View of Lake Atitlan on our final morning at Hotel Atitlan.
I should mention that temperatures are very similar to him in the summer. The morning is about 15 C when we wake up and go to a high of 25 C in the afternoon. With much of our visiting in Guatemala taking place at 5,000 feet, it is not stifling hot. I find it quite comfortable. Dressing in layers is the key!
We boarded the bus and started our journey towards the coffee plantation, situated in the Antigua region. There were lots of twists and turns on the road and a number of people were feeling unwell by the time we stopped for a bathroom break about 1 hour 45 minutes later. I was pleased not to be among them. And of course J has a strong constitution so he had no issues either. It was tricky for people to figure out if it might have been food they ate or the winding roads. Fingers crossed they are all feeling better tonight.
We carried on to Finco La Azotea, a family run coffee plantation. Since our guide Oscar grows five coffee plants in his own yard for personal consumption he was extremely knowledgeable about the process.
Along the trail. Oscar pointed out a little building that was a sauna! One of the group members asked if it was a child sized one - indeed it was for adults. So J demonstrated how one could fit in it!
From signage at the coffee plantation:
“La Azotea Estate is located in the valley of Antigua Guatemala, surrounded by three volcanoes that provide a stable microclimate and a rich volcanic soil ideal for growing superb coffee.”
Planted at an altitude of 5,000 feet under a canopy of shade trees the finest Arabica coffee beans ripen slowly to bring out their rich and complex flavour”
You can see the low coffee plants and the tall shade trees above.
This is a coffee plant that will grow to be about 8 feet tall at its largest. The plant takes 2 to 3 years to bear fruit and remains productive for about 30 years.
It rains in April. Fifteen days later blooms appear on the coffee plants. The white blooms last for 3 days. Ultimately red berries appear on the plants in October, and the berries are hand picked by a method called selective picking between December and March. Pickers only choose the red berries and come back to each plant to pick the red berries several times.
Interesting to see one coffee plant yields about one pound of coffee. The process is one tree produces or = 6.5 pounds red berries = 1.5 parchment (beans with thin skin) = 1.25 pounds green beans = 1 pound of roasted coffee. Depending on how strong you like your coffee, that can provide 32 cups of coffee (though J would say one pound of coffee yields 15 cups of coffee for him!)
The economics of the coffee business is frightening for the producer. Out of each dollar paid for one cup of coffee, the producing country receives 16 cents and the consuming country receives 84 cents. 😮
The tour was highly informative and interesting for me, a non-coffee drinker!
We then had a plated lunch of chicken, tortillas, guacamole, and vegetables with hibiscus juice to drink.
We then had a plated lunch of chicken, tortillas, guacamole, and vegetables with hibiscus juice to drink.
Our beautiful, tasty dessert of fresh fruit!
After lunch, we toured a musical museum called Casa K’ojom Centro de Rescate Cultural on the property, educating us on a variety of musical instruments.
An early marimba on display here.
Replica of an Indian couple being married in a Catholic service.
We headed to Hotel Soleil to settle in for the next two nights.
Above is the view from our room of the pool that we swam in, as soon as our swimsuits arrived with our luggage!
Once back in the room we heard a couple of loud bangs. J thought maybe it was fireworks. Tonight at dinner we learned that it was the sound of the Fuego Volcano erupting! According to Google Maps, that volcano is 18 km away!
Tomorrow we will meet at 9 am for a walking tour of Antigua!
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