Day 4: Global and Local Business! (No. 3)

Today we started the day off with a walk through the hills of Aquiares where we got to see nearby objects that are important to Costa Ricans. During our hike, we were able to see ancient sculptured boulders which were made by the natives of Turrialba.

Ahead of that, we visited an important church which is well-known church who is often reserved for weddings. We then had a tour at a coffee plantation! At the plantation tour, we got to see different machines/strategies that are used for the production of coffee. One example is the way that coffee beads are dried. They are scattered in a tent to keep the rain from getting the seeds wet again. It is important that they are in this tent in order for them to easily dry and not interrupt the drying process.

We were able to partake in a tour of the local cheese farm called “Finca La Florita” which was located in Santa Cruz, Turrialba. Karla, the owner of the cheese farm gave us a tour of everything that she does in order to have the delicious cheese that has been made by her family for generations. Mikhail and Hope volunteered to milk the cows and had a competition on who could get milk the most milk in one minute, Hope won BY A LOT! After milking the cow, Liam and Xitlalic also volunteered to make cheese. They also had a competitions on who could make the best tasting cheese and Liam won. Karla said that Liam had the perfect amount of salt in his cheese. We also got to taste test the different types of cheese Karla makes regularly. We were able to try a fresh cheese, an aged cheese, as well as a cheese that had basil in it. Everyone really liked the fresh cheese.

Overall, it was one of our busiest day since our arrival to Costa Rica but we got to learn a lot about our nearby surroundings and the business industry for Costa Rica. Besides all the walking and new information we got from Karla and Memo who showed us around the coffee plantation, we got to play Uno with our friends and also enjoyed a nice time at the pool after a long sunny day!