We had a very busy week with our friend Keith. On Thursday we visited Finca Filadefia, a nearby coffee plantation. It’s a nice place to visit with exceptional views.
The coffee tour started in the nursery with all the baby plants.
We picked a bean and squeezed it. The juice tasted sweet.
The laborers pick about 100 lbs. a day for very little money. The women graft the robust coffee root to the Arabic coffee root to keep the plants from dying due to a pest in the soil. Women do this work because of the Ph levels in their hands.
After the tour in the fields, we went to the place where they dry the beans.
The workers turn the beans to aid in the drying process. Their coffee is used in Guatemala and they also ship to the US. They have the Starbucks account.
We ended in the roasting area and to go there we had to darn hairnets and wash our hands. The boys looked so cute!
The equipment was not running when we were there but the guide said they ran it earlier in the day. I think they roast two times a week.
We ended the tour with a taste of the coffee. It was delicious.
Finca Filadefia also offers canopy tours and Keith decided to stay and do that. He said the first section was short and easy. He decided to do the second canopy tour which took him over the canyon. All I can say is he said, OMG!
For dinner we ate at the Porto Hotel. I had chicken, Bruce had vegetable lasagna and Keith had squash ravioli. I liked mine but I don’t think Bruce or Keith were impressed.
For dessert I had tres leche cake and Keith had fried dough in sugar cane syrup. Not that we needed more sweets.
On Friday, William picked us up at 7:30 to go to the Pacific Ocean and the town of Monterrico. On our way out of town, Fuego was puffing away!
There is a turtle sanctuary here but unfortunately it was past the season. But they had some cool reptiles!
I was in dire need for caffeine so we went for breakfast. I think I screwed up their timelines to accommodate a breakfast break. I had pancakes with fruit, Keith had a crepe and Bruce had a typical Guatemalan breakfast.
After breakfast, we each received a mangrove plant to plant in the mangroves.
William came along with us as well as Jorge. Jorge was our interpreter. We climbed aboard an unmotorized boat that the captain paddled and steered with a long paddle stick.
We saw a lot of birds and the ride was very tranquil.
We also saw white pelicans.
We rode around for quite sometime, even going in among the mangroves.
We finally reached a little island where we planted our mangrove trees. I shouldn’t say we. I let Bruce do it for me since the ground was so soft you could sink in up to your ankles.
The rest of the ride was lovely. Although very hot here, we had a nice breeze.
The rest of the day we spent at the beach. It’s a black sand beach due to the volcanoes.
The boys frolicked in the surf as I took photos. It looked a little rough for me. That’s Keith being consumed by a wave.
Even William joined in the fun!
What a great day we had!
We said our goodbyes to Jorge and thanked him for being our interpreter. On our way out of town, we did stop by an ice cream place to get smoothies. Even in Guatemala you can find ice cream by the beach.
For our last night eating out with Keith, we ate at Samsara, a vegetarian restaurant. Bruce and I shared baba ganoush with pita and onions, tomato, avocado and mozzarella on a baguette. Keith had some vegan noodle dish.
It turned out to be a great meal!
We said our farewells to Keith! It was a fun time and we enjoyed showing him around our favorite city.
I think we are going to rest today!
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