted last Monday, actually. We didn't see any lava or anything that cool, but the view itself was impressive. We were actually pretty lucky, because most of the time smoke and clouds cover the top of the volcano and hide it from sight, but we got to the the whole thing. The best view was actually from the hot tub of our resort, which directly faced the volcano.
Saturday we went on a canopy tour, which consisted of 10 zip lines, the longest of which was more than half a mile long. We were hundreds of feet up in the air, suspended by a cable and a harness. The views were the best in the world. Sometimes you were going so fast you forgot to look around and see how beautiful everything around you was. At the end, we rode horses back to our van in the pouring rain.
The next day, we had a huge, delicious breakfast waiting for us at the hotel. It was seriously the best complementary breakfast on the planet. Toast, eggs, gallo pinto, pancakes, fruit, OJ, coffee, the works. Then we went to some hot springs and swan in 100 degree water. The temperature is just a guess. Bottom line, it was warm and relaxing.
Earlier in the week we toured an organic coffee farm. Let me say, that looks like hard work. Earlier in the trip one person asked, "Does coffee have to be planed on hills?" We quickly realized in Costa Rica, there is no other place to plant anything. The entire country is one hill, mountain or volcano after another. Even when we went to the beach, the jungle went right up to the coast. But I digress...
Back on topic — coffee is hard work. Don Geraldo, the owner and operator, had strong beliefs in taking care of the land and the soil. He said that in return, the soil will take care of him. And it has: The farm has been in his family for generations. It was amazing to hear how much knowledge he has about his profession. He even knew which trees absorbed the most carbon and cleaned the atmosphere the best (and it wasn't the biggest trees, either). The whole farm (I forget how large it is) is completely organic. It hasn't always been that way. Geraldo said his family converted the farm to organic because they recognized the needs to take care of the planet. Cheers, Geraldo.
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