Sept 1 Saturday Finca Trip and Waterfall
We planned a weekend trip to a Finca as a break for us and for our host family. We were hoping for more hot water and a change in menus. After we had put down a deposit for this trip we discovered that Sandra was going to be installed as queen during a coronation ceremony on Saturday. We decided that we had put in our time at the selection and that we would go to the finca.
The Finca was the "Communidad Nueva Aliana" and it is a cooperative of about 40 families. These families live and work together. We woke at 5:30 am Saturday so we could eat a bit of breakfast before meeting with the rest of the group headed for the finca. We traveled in a mini bus most of the way. When we stopped for gas we picked up a police escort for the remainder of the trip up the mountain. They were concerned about our safety if local people became aware of steady trips by tourist (who might have money). The police escort did not allow their pictures to be taken. At the bottom of the mountain we changed vehicles. We climbed into the bed of a small Toyota pick up truck which had a frame attached on which a tarp could be stretched over to provide shelter from the rain. It was a rough ride but the view was splendid.
We moved into our room, a hostel style hotel with five bunks to a room. They operate it like a hotel and it is a source of income for the community. While we had lights from the small hydro-electric plant, we had NO hot water! I think I am getting used to cold showers!! Dropping our stuff on our selected bunks (on the bottom) we packed the light back packs for a 3 hour hike. It was cool to be in the rain forest.
The coffee plants are scatted allover the forest. Some varieties of coffee like a more shady growing environment. We had a young boy as a tour guide with a translator. Given half a chance the boy could become a very valuable member of that community. Our first stop on the hike was a coffee bean plant. We were able to taste the "fruit" around the coffee been. It is very sweet. The seed is embedded inside like a grape seed, it is larger than a grape seed of course. The seed is slimy with a coating call "miel" which has to be stripped off during processing. The boy was very informative and answered our questions though an interpreter, Nick.
Next we looked at macadamia sees which is another growing cash crop. The seeds are picked up from the ground unlike the coffee bean which is picked from the bush -- both are picked by hand. It takes a whole lot of either seed to make any money from them. Coffee prices are subject to change at any whim.
We continued the hike up and down and around on the mountain. Our young guide pointed out plants that the community have found useful, edible or medicinal. One such plant has gigantic leaves which are edible. We stood under one such leaf that was as big as a beach umbrella.
We reached a spot where, if you had your swimsuit ON you can play in the water coming down from the mountain. The water is extremely cold but we found it refreshing when we rolled up our pants and put on swim shoes and waded in. The outside temperature was warm but not hot. The hiking up and down was work and the water really felt good.
After the hike we ate lunch. It was typical food of the Mayan people but the beans were not re-fried. The meals here at the finca do not include meats because they have no refrigeration. The small hydro-electric plant if fed from water coming down the mountain and supplies a little light but not enough to run refrigerators. The hotel is the only building that has the capability of storing energy. We had a short break after lunch.
A tour of the coffee making operation was next on the agenda. The plant is about 70 years old and requires a lot of human labor to operate. This plant goes through 5 prep stages in coffee production. The tour guide took us step by step through the processes that are done here. The actual roasting of the coffee bean is done by the company who buys to beans. During the coffee tour it rained like I had expected it to rain in Guatemala. It was a monsoon. It lasted exactly 2 hours so that when we walked out we walked into sunshine. We went back to the hotel which was just a short walk and prepared for dinner. After we ate we had a lecture on the development of the finca. It was a sad tale of greed on the part of the plantation owner and the struggle of the people who were born on the land saving their history/homes. The day was warm but it cooled off nicely to allow for a good nights sleep.
