March 14, 2025: Puntarenas, Costa Rica
One sea day later, the Zaandam snugged into the “Port of Puntarenas” or rather a long pier built to accommodate no more than one cruise ship at a time. Lush greenery and, in the distance, a series of volcanoes gave us our first view of Costa Rica. We joined a tour taking a 90-minute bus ride through the countryside, bringing us to the highlands of Naranjo to learn more about a key ingredient in Costa Rica’s economy: the Golden Bean, better known as coffee. Our guide gave us historic and current information on the development of Costa Rica as an independent country and the importance of agriculture, the importance of “big box” stores (Walmart) and their partnerships with local businesses.
Our first stop was the Eloy Alfaro Oxcart Factory in Sarchi. These oxcarts were developed to transport the bags of coffee beans from the fields to the processing areas. The carts are works of art, each painted in brilliant colors depicting animals, farm scenes, plants, flowers or whatever the artist desires. The wheels are solid (no spokes), made from 16 individual pieces around a hub. This is to prevent mud from clogging up the wheels during rainy season. Each wheel weighs nearly 700 pounds! We were given a tour through the factory that utilizes a waterwheel to power the cutting and boring machines.
In a separate area, artisans were busy painting trays, cups and other items for sale in the local craft store. After a refreshing drink and piece of fruit, it was back on the bus to explore a coffee plantation.
The Espiritu Santo Cooperative Coffee Plantation consists of 640 acres of prime agricultural land. This is a small plantation as Starbucks and Juan Valdez own huge swaths of land to grow arabica coffee beans. The origin of Costa Rica’s coffee is Ethiopia and it’s rich, volcanic soil and high altitude creates the perfect environment for the Golden Bean.
Our tour was about an hour long and very informative, taking us through the process from picking beans from the coffee bush, processing the fruit to separate the bean, drying the creamy white beans in the sun (10 days), removing the membrane and roasting the beans for consumption. Costa Rica’s coffee is mostly exported unroasted. Well known coffee purveyors like Dunkin’, Green Mountain and Tim Horton’s, serve 100% Costa Rican coffee.
Lastly, we were introduced to another special bean: the cacao bean responsible for our chocolate addiction. These also go through a process before being shipped off to become delicious chocolate treats, baking supplies and drinks.
Before we returned to the bus, we were treated to small cups of traditionally brewed coffee using a chorreador. Delicious!
Upon our return to the Zaandam, Mary Margaret headed to the Medical Office as her deep, unrelenting cough had not improved. Dr. Steffi took her temperature (100.7), swapped her nasal passages and diagnosed her with the flu. She prescribed Tamiflu and ExtraStrength Tylenol as well as 24-hr isolation in her stateroom. Tom was given Tamiflu as a precaution, however he did not have to isolate in his room and could wander about unchaperoned to cavort unfettered with his brother and cousin. Fortunately, the next day was a sea day so a full and nearly complete recovery was in the cards!
March 15, 2025: Sea Day and Views from the Stateroom
