May 27 Poas Volcano - Doka Coffee - San Marcos Homestay numero Uno

What an awesome day Volcanos, Coffee and meeting a wonderful family!

To begin the day we traveled to Poas Volcano. We went on a nice hike up to the volcano and let me tell you it was amazing. I have never seen a volcano up close before and I was so impressed and knowing that it was active was even more exciting. I didn't enjoy the smell of sulfur so much but I got over it. Having volcanoes and other sites like these is very good for tourism in Costa Rica because you have to pay to come to these parks and most of the time if you're in Costa Rica and you're near a volcano you're gonna go see it. The lake here was very pretty as well and there pretty birds flying around that our tour guide Javier pointed out to us. I was hoping to see it erupt since the day before had 18 eruptions, but it didn't happen so I guess I'll just have to make another visit sometime.

Doka Coffee Farm

Being a barista and being around coffee all the time, I was really interested to see all the labor that is put into the beans. The tour took us through each step of the process and it is a very long process, especially when it comes to the plant to mature. It was cool to see how they protect their plants from other animals and bugs with planting fruits near so they will go after those instead of the coffee ones. Although the workers did not get paid very much and their labor was very intensive, it was nice to see that they received housing and care for their children. Being an HR major worker rights is very important to me and I am glad workers are not getting taken advantage and that their jobs take care of them. I again feel like this is a huge part of tourism with all the gifts shops and how the coffee plant was presented.

San Marcos Arrival

We arrived pretty late to our first home stay and we were greeted with hugs and a delicious dinner. First thing to do was put on that bug spray, from here on during our trip I kept my repel-ant at my side 24/7. We were all very exhausted and it was so relaxing to hang out on their porch and get to know the family we were staying with. The girls and I had such a fun time playing with their grandson Christopher. He is a very intelligent kid and was very helpful to his grandparents. I'm excited to play soccer with the kids in this town!