This article is one of a series on life in the campo, or country living in Costa Rica, as my wife and I* experienced it on our visits and after moving to Costa Rica. Each is a sort of time capsule, the stories evolving with us as we have lived more experiences and delved deeper into the culture.

When we visit Costa Rica, we always stay out in the campo, where everyone gets up early. Since I am an early riser by nature, that suits me just fine. Usually the casa (house) starts stirring at about 5:30 am. My wife is responsible for acquiring food stuff. Our dietary needs are simple: meat, vegetables and fruit, some nuts if they are available, and breakfast tends to be large. Breