Coffee, Hotsprings and Feelings of Home

Our second day at Mama´s Y Papa´s was full of excitement. We had been introduced to their 30 something old son Manolo who was keen to tell us how he loves America. He would be our tour guide for our first full day in El Salvador. The plan of the day was to drive around the area, see a coffee plantation, dip into some hot springs, and visit a colonial town nearby. We were stoked. Some of Manolo´s friends from America were up visiting too so along with us we started the trek in a 1997 Toyota blaring hair band hits of the 80s.
The first stop was Ataco. A small pastel colored colonial town with cobblestone streets (there seems to be alot of these types of towns in central america) we stopped and sipped some hot cocoa made on the premises at a chocolateria. After, we walked around a market where I picked up some coffee bean jewelry (Hey we are in the heart of coffee country here). Once we soaked in the quaintness of the town we were off to the coffee plantation.
For those who love coffee, but dont know where it comes from- well alot of it comes from El Salvador. Next time when you´re at Starbucks,check the bean maps. Being a fan of Starbucks (I´m a sellout I know) I was excited to see how the coffee bean process began. Actually coffee beans start out with a red covering and are white inside. It almost looks like a little cranberry in the beginning. After many hours of picking the beans, they are then dried out in the sun. From there, they are put through machines and soaked in several types of juices. The smell of the coffee is unmistakable after being in central america for a minute. Josh thinks it smells like olives, I think it smells like stale beer, one foreigner compared it to baby poop- you get the gist. After the beans are almost ready to be shipped, women go through the painstaking process of picking out cracked or broken beans with their nimble little fingers. From there they are put into 150lb sacks and hauled off into trucks where they are shipped to suppliers. Thus, the cup of coffee in your hands right now as you do your daily blog reading (because I know you all read this blog everyday- it´s just that interesting!)
The hotsprings were my favorite part. Manolo drove us to an estate of a coffee plantation owner, where he said we could use all the hot springs. Pizza and beer rounded out the hot spring experience nicely- a pleasant reminder of home. Great first day in El Salvador. Tomorrow, we would be completing the 18km hike aptly named *El Imposible* Goodnight.

Coffee, Hotsprings and Feelings of Home

Tacuba, El Salvador