The morning began with a bird-viewing at 6:30 AM. I wouldn't call it a walk since we only walked over to the trout farm where we proceeded to hide from the rain for about an hour. We stayed in that particular area because there was a Violet Sabrewing, a hummingbird, frequenting the area. These guys are cool because they're very large for hummingbirds- 6 inches- and are vibrant purple. We saw him twice over the span of 45 minutes before heading back to the room to finish packing before breakfast.
The bus arrived around 8:45 and we left for Finca Christina, an organic coffee plantation. The owner, Ernesto, gave us a tour from plant to finished product. He talked about all the different aspects of growing the crop, harvesting and pruning- both the crop and shade trees. He discussed that although his son (an ornithologist) has made the farm bird friendly and has seen over 300 of 800 birds species in Costa Rica, the farm is still not certified bird friendly because of the way they handle their shade trees. Trust me, there were birds everywhere- this place was like a bird sanctuary. We then moved over to his processing buildings where they remove the beans, dry them, and sort them by weight. They're then stored in silos until they're ready for roasting which his wife Linda is in charge of.
We were able to taste some coffee (I thought it was pretty good and I don't drink the stuff) and then purchase some. They also have an online website. Any price you see there includes shipping to your front door. Feel free to check them out if you love coffee.
