San Pablo – La Esperanza (12km) Actual 9.4 miles. 2,450 feet elevation gain. El Camino de Costa Rica Stage 13
Summary
I thought we had seen steep grades before, but today we learned the meaning of “Costa Rica Steep”. We had just finished what we thought was our steep climb for the day, when our guide pointed across a steep ravine and said we call that road “the viper”, but the good news is there is a shop near the top that sells ice cream!
Details
We started today a half hour earlier than normal on the advice of our guide who said today would be hot with two two steep climbs. He wasn’t kidding. We did get some relief from the sun when clouds started forming in late morning. We also crossed a couple of streams and water spigots where I was able to soak my shirt, which allows me to stay cool while walking in the heat.
We walked back up to the trail from our hotel along a main road- about 3/4 of a mile and 500 feet of elevation. It was nice to leave the road and car exhaust and continue walking along mostly dirt roads through miles of coffee fields. The coffee here is mixed in with bananas. The bananas give shade to the coffee and fallen banana leaves add nutrients to the soil.
The coffee plants are planted on very steep slopes. Our day of hiking was up, down, up, up, up, down, up. There was very little “costa rica flat”, which is actually rolling hills.
We were promised that there would be several stops where we could but ice cream along the way, but the first two were closed. We then learned that the shops may open later in the afternoon or only open when there are workers in the fields. The coffee pickers are often migrants with families traveling together. The plantation owners often provide schools, housing, stores and communal areas for the workers and their families.
We stopped at a La Cumbre Coffee, a boutique coffee roaster and received a short tour and explanation of their operations. We also sampled some of their coffee.
It seems that most people who have been fighting a bug are getting better. One person had a bit of a setback last night but was able to complete the walk today. The other took today off and rode to our next stop with our luggage transfer. She seems to be slightly improved though she didn’t eat much lunch.
Our lodging for the night is Los Lirios – a large house on the outskirts of coffee fields. The house has many acres that consist of forest, gardens, and other plantings. There are several dorm type rooms that are set away from the house with one side for men and one for the women. The two couples each got their own small room, which was reported to be a bit rustic. For lunch we had stuffed chilies, rice, beets, chilled cooked vegetables, and avocados. The food was fresh and delicious. There is also a small press and large wood fired kettle where it looks like they process sugar cane.
Tomorrow we continue our descent to the Pacific and return to hot dry weather.
The following collection of photos is of flowers from a short stroll around the grounds at Los Lirios.
Some of us also went on a walk at night with our guide looking for night animals. We stayed mostly on the trails, but ventured off the trail to follow a creek and had to do a bit of bush-whacking on the way back until we found a real trail.
Track
