A Million Minutes in Africa

We are holed up in San Jose, Costa Rica. When I say holed up, that would be in a hotel with not only hot water (whoowee), a tv (hmmm, Law and Order is on down here about 4 times a day just like home), light fixtures (livin’ large), and all of the things you find in a nice hotel that we have more or less managed to do without. It has been almost a Thoreau-ian exercise in simplicity. It is a little bit of a culture shock to stay in a place where we do not get the willies as our heads hit the pillows.

What are we doing in this oh-so-fine place? Cue the Talking Heads- This is not my musty room- this is not my sweaty blanket- this is not my bare lightbulb hanging from its fraying wire.

We have a friend (Bert of Texas- if you are reading this and need a coffee importer, he is your man), who is friends with an exporter based in Costa Rica (his name is Rafael- if you need large quantities of coffee, he is your man. Think tons, not pounds) who has a friend with a hotel. Thus, we are hanging out in the Hotel San Gildar of Escazu, Costa Rica. For reservations go to www.hotelsangildar.com. We highly endorse staying there next time you are in San Jose. I am sure we are not supposed to advertise on this blog, so think of it more as a friendly recommendation. Tell them Dan sent you. They will say, “Sorry, no rooms available.”

Actually, we are enjoying Costa Rican hospitality. Rafael says a friend of his friend is a friend. He is truly treating us like friends and is making our stay here so relaxing. We were treated to a tour of a coffee farm today. We learned that you do not just pick the beans and then squeeze them to make the coffee. We had come across coffee plants before, but we never took a tour. A whole lot of work, and a whole lot of labor is involved. According to our guide, a good coffee picker can haul in about $15 for a solid day of work. After the beans are picked, they need to be somethinged or other in a large machine (we asked our guide to speak in Spanish so we could practice). The gist is that it is a lot of work.

Now we are prepared to head back into the wilds of Costa Rican nature and all of its insects.