Swimming break

We decided to go rafting in a rather roundabout manner.  I was looking into transit from the San Jose area to the Caribbean coast (about a 4-hour drive), and found that there was a rafting company that would pick you up in one place and bring you back to another — door to door service each way.  Given the cost of a shuttle for the same distance, and the fact that we got breakfast and lunch thrown into the bargain, it was a pretty good deal.  The only downside was that our hotel pickup time was 5:45am.

Natural water slide

We were initially supposed to raft the Reventazón river, because the Pacuare was for age 12 and up only.  However, they let us know a few days in advance that due to low water levels this would likely be boring for all but little kids.  After a bit of back and forth, we worked out a deal — they would take us to a separate section of the Pacuare, where there were no Class IV rapids.  So, we were all alone in our one raft, with no photographers present — so sadly, no good rapids photos!  We were too busy paddling.

We came back from our short hike to find this lovely snack laid out for us. When snacks are provided on outings here, they usually consist of a whole watermelon and/or pineapple fresh cut on the scene.

A couple of days ago we went white-water rafting.  It was really fun.  We got to swim and eat pineapple and watermelon.  We also went for a hike.

There are five classes of rapids.  Class I is the calmest.  We did classes I, II, and III.  When the guide yelled “Forward!”, we paddled.  When he said, “Backward” we paddled backward.  There were other commands like “lean in!” and “left/right back” and “get down!”  If we didn’t act quickly enough, the boat could flip over.  Lanie decided not to paddle so she only had to lean in and get down.

The end point of our hike

Today we visited Agricultural Disneyland.  In touring La Finca el Trapiche we got to observe the cultivation and processing of three of the world’s most beloved foods.  Nadia will explain a little bit about all three:

What we saw at El Trapiche:

 Sugar cane

Nadia snaps off the sweet insides of a cane that has been peeled.

Sugar cane grows in a plant that looks a lot like bamboo. The sugar is the inside of the stalk. To eat it, you cut off the outside layer, then you pull of a piece and suck the juice out of it. It tastes really sweet.

Coffee
Coffee grows on bushes. There are three types of coffee. The first type is premium. That is when there is only one bean per berry. The next type is first quality. That is when there is two beans per berry. The last type is second quality. That is when there are three beans in a berry.

Three grades of coffee beans: second grade, first grade, and peaberry

You can eat the red coffee fruit. I tried some. It doesn’t taste like coffee, it tastes sweet.

Cocoa

Lanie shows off a cocoa pod.

Cocoa is grown on a small tree. It grows in a pod. The seeds are coated in white paste called cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is used to make white chocolate and beauty products. White chocolate has no cocoa in it at all. After the cocoa butter  is washed off the beans they are dried, roasted, shelled, and ground up with sugar. When you make chocolate, you have to choose what percent of cocoa and what percent of sugar. You also have to decide if you want to add milk.

Sample tastings were everywhere at El Trapiche.  Here the adults try moonshine made from cane juice.

Lanie chimes in about coffee production:

Zoe learned she would get $3 for every basket full of beans she picked. Also, sometimes there are snakes in the bushes.

The El Trapiche tour was awesome! First we went around and picked some coffee and ate it.  The coffee tasted really good.  Zoe had a basket tied around her waist so she could pick red berries off the tree with both hands.  Coffee comes in small red berries.  If there is only one seed inside, it is the best kind.  It is called peaberry.  If it has two beans, it is called first quality.  If has three seeds, it is second quality.

Everyone was a coffee drinker at El Trapiche.

After you pick it, you dry it.  To dry it, you put it in a greenhouse.   Once it’s dry you peel it.  The peel can be used to make parchment paper.  At the end we got to taste the coffee.  It was delicious.