working on my post). As it happens, she met the owner of the hotel who was sitting in the computer room and talking to people that were there. He was very gracious and personable, and had the cutest little 11-month old boy named Ben, who took an instant liking to my camera case. The owner Vincent is from France, and his wife is Scottish, so Ben will grow up speaking French, English, and Spanish.We took a taxi to a hotel nearby where we met Joe, who drove us (and a few other
people we picked up along the way) on a tour to the Café Britt headquarters in Heredia. Joe to
ld us that we would like Heredia, it was much more beautiful than San Jose. Then he told us that he was from there, and we laughed. We had to admit that he was right - it is a beautiful area, with gardens
The grounds of the coffee plantation were beautiful - lush and very well maintained. There were coffee plants and mangoes and bananas.
There is a display there explaining a tradition unique to Heredia, involving puppet-like figures and humor to tell subversive local stories of power struggles between landowners and workers.
Here I must say something about the tour... Our tour guides were bilingual, seamlessly moving between Spanish and English, joking in both languages. It became evident that it was somewhat 
rehearsed, a routine that they played out for the benefit of the visitors - but it was done so intelligently, and playfully, and with such obvious love for the traditions that they came from, what they were doing, and for the coffee that is their livelihood - that I left feeling very impressed. 
The tour guides included the owner himself and his niece (a living example of how independence - the government gave coffee plants to the people! - gave economic opportunity to those formerly disadvantaged), and toward the end involved them 
dressing up in costumes, using something of their comedic theatrical tradition on a stage, to play out some of the history of coffee for us themselves. This could have been terribly cheesy and a little off-putting in an overdone way (they were unabashed capitalists, as well) - but they were such consummate performers, so practiced at it while still having a lot of fun, that it was thoroughly enjoyable - and gave us a taste of more than just the coffee.
Oh, yeah... and lunch! Delicious... mostly typical Costa Rican fare.
As foreseen, the free coffee samples kicked in and I was talking fast all afternoon! We got a transfer from the hotel in San Jose here to the Doubletree Hilton in Puntarenas. We made use of the phrasebook to ask about the landscape, and find out the latest on the US soccer team on the trip. Through mountains and clouds - past hidden volcanos and lush valleys - along the Interamerican Highway. It turns out we have to be careful about what is included in our 'All-inclusive!' hotel (I'm in the lobby of the hotel to use the 'free' wi-fi)... but it is a beautiful spot, and we look forward to relaxing and making the most of it. The evening ended with dinner with our friends and their parents, and a visit to the hot tub, before the day's activity caught up with us (and the coffee buzz wore off) and we succumbed to the call of the comfortable beds.
The grounds of the coffee plantation were beautiful - lush and very well maintained. There were coffee plants and mangoes and bananas.
There is a display there explaining a tradition unique to Heredia, involving puppet-like figures and humor to tell subversive local stories of power struggles between landowners and workers.
Here I must say something about the tour... Our tour guides were bilingual, seamlessly moving between Spanish and English, joking in both languages. It became evident that it was somewhat 
rehearsed, a routine that they played out for the benefit of the visitors - but it was done so intelligently, and playfully, and with such obvious love for the traditions that they came from, what they were doing, and for the coffee that is their livelihood - that I left feeling very impressed. 
The tour guides included the owner himself and his niece (a living example of how independence - the government gave coffee plants to the people! - gave economic opportunity to those formerly disadvantaged), and toward the end involved them 
dressing up in costumes, using something of their comedic theatrical tradition on a stage, to play out some of the history of coffee for us themselves. This could have been terribly cheesy and a little off-putting in an overdone way (they were unabashed capitalists, as well) - but they were such consummate performers, so practiced at it while still having a lot of fun, that it was thoroughly enjoyable - and gave us a taste of more than just the coffee.
Oh, yeah... and lunch! Delicious... mostly typical Costa Rican fare.As foreseen, the free coffee samples kicked in and I was talking fast all afternoon! We got a transfer from the hotel in San Jose here to the Doubletree Hilton in Puntarenas. We made use of the phrasebook to ask about the landscape, and find out the latest on the US soccer team on the trip. Through mountains and clouds - past hidden volcanos and lush valleys - along the Interamerican Highway. It turns out we have to be careful about what is included in our 'All-inclusive!' hotel (I'm in the lobby of the hotel to use the 'free' wi-fi)... but it is a beautiful spot, and we look forward to relaxing and making the most of it. The evening ended with dinner with our friends and their parents, and a visit to the hot tub, before the day's activity caught up with us (and the coffee buzz wore off) and we succumbed to the call of the comfortable beds.
No comments:
Post a Comment