Generosity

12/30/2016

I wrote the last post form atop my beloved soap box. This post, I write from my knees. It has been so humbling to be around such generous people. There has been no end to their ability to give of themselves. Examples of it have included the bus driver who called his taxi driver uncle to drive us, the people in the wrong house we knocked on who sent their 12 year old (?) son with us to make sure we got to the right house, Nena (who I stayed with last time I was in Llano Bonito) who gifted us with light-up crucifix from her mantle, and the Fernandez family, who let us stay with them and fed us endlessly. One of the most startling examples of generosity, though, has been that of Eligio’s time.

As I mentioned before, there are only two months in which coffee can be harvested – December and January. We didn’t learn this until after we had arrived, otherwise we maybe would have avoided Llano Bonito out of fear of being a burden. I know that in the United States (and especially in my own life), there is a stressed-work-aholic mode when timelines are near and the work is yet to be done. Socializing is one of the first items to drop off the calendar when work is needed, and I would be unlikely to accept guests at that time. Even when it’s not a huge deadline – even if it’s just mildly inconvenient – I’m likely to make up excuses not to be generous with my time. I think my time is my resource that I’m most tight fisted with. I’m happy to give/share/lend my stuff or money, but my time is often relinquished reluctantly.

Then there’s Eligio. Not only did he let us stay with us in his family’s home, he also sacrificed his work at a really crucial time of the year. Whereas his usual work day is from 5am – 6pm, for two whole days, he played host to us. He took us on coffee tours, brought us out to lunch, and really showed us Llano Bonito. We also saw him sacrificing his time for other people. We went with him to fix a plug at a friend’s house and later to pick up and drop off a computer for someone.  I think that I’m struggling to put into words how much his example of generosity meant to me. But that’s okay – it still made its impact, even if I can’t explain it. Hopefully I explained it well enough that the uniqueness came across. J

Ken’s Thoughts: Even though they have extremely little, they’re not afraid to give what they have. They reminded me a lot of the minister in the begging of Les Mis. Every meal they made for us was a different dish, and they were all delicious, and yet simple. I think that’s all my thoughts. 

Us with the Fernandez family

Coffee: It’s Not a Drink, It’s a Lifestyle

12/28/2016

I don’t even know where to begin with today – so I guess start at the beginning. We woke up at a leisurely 8:30 this morning. We had beans, rice, and eggs for breakfast with – to appropriately kick off the day – coffee! The best coffee ever, Ken says. Ken got goose bumps (happy bumps, we call them) drinking it. Then Eligio asked if we wanted to go on a walk to see the coffee. Yes! Always, yes.

So we went out the back door, and bam! We’re in the middle of the coffee plantation. because Llano Bonito is in the middle of the coffee country. So we walk through this maze of coffee, led by the best guide ever. 

Eligio told us all about the different coffee varietals, the dangers to the coffee plants, how important coffee is to the culture and livelihood of the people here (it’s the only crop they export and the lifeblood of the community), and how long his family has been here (80 years!). It was so eye opening to see the work behind something I take for granted every morning. He showed us the different dangers to the plants – bugs, fungus, parasites, etc. – and how they tried to combat each different danger naturally (mostly by introducing a different varietal, which in turn introduced a different adversary).

Ken and I even had the chance to help pick the coffee! We strapped the baskets onto our hips and picked for about 10-15 minutes, and together, we picked (according to Eligio) about 26 cents worth of coffee – woohoo! Clearly we weren’t cut out for this. But he said that we did a good job, and we were very selective in our choices (we tried to only pick the super red ones).

One of the things that really struck me about what I learned today is how dependent this community is on coffee and how easily it seems that it could be wiped out. So many things need to come together, and so many things need to be avoided, in order for there to be a good coffee crop to be harvested in the TWO MONTHS that it’s able to be harvested. Yep, you read that right. They only harvest coffee in December and January. The rest of the year, they prepare. They take care of the plants, prune them, clear debris, etc. but only for two months do the harvest the berries and get paid - $2/basket, $6/bag.

Living in Silicon Valley, there’s such a giant diversity of jobs and sources of income available. Would it be a huge deal if Google went under? Yes. Would it destroy all of Silicon Valley? No. Here, coffee going under could destroy this community. What it could look like for coffee to go under, I’m not sure. But it sure makes me want to get back on my soap box about organic, fair trade coffee! It’s a soap box I’ve forgotten for a while, but I’m always happy to pull back out and stand on whenever I have the chance. Especially after spending a day with Eligio. So many of the troubles they’re up against could be eliminated with the introduction on harmful pesticides, but they choose not to use them because they want to be natural. I really admire that, and that’s something I want to choose to support! But even more important that the organic part (to me, at least) is the fair trade part. For those of you who don’t know, fair trade means that the workers involved in the production of a product are treated and paid fairly. These guys work hard. The mountains are steep and hard to walk on, let alone pick coffee on. The baskets are huge, and it takes a lot of hard work to fill them up. It takes a lot of work to carry them up the hill. It takes a lot of work to load them into the truck. It takes a lot of work to load them out of the truck. Gathering coffee takes a lot of work – hard work! And these are families that depend on the fruits of their labor. Eligio even said that it’s extremely tiring work, but it’s what you do to provide for your family. And I really admire that! So, standing up here on my soap box, I’m declaring that I’m really going to try to buy solely organic, fair trade (emphasis on the fair trade) coffee whenever possible – even if there’s a slightly higher dollar amount.

