Cacao Tour

 Today was another jam packed day. It rained all night, and while I welcomed the cool weather, I didn’t get much sleep from the loud sounds of rain. 

We went for breakfast at 8, I got another smoothies bowl. We needed to be packed and ready to go, as our next tour started at 10 and check out was at 11. Our guide was Aurelio, the same one who took us on the night tour. I was excited, because last night was such an amazing experience. This time we were joined by two other guests, Stephanie and Peter. 

The steep road down

We started by walking slowly to the farm/garden and staff housing. We took our time. Aurelio stoped lots to show us different types of edible plants and some that smelled good as well. Even thought the walk was about 5-8 minutes without stopping, it took us 2 hours. 

Bridge to a small waterfall. 

Looking down from the top of the ridge.

A male payapa plant, it will never produce fruit. 

A plant related to ginger and tumeric. You can eat the stem. It reminded me a little of rubarb. 

The smaller flowers on the right are very bitter, and help to releve stomach and digestion issues.

Aurelio really stressed how much medicine was available in the jungle. Lots of minerals and vitamins are found here that aren't in our every day food in the US. These plants grow withought the help of pesticides

or man made fertalizer, and is about as organic as it gets. 

Bees, very small and without stingers. These are one of the oldest species of bees and was necissary when flowers were much smaller then they are now.

This is the view further into the property. There is a yoga studio, houseing for staff, and a pool. They also have a garden/farm and two differnt ponds. 

Mushroom!

A type of figs, not meant for humans. The white spot on the fig is a very strong type of rubber. Stonger than any man made rubber, and is used in the tires of airplanes so that they land safely. 

Guava. The ones I have had and in stores have a white flesh.  These ones are pink becasue they are not meant to be mass produced. 

The Saint Lucia flower, ment to bring good fortune to those who carry it with them. 

Sugar cane

I got to try some sugar cane! Sweet, as expeceted, but also refreshing. It was very fiberous.  

Another fruit, too green to try. 

This is an epiphyte, like the one we have seen all over, and frogs like to use it as a home. It is very important in the forest's ecosystem. 

This plant has edible flowers and leaves, however the flowers hold much more nutrients than the leaves. 

Hibiscus, the petals are edible but the pollin is not. The petals break down very quickly, and are good for digestion. 

Tourch ginger, decortive and brought over from Asia. The petals help to clean the kidneys, but don't eat a lot of it. 

Finally, we arrived at the Cacao plants. Cacao plants are very significant in Costa Rican culture and history, specifically with the idingious populations. The plant has healing properties, and is called the food of the gods. It is not hard to understand why. There is also lots of stories surrounding the plant. Cacao was born as a child of Mother Earth and the Sun. It is used to help women create life. The aroma, oils, fruit and beans contain strong nutriens that increase strength and energy in a person. It was also used a currency for some time. I didn't know how important the plant was until the tour. 

The biggest pod I could find, it won't be ready until June. 

Standing next to the plant.

The flowers grow on the underside of the branches and on the trunk. 

The cacao plant is polinated in two very special unique ways. The primay way is by male mosquitos. Plan B is by ants. Other animals tend to stay away from the flowers, and the plant targets the animals by relasing pheromones that only those animals like. Aurelio said that this was the most expenisve pollination, and also the best. It it the most reliable and sucessful way a plant can reproduce. 

Cacao beans, already fermented and dried ready for us to process. 

After roasting. They gave off the most amazing smell while cooking. The aroma helps calm women during labor, and gives her energy for contractions. 

We then peeled the beans and got them ready for grinding. 

Grinding the beans.

A better look at the grinder.

A small amount of oat milk was added to the cacao   and it was cooked just a little longer to combine. We tried it with and without honey. Here, Aurelio suervied it on a banana leaf with a drizzle of local honey. It was delious with and without. Much better than dark chocolate.  

We were each given a small amount to take with us. 

Cacao is traditionally drank, not eaten. He recommended that we add it to a smoothie or water to drink. 

A story that both Justin and I liked was how the plant was used with those who passed away with indigeonus peoples. Women were burried with 7 beans, and men needed to be buried with 13. This was because women already had a strong connection with mother earth, as both are able to produce life and were closer to Mother Cacao. Men are further from her, and need more help finding connections to cacao in order to return to the earth and find peace in afterlife. 

This was an increadible tour, and the guide was amazing. Aurelio gave us so much information, that it was almost too much to soak in. I loved the hands on activity, and his constant reminder of our relationship with nature. We learned a little lit about the corruption of the cacao indistry, and how big companies like Hersheys over produce and exploit farmers, ruining the culture and sacredness of cacao. It motivated me to try to be more selective of where I get my chcoclate from, and to avoid using mass produced coco butter. 

Once the tour ended, Justin and I hurried to reception, to check out and walk down the street to our next hostel. I will continue our story of the day in the next blog post. But for now......

Wishing for the best on your adventures, 

Cienna