Spiny lobster and rondon for lunch. A Caribbean seafood coconut curry stew. And the beach is right there. Handy.

Cacao tree

Bananarama!

Had a three hour tour of a cacao and chocolate making operation in Puerto Viejo. A couple from Florida looking to retire and rent out some cabins bought property, met up with coffee shop owner that tried roasting cacao and then taught himself to make artisan chocolate and a new business began. They make 72% cacao chocolate with a little sugar cane and cocoa butter. They are making an effort to bring more artisan makers to the area to keep the profits in the country. Nice family and treat their workers very well.

The name “Mango Walk” comes from the local slang.  A “walk” is a set, series or group of something, in this case, mango trees which line the hill the farm is perched on.  The mango trees have gotten too tall to harvest in any reasonable way so they are left to fall to the ground for the critters to eat.

Here’s Jeff – it’s his operation and the whole thing kinda of came up by accident.  One of his surfer buddies suggested he buy this old farm because it was cheap and had an ocean view.  He came here, over 10 years built a hut, then a house and by accident ran into a guy playing with cacao beans and here he had an abandoned cacao plantaition… They seem like good people, well organized, doing going things locally and you certainly can’t fault the quality of their product because it is indeed quite good.

We tasted cocoa beans from the tree. High in antioxidants covered in sweet slime and bitter bean.  The slimy bits are sweet, the beans are slightly bitter.  I was surprised at how good the raw beans are.

The beans are fermented and then dried.

Here we are at the hilltop tasting room.  You may wish to ask for the chairlift to the top and the use of the waterslide to get back down.

Watch out for poisonous snakes.  They are filled with poison and they don’t like you.  We are told that the spider monsters are scary looking but harmless.

Given how much work it is to just walk up the hill it’s quite impressive how much work they’ve put into the place.  Gringos are clearly crazy people.

Yes the tasting was the highlight of the walk uphill to the farm in the heat and high humidity. But we did see some sloths and red frogs on the way.

They’ve named their roaster “Frankenstein”.

Here’s what you get after roasting and grinding.  We’re not going to show you the machine that separates the nibs from the chaff BECAUSE IT’S TOO CRAZY!

Roasting and shelling..tastes good even now

72 hours in the smoosher-upper and then it’s ready for some more manual labor.  We tasted this stuff and it is indeed supergood.

And there you have it..wrap it up and sell it.

Butterflies and crabs and lizards and most spectacular leaf cutter ants galore

It is well worth the visit to take the beach trail through the jungle to seek out wildlife and beautiful beaches. There were capuchin and howler monkeys

Note to self potato chips are a wonderful thing but not so good in the jungle. They take on humidity like crazy. Stick with fresh deep fried plantain chips.

And the brewpub was surprisingly delicious. I stuck to Caribbean fare but Steves hamburger and fries were delicious

This was an interesting place outside of town. You could rent a hammock…a tent or a container room. Many options for the budget minded youngster crowd. The mosaics were very fun though. And free organic bananas for all! Mandatory daily showers too for mom.

Took a drive down the coast to the Panama border. Spent some time on the beach and had lunch. Not too busy and weather was perfect.

The homemade plantain chips and guacamole were a highlight of this beach eatery.

And of course the beach….

b
Everything you’d want in a can.

Started accidentally by two biologists with zoo experience who moved to Costa Rica to retire. People began bringing them injured and orphaned animals to help and it has grown to a wonderful rescue center for rehabilitation and if possible reintroduction back into the wild.

This baby Toucan is being trained to use his legs again after an injury.  YES HE IS CRAZY CUTE.

These two women are acting as “monkey mamas” – these howler monkeys are still too young to be independent and they rely on a mother figure for security and comfort.  The turbans are because one of them is a hair biter, which is really no fun for anyone.  The monkey mamas do hour and a half shifts.  The center has a large crew of young volunteers taking care of the place.

Hi, I’m an anteater.  I eat termites.  That’s the way it goes.  Rumors get around, ant propaganda.

I’m a nocturnal sloth, so I’m ignoring you.