Going back to our day, though, (a bit quicker now, because there’s something else I want to get to), we came back after our long walks and had a delicious lunch. Then we loaded into the back of the pickup truck to head down to the reservoir. I was grateful to be driving, because the last time I went down there five years ago, we walked. And it was a long walk. But this time, we piled into the back of a pickup truck! Which, if we’re being honest, is one of my favorite places to be. I don’t have any pictures of us there, but here is a picture of how I distinctly remember feeling:

The reservoir was beautiful! It stretched beyond what we could see. 

From there, we went to meet and visit all of Eligio’s family. They all live together in a little barrio (neighborhood). His parents are in the 70s and 80s and look healthier than I do! They had awesome fruit (we had passion fruit), a million chickens, and even some pigs. The pigs were especially interesting because a) they were HUGE, and b) the family catches the gas released from the pig poop and use the methane outgassing from it for their stoves. Holy crap (literally), that’s resourceful.

After coming back, some other people came over to drop off the coffee they had picked. Eligio and Pachi (his wife) took note of how much everyone contributed, and then we went with Eligio to “help” (we were no help) drop it off at a drop off point, which I’m having trouble describing. Thank goodness for pictures. They dumped the coffee into big, metal measuring devices, and after the device was full, the opened the bottom and it dropped through the wire floor into the huge basin below. Then Eligio received a receipt for what he delivered, which I assume he can turn in somewhere for money.

I have another thing I want to write about, but I’m super tired. Ken is feeling cuddly, and I’m feeling sleepy, so I think I’m going to call it here. Tomorrow will be a great day!!! And I want to be ready for it. Goodnight!

12/29/2016

I still want to talk about the other thing I mentioned (spoiler: it’s about the intense generosity of the people here), but after today’s events, I think I’ll finish up my coffee thoughts. Today we had the pleasure of touring the Cooprativa – the Coop (“Co-Op”) where they produce the coffee. There were multiple steps where they divided the coffee into tiers of quality based on weight, size, and shape. There were silos where it was stored and ovens where it was cooked. The coffee was baked in multiple phases (this is even before the toasting that most people were familiar with). It was crazy to see all the different parts. What was especially cool, though, was that before we got the tour, we got some time to ask the head-boss all our questions and he told us about the production. He ended up being our tour guide as well, so we were able to continue to ask questions. But it was interesting to hear his thoughts about the victories and trials of their business. This is when I pull out my soap box again, which is why I wanted to include it in this post. It’s still the fair trade/organic soap box, but now with an emphasis on the organic. The price of producing coffee in Costa Rica is really high, especially compared to neighboring countries. Each plant (I think I’m remembering this correctly) costs about $180 to maintain and produces about $200 annually.  Often times, all the coffee is exported because nobody local can afford to buy it. I was really impressed with this Coop, because they’ve started program to make sure their associates (workers) get to keep some of the coffee they make. They’ve also created programs to re-plant any trees they cut down for wood (for the wood burning ovens), ways to compost the pulp of the coffee and give it back to the farmers to hopefully increase the harvest, and a bunch of other ways to make sure they’re supporting their workers, staying environmentally friendly, and making good business choices. What I admire about this company is that they do all three – it would be really easy to just do the last one. SO, last time on my soap box, I announced that I was going to try and buy only fair trade, organic coffee. Now, though, I encourage you to do the same in order to support operations like this. Most coffee shops have a fair trade, organic option (Starbucks, Peets, etc.). AND, if you’re feeling compelled, you can even buy from Llano Bonito HERE.

Another shameless plug: BUY HERE!! 

(dang it, I couldn't find websites to connect to those intended links. BUT mark my words, I will find them and spam you with them.)

Okay, it’s late again. By which I mean it’s 9:15pm, but that’s late here in this early-rising community! We’re waking up at 5am tomorrow (whew!), so I should get to bed. We’re happy and safe! Can’t wait to write more. J

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles! (Okay, Planes, Taxis, Busses, and Feet)

Yesterday was a MAJOR travel day. We arrived in Panama early in the morning, went through immigration and customs, stood outside, breathed in the air, and then went back into the airport. We only had a few hours for the layover – not enough to see the city, but enough to get a quick look around.

While waiting at our gate for our plane, Ken and I both fell fast asleep sprawled out on the airport floor. Only sleeping 1.5 hours in the night prior (red eye flight) will do that to you. We didn’t manage to get seats next to each other, but that’s okay. We were close enough that we could still communicate telepathically – by which I really mean making faces at each other. 

Our flight from Panama to Costa Rica was an easy one. From there, we took a bus to the outskirts of San Jose. The busses couldn’t enter the heart of the city, because there is a city wide festival/fiesta going on that people come from all over Costa Rica to enjoy. We wandered around the street festival, had some delicious street food and coffee, and eventually caught a taxi to the Musoc (a bus brand) station. From there we bought tickets to San Pablo on a bus that departed in two hours. With two hours to spare, we wandered around a bit more and stumbled into a bar. When we entered the bar, it was like a movie where the record scratches and everyone looks at the newcomers. Everyone turned and looked at us, the giant white man (gringo suave, as I’ve taken to calling him), and his blonde side kick. The bar was packed with 40-somethings, and the music was loud. I noticed later that a microphone was being passed around, and it was some sort of karaoke event. One the shock of seeing us set in, some people gestured us to join them, others gestured for us to go upstairs, others just kept staring, and others didn’t pay us any attention. Not wanting to wield our backpacks in the crowded bar, we headed upstairs where we ordered food we had no idea what it was and Imperial, the beer of Costa Rica. Both yummy.

Then we walked back to the bus station, and about a half hour later, we were off on our next leg of the journey!

The funny thing about this leg, though, is we had no idea how long it was. We knew we were supposed to be on this bus, and we knew we were supposed to ride it to the end, but we had no idea if it would be 20 minutes, 1 hour, or 6 hours. It ended up being somewhere in between (3 hours??), and by the time we arrived out our destination, it was dark and wet from rain. Our bus driver called his uncle, who is a taxi driver, to help us continue on our way to Llano Bonito. His uncle showed up in his jeep taxi, and we loaded our stuff in and were off! Super windy roads through super tiny towns. We hoped we were headed in the right direction, but if were being honest, we had no idea.

But we were! And eventually, he dropped us off in the heart of Llano Bonito! Success!! Except – we still didn’t know where we were staying. We started asking if people knew Eligio and Pachi, and walking in the direction they mentioned. And walking, and asking more directions, and walking, and asking more directions. And finally, we knocked on a door we thought was the right one – nope! But we were only two houses off, and their son would show us the way.

So Zach kindly walked us to the correct house, and we were welcomed with open arms! The fed us and gave us our room, and I their kids (where were about 12 when I was here 5 years ago) are huge! And my Spanish worsened, as did their English – so that’s been fun. But overall, we couldn’t be happier. They couldn’t be lovelier. And we are thrilled to be here.

I can’t wait to write more about Llano Bonito. Waking up here, the coffee, etc. But we’re going on a hike soon, and I want to make sure we’re ready.

But before I go, Ken’s thoughts!

Ken’s  Thoughts: Getting here felt like an adventure! It was fun not having all the details figured out and having a lot of room for spontaneity. I’m surprised how helpful people were. And how people didn’t seem to mind pantomime. And the meat on the stick from the street vendor was really good. I think that’s all my thought on the trip here. Oh, except also that it’s utterly beautiful here – it’s gorgeous!

Aaaaand, We're (N)Off!

Written on 12/26/2016. Sorry for the delayed post. 

Do you get it? “And we’re Noff” like Noffsinger? But also like Off to a new adventure? Clever, I know. Danyelle – I made a pun!

Okay, puns aside, we’re at the airport! Kenny has gone foraging for forks and water, and I am guarding the stuff. In an hour and twenty minutes, we’ll board our flight for Panama City, where we connect to head off to our final destination, Costa Rica! We’re going back to Llano Bonito first, (see this post, this one, this one, and this one), and then meandering our way northward until we fly out from Managua, Nicaragua on January 7^th. It’s a bit of a quicker turnaround than usual, but hey, that’s adult life, right?

We’re super excited. We don’t totally know what to expect, but that’s the fun of it! I’ve realized, though, that I’ve been a little bit more worried about this trip than other trips. I want to make it really good for Kenny, and I feel responsible because I’ve been to some of these places and I’m more experienced (albeit rusty) with this travel style. Whereas before I didn’t really care what happened, now, I’d feel really bad if I accidentally put us on a bus that brought us multiple hours in the wrong direction.  But Kenny, saint of a husband as he is, has assured me that he’s happy even if anything goes wrong. He’s just excited to be my adventure buddy. And I’m excited to be HIS adventure buddy. And I think this will be a really, really awesome 11 days. J  (Wow! Only 11 days! I’m excited to see what we can do with that time).

Kenny’s Thoughts: The blueberries muffins* I’m eating are delicious, and I’m very excited to be doing an international adventure again. And I’m excited for the coffee!

*I made them this morning to get rid of extra blueberries.

P.S. In the event that you read this before 8:15pm PT, please pray that there are some no-shows on our flight so that Kenny and I can sit together.