Day 14. Monday April 25. Uno Dos Tres… (San Pablo to La Esperanza)

Distance = 16 km (9.6 miles)

It was a long, hard day yesterday so some of the group elected to take today off. Juancho says this is his least favorite day: too many coffee plantations. I liked it. I’ve been drinking a lot of coffee on this trip. I’m no expert, but it is darn good coffee. Drinking coffee is not something I do at home, but I promised myself (and my friends John and Jan) that I would and so I am. I think we are walking today within the Los Santos Zone where some of the best coffee in Costa Rica is grown. Walking along the ridges looking down and through the fields, you get a sense of how important coffee must be for the local economy. The coffee is picked by immigrant labor. Low pay and harsh conditions. Families from Nicaragua live adjacent to the fields in small huts housing 15-20 people.

Coffee plant (left) and hiker

The picked coffee is sorted and stored for later shipping

On-site housing for pickers and their families

Coffee plantations as far as the eye can see

Before lunch we had a brutal uphill to the small town of La Esperanza. A bit further on, and without warning, Juancho turned and started walking along a narrow path into the jungle. We followed him up a hill through gorgeous scenery for about 10 minutes where we arrived at Finca Lirios, a family-run eco lodge set up for hikers. I could never discover this place on my own in 100 years. We had a great lunch and a good rest before trudging to our pickup spot in hard rain.

The others were waiting for us back at the hotel with beer and wine. I had more than usual, ostensibly to prepare for the dance lessons that evening. It didn’t help. My feet didn’t want to keep beat for the salsa. Uno Dos Tres…Cinco Seis Siete. What about Cuatro? Why is there no Cuatro? I was marginally better at the Scottish dance, thanks only to my partner.  Oh well. Stay open to new things and try again.