We went to the town of BriBri by bus in order to explore the town and find a chocolate farm. We ate lunch at a soda called Chocolate. On the menu was a traditional casada (beans and rice) with freshly fried fish and tamarindo juice that we all enjoyed (can I get a shout out for my kids - who are completely flexible with and eager to try new flavours?). We asked if they knew a chocolate making place - they said they could get a taxi and point us in the right direction in Volio. We had read that this community is one of the few places where Indigenous peoples live and have lived for centuries - we learned a lot from Wikipedia about the BriBri people.
The photo above is a traditional BriBri home made with palm branches - similar to the Indigenous birch bark homes of the Ojibway peoples.
Seeds of a plant similar to cacao, but not useful for chocolate making - however, the oils are amazing for body creams.
The house that keeps all the seeds - it's incredible to see how much variety there is in this small group. This farm has over 70 different varieties of plants, trees and spices.
Achiote tree that is used for the colourings and spice.
A close up of the achiote seeds.
Beautiful manzanillo tree.
Okra - amazing to see this as a plant.
Now my Kids want to grow this in our garden at home!
Many different kinds of beans growing on this farm.
The Grandma who toured us around and her little Grandson (who was getting ant bites and didn't want to be put down after I offered to help him over the ant line).
A baby papaya plant.
A big field of yucca...the roots underneath are what you eat.
The beautiful okra flower that bloom each morning.
The beginning of a papaya growing.
Coffee!
Cacao ready to be picked.
Many cacao pods - she picks them every 15 days.
Cacao pods, drying cacao beans, the roasted beans...and then after more work - the chocolate!
She had ginger, chile and cinnamon flavoured chocolate.
Meritt had fun playing...later he said,
"Mom, I knew that he wouldn't speak English - but he knows Spanish very well and I could understand him most of the time".
These beans have contain dopamine and are believed to benefit patients suffering with Parkinson's.
After our tour, the plan was that the taxi would pick us up. But there was no cell service at that time - so we had to walk up the road to find cell service...we passed these orchids growing on their own. Pura vida.
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