Morning Bike Ride to FInca Filadelphia Coffee Plantation by Zipline

Finca is Spanish for Farm.  Some Fincas in Latin America operate as tourist sites with restaurants, hotels, tours, and attractions such as pools or canopy tours.  This morning I biked to Finca Filadelphia just past the Antigua suburb of San Felipe.  The ride though Antigua on the bumpy cobblestone streets was a challenge, but it sure felt good to be on a bike again.  I am thankful to my friend Alfredo who loaned me his bike for the morning.

Alfredo lives near our condo in the Antigua suburb of Santa Ines.  I initially met him outside of Walmart (Bodegona) ... [Bodega is Spanish for closet.]  He had a bike and we talked about biking for a while.  He has 4 kids and works 2 jobs as a security guard (16-18 hrs/day, 6 days a week).  He offered to loan me his bike.  There are so many vendors looking for an angle on tourists here that I assumed this was a ploy to rent me a bike, but he assured me it was not and he would not give me a price.  I saw him riding near the condo twice more...each time he invited me to come and visit him and see his bikes.  So I walked up the narrow streets to his house on Friday, we talked, and agreed that I would return on Sunday to prestar (borrow) the bikes.

On the way home from Alfredo's house, I met a man who was not wearing a shirt, had goosebumps on his arms and chest.  He "may have been drinking" and he asked me for a coat and some food.  Inspired by Alfredo's generous offer of a bicycle, I went home and found a spare shirt, some nuts, a banana, and tuna.

And today, Sunday, I borrowed Alfredo's bike to tour the coffee plantation.  As I was leaving Santa Ines, I met the needy man and his wife again.  He was still wearing the shirt that I gave him.  They thanked me for it and for the food.  They seemed to be in much better shape and said that they were going out to work in some nearby fields for the day.

As for the bike, it turns out that Alfredo is just a super friendly and generous Guatemalan man who is willing to loan his bikes to tourists.  I gave him a small gift of money and some Oreo cookies for his kids.  He was clearly not expecting it (but seemed genuinely pleased) as a "small bit" of money to a foreigner is a lot to a local man who has to work long hours at two jobs to feed his family.

I also found out that although he lives here, Alfredo has never been to the Finca Filadephia coffee farm because he has heard that there is a small entrance fee and he cannot afford the on-site restaurant.  With his demanding work schedule and young family, I am not sure if Alfredo will be able to find the time to come with me, but I have invited him to bike out to Finca Filadelphia for a buffet lunch one Sunday this month.
Sunday brunch at Finca Filadelphia is $15 - a splurge by Guatemalan prices where a typical breakfast costs 1/3 this amount.  Entrance to the farm is $5 for those not planning to visit the restaurant.