After a (delicious!) breakfast, we piled into the SUVs for a drive to a town called Providencia. I had heard that the road would be curvy, so I loaded up on ginger pills. The road wound around the hills of Costa Rica with treacherous turns, and shortly after we started out it turned to a very bumpy dirt road. Roberto told us that until recently the coffee was brought out of Providencia using an ox cart, which, must have been insanely nerve-racking.
Upon arriving in Providencia we stopped at a restaurant for some coffee. Actually, it may have been the only restaurant in town, I’m not sure. But I can tell you this: the coffee from Providencia is DELICIOUS. Allegro Coffee has worked to develop a long-standing relationship with the producers here, and as a result they’re the exclusive reseller of this coffee. One of our guides on the trip, Chris Thorns, the Director of Coffee for Allegro, was especially proud to share the magic of Providencia with us.Providencia is like a jewel contained in a valley, surrounded by some of the greenest hills I’ve ever seen. As we walked down to the coffee mill, it felt like Providencia was sharing a secret with us.
Down by the river we got to see someone laying the coffee beans out to dry after processing. He would lay them out in rows with a wheel barrow, then push a rake-like tool across them periodically to make sure the beans dried evenly.
I really enjoyed this mill. Though it wasn’t as large or technologically advanced as the one at Coopedota, it was beautiful and pristine. An amazingly clean river ran through the valley, so Ted decided to get some video of the water. About three steps down the path to the river, I fell and rolled my ankle like the ninja of clumsiness that I am. Though my fall was painful and embarrassing, the view of the river was well worth it.
After the tour, we went back to the restaurant for lunch. It was charming, and the family that runs it were so, so nice. When we were finished we got back in the cars and drove up in the hills to film some of the pickers at work. We also found a giant spider on the ground, a spider that had a bunch of buddies up in the trees above us in giant community nests. I mean, come on, how many spiders live in one of those things? For crap’s sake.
When the sun began to set, we geared up for the bumpy ride back to our hotel in Dota. Actually, it wasn’t as bad going out as it had been coming in. Once home, we showered and went out to dinner in nearby San Marcos. After an evening of more good food and conversation, we retired to our hotel for the last time, knowing that the next day we would have to say goodbye to Dota.
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