Coffee and Butterflies (not in my stomach)

The apartments of Aranjuez Hotel.

The receptionist seemed a bit apologetic about it as he directed us to the concrete building across the street. It did not hold the old home charm from the outside and did not seem to promise the lush courtyard gardens of the main hotel. We entered through the gated door into a sterile, modern lobby that looked more like a business office than an hotel. Upon entering the room through the red wood door, it was like walking back into the U.S. – and a fairly decent U.S. hotel at that. Definitely not a Motel 8. And the bathroom was all tile and definitely more posh and modern than my own LA bathroom. After the stormy days in Tortuguero Village, this bathroom looked like paradise. Really. A hot shower with good water pressure is a rare find in Costa Rica and probably my only complaint about the country. Ok, a centralized bus terminal with a centralized schedule would be nice, too.

After settling into the room and cleaning ourselves up, we decided to give ourselves a rest from the bus rides and stay in San Jose for a tour of the butterfly farm and Café Britt fields and factory. With one quick phone call I made reservations. Then, I headed back to the main hotel for a cup of coffee on the veranda. Not wanting to go far, we headed to a ‘soda’ down the street for a quick bite to eat and some beers. Despite the somewhat grungy appearance, our comical waitress brought us some wholesome food. Then we retreated back to the hotel for more coffee and veranda action, a quick check of the email (our telling American addiction) and then off to bed in our comfy ‘apartment’ room, complete with American style polyester bedspreads.
After a quick dash for the breakfast buffet, just as delicious as the first, we were picked up by the butterfly van and headed to the suburbs of San Jose.

And in fact, a bit to my surprise, this really is a butterfly farm. That is, it is not just a place for us to come and see the variety of butterfly species that thrive in Costa Rica’s vastly diverse environment, but they actually breed and raise butterflies to export to other countries. Apparently, as the government passed laws to discourage export crops not native to Costa Rica (often leading to rampant deforestation to accommodate these crops, including my beloved Costa Rican coffee), farmers needed to find new ways to make a living. Butterfly farming is an easy and low cost venture, thus it became popular among many of these farmers. So, if you want butterflies at your wedding or if you go to a butterfly farm in the U.S., it is likely those butterflies are bred in Costa Rica. Butterflies are very plant specific, and many of the plants butterflies prefer are able to be grown in Costa Rica.

Walking into the observation garden was like walking into some dream (except, perhaps, for the netting surrounding the garden). Beautiful flowers and colorful butterflies fluttered all around us. Some, like the famous Costa Rican blue morphos, were almost as large as my hand. Only when flying could you really see their vibrant colors. Then, when still and resting, folded, the browns and greens of the back of their wings hid the brighter beauty within. From the larvae to the butterfly, I never really comprehended what amazing and fascinating animals they are. The variety of larvae are even greater, perhaps, the colors and sizes. Some look exactly like leaves (some dead, some living), others like jewels or pendants or shells. All from an egg as tiny as a pinpoint on a leaf. Amazing.

We were awoken from the butterfly dream and carted off on another thirty minute drive to the Café Britt farm. One the largest and best known coffee producers in Costa Rica, no expense was spared to share with us the art of coffee and their many products for sale. I must say I was a bit sad now that I learned that all this wonderful coffee is at the expense of valuable forests, but, then, we had a welcoming cup of a taste of their frapaccino with a shot of the café britt liqueur. Delicious. We had some time to wander around the store and small garden before the massive tour started. Normally, I avoid days like this when traveling, but for various reasons, such as my addiction to coffee, was interested in learning more about the process of how it gets to my cupboard and coffee mug.

This was no ordinary tour, but had a touch of Disney-esque inspiration. It was soon apparent that show might be a better word. The ‘guides’ were more actors and the ‘tour’ was obviously scripted for our entertainment and to seamlessly convey all the information in both English and Spanish to the crowd of about fifty tourists. There was much joking and even the occasional flirtatious innuendo to keep give the adults a few hearty laughs as we stood in the coffee field and learned about how to pick, sort, and process the coffee. Then, we proceeded to the factory where, being Saturday, we got to stare into some empty roasters. At this time, we were also given a sample bag of coffee. Next, we moved to the Café Britt theater (where real concerts and plays are performed in the evenings) to learn about the history of coffee and to receive a lesson about how to choose good coffee.

Finally we retired to the café where we received an amazing lunch, with free coffee drinks afterward. I chatted a bit with two sisters who were traveling, one who had retired just outside of San Jose. Funny, because they looked like they would fit in with the Florida crowd, though their enthusiasm for Monteverde betrayed their sense of adventure that would rarely be found in Florida early bird special crowds.

The café is conveniently located adjacent to the gift store where you could buy anything Café Britt. Identical stores are also found in the airport.

All this in half a day. Maybe the tourist packages aren’t so bad after all? I did begin to lose the sense of vacation and being in another country and looked forward to my return to Monteverde. Thus, I asked the van to drop us off at the bus ticket counter for the Monteverde bus rather than our hotel. This terminal is closer to the main Coca-Cola terminal (called so because it is where the old Coca-Cola factory used to be, not because of sponsorship), and has the same amount of charm, which is zero, unless you find the seediest parts of a Central American city charming. So, we quickly walked through the central market and the few blocks to downtown San Jose. In the center of this is a promenade that reminds me a bit of Jamaica Queens – always bustling with the locals doing their shopping in second-rate fashion stores with small electronics and appliance shops tucked in between. It is a place you find almost everything you could need but usually at a quality slightly less than you want.

Except, in our case, an ATM that would accept both of our cards. For whatever reason, every ATM had enormous lines, all of which we stood in for some time.

In the meantime, the afternoon rain started.

ATM lines and rain. Finally, with cash in our pockets, we ducked into a bookstore for some reprieve, then found a café for a bit of a rest. Finally, we caught a cab back to our hotel, where we were returned back to our original room in the main hotel. The rain continued so we stayed in to read, take advantage of the free unlimited internet access, and re-pack for the rest of the trip.

(Final installment in progress . . . saving the best for last, I hope.)