Posts Tagged: Boruca

Our day started in the Talamanca mountains and ended in the indigenous community of Boruca. We “slept in” until breakfast at 7, which included fresh avocados and a miraculous sunrise, to energize us for the hike to see where they process coffee at the cooperative. We received an in-depth tour of the co-op from Nelson, who walked us through the process from when the coffee beans are in a berry to when they are in a cup of coffee.

This made a lot of us reflect on the intensive work that goes into our morning pick-me-ups. Each step in the process requires hard and careful labor, rather than a machine completing the process in one fell swoop. Coffee is one of the top exports for Costa Rica, often going to Europe and the United States, and is always incredible.

We were rewarded with a roaring waterfall at the bottom of the coffee co-op. This provided a great view for photo opportunities and a break from the sweaty hike. However, this was not our only waterfall of the day; soon after, we found a smaller waterfall with plenty of room for swimming beneath, which is exactly what we did. The water was frigid but refreshing, except for maybe Tyler, who decided to take a dip in his jeans. We were then shuttled back in two shifts to the ecolodge to dry off and freshen up after our short swim.

Before lunch, Dona Noire was kind enough to show us around her garden, which was bursting with beautiful greens and could have fed a hungry village. Occasionally she would point to a certain vegetable or herb and would describe its purpose in helping different parts of the human body. This was clearly a woman of vast knowledge and connectedness to her work. She and her family were definitely hard to say goodbye to after our meal, but we had to pack up our stuff and load onto the bus to start our long journey to Boruca before the sun went down.

We were in Boruca about 5 hours later, ready to explore this new community and immerse ourselves into the culture by living in home-stays with Borucan families. After separating and being welcomed with hugs and kisses into our different homes, we closed our eyes to recharge for the next day.

By Hannah

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