We had another good night's sleep and were up at 8. We went to breakfast at 8:45 - same standard buffet, but the coffee is excellent. At 9:50 our tourist van (with driver Carlos) arrived with a British couple (Peter and Diana) our age who were staying in a down town hotel. The five of us headed up in the mountains to Doca Estates coffee plantation. It was an interesting drive through the outskirts of San Jose and then up a narrow, winding road to Doca (about a half hour drive).We purchased our tickets for lunch ($12 each) at a small ticket building. The grounds were beautiful and had the most enormous hydrangeas I have ever seen. They were the size of a basketball. Carlos led us to a small bonsai garden which is a hobby of one of the owners. Then we walked through a small but lovely butterfly garden.
Carlos then took us up to the open-air, covered restaurant where we were met by Diana, the Doca tour guide, who gave us small cups of cinnamon iced coffee. Our tour group had about 20 people. Our first stop was by a row of coffee bushes where Diana talked about harvesting the red cherry bean. This occurs between October and February. By law (1986) in Costa Rica only arabica beans can be grown. Beans are harvested 10 hours a day. Pickers are paid $2 per 25lb basked and they average 30 baskets a day. 30% of the beans are roasted in Costa Rica and 70% are exported green. Doca has 25 plantations and are considered a small company.
The red cherry beans are loaded in a truck with each picker given one chip per basket. The full truck goes to the wet processing building and dumped in a bath. The good beans sink and are sent on. The bad beans float and are later treated and used as compost or instant coffee. In old times, the bad beans were soaked in cows blood to improve their color.
The good beans go through a roller process to remove the outer cherry. The green beans are left to ferment in water to remove the sugar coating. Top quality beans - bigger and rounder - are dried in the sun on concrete for 5 days. They are turned with a rake every 30 minutes as long as the sun shines. Lower quality beans are dried mechanically in a tumbler for 1 day. Then the beans are bagged for 3-12 months to finish the drying process. The beans then go through another roller process to remove the outer shell and parchment. Some beans are sent to Germany for the decaffeination process and then returned for roasting or export.
Finally we went to a small roasting building where Diana explained the process. Of course we exited through the gift shop. They were selling a CR old-time coffee maker just like we saw in souvenir shops yesterday. I guess they are really used in Costa Rica. It is just a wooden frame with a white cloth sack attached. Coffee is put in the sack and almost boiling water is poured in. Of course I had to have one along with a bag of coffee. We also got to sample some liquor, and I got to taste guaro which is a national drink - clear and tasting like a cross between vodka and tequila. Think Everclear!!! Finally it was time for lunch which was a buffet: salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, rice with green beans, black beans, squash, pork chops, chicken, plantains, and tortillas. It wasn't that great, but Peter and Diana were pleasant dining companions.
We left for the hotel at 1:30 arriving at 2pm. Then it all went to hell in a handbasket!!! As we came in the lobby we saw many of our fellow travelers who had arrived from the US. Lindblad had a table set up with lots of folks gathered around. We went over to see what was going on. THE SEA LION HAD HIT A LARGE ROCK ON MONDAY AND DAMAGED THE PROPELLER AND THE HULL IN THE SHIP. Our cruise was canceled.
We were gobsmacked!!!!! The tour operators were trying desperately to contain the large-scale disappointment. We were given the following options:
A) Do the Monteverde 3-day trip (which was a free add-on) and then get a full refund for the trip and free airfare home
B) Do Monteverde and then an alternate non-ship tour with a $3500 per person refund.
Most everyone has opted to travel on. The alternate program doesn’t seem like a bad one. We are sorely disappointed but will have fun anyway. It is a bummer, but we are getting a hefty refund and can put the money aside to do the trip some other time on the boat.
Tonight we had our group dinner. It was a buffet and not that good: salads, fruit, small roasted potatoes, mixed veggies, lasagna, chicken, beef. We did meet some lovely people, so the trip should be fun!
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