Hacienda Venecia

So after yesterday's barista class, we lined up today after breakfast for a workshop on how to identify the differences between coffee beans and then a tour of the coffee plantation and its processing plant.

I must say, I found a lot of the flowers and birds just as interesting as the coffee stuff. And the garden and home of the owner of the plantation were amazing!

After lunch I went for a long walk up the dirt road along which we had come down yesterday to get to our hacienda. It was hot but I stayed as much as possible in the shade of the trees. It was interesting to see the fincas (farms) and the steep hillsides on which the coffee bushes are grown and to try and comprehend how difficult it must be for the pickers. In this part of the world, coffee is grown all year round and the pickers come every 18 days to pick the ripe coffee berries. The plants have ripe and unripe fruit so the pickers have to be accurate.

I was passed by three nice sets of lycra cycling fast downhill as I walked back down. It is very humid here being so close to the Equator so the pool was a welcome sight when I got back to the hacienda. Shortly after, the skies opened up and we had a tropical afternoon rainstorm.

When the rain cleared, we walked down to the little conference area for another workshop - this time on identifying fragrances, aromas and tastes of different coffees, a bit like a wine-tasting. My Friend is in his element.

We are back now waiting for dinner - and relaxing: reading, blogging and watching humming birds drinking nectar from the feeder on the verandah. Birds are twittering throughout the garden. And there is thunder in the distance - looks like more rain coming.