ATV and Coffee Tour Plantation Tour

We took ATVs up to coffee and orange plantation for a tour.

Everyone doubled up on ATVs except for Mom and Kat, because Mom chickened out. 

Instead Mom drove one of these things with Kat and was much drier and more comfortable and less scared. 

The roads were crazy! But it was no problem for any of the vehicles. 

We stopped for a photo op....

And then reached the coffee farm for a tour. 

Our guide showed us how they harvested the coffee beans...

We got to feed their pigs...

Tommy caught a butterfly...

We ate tiny bananas...

And saw these vultures on the trees drying their wings. 

Then it was time to make some coffee! This farm is small, and didn't even have electricity until about 15 years ago. So they do everything the authentic (and hard) way. We pounded the seeds until the shells came off, but the beans did not break. 

Then we put them through an old grinder...

Then the beans were roasted

And put through this chorreador, a coffee making device used in Costa Rica in which hot water leaches through coffee grounds held in a cloth filter mounted on a wooden stand, then drips into a container.

Even tried the coffee, and with enough raw sugar even the kids liked it!

And Nathan too!

We also helped make sugar cane juice. You can see in the video how he chops up the sugar cane with a machete, then we ground it through this device and let the juice fun off into a collection cup. It was so sweet! 

Tommy helped to double it over and push it through to get out the last drops. 

Then they made us a wonderful lunch of arroz con pollo, tortillas, potatoes, beans, and salad. 

And then it was time to ride back in the rain. 

Wet, but happy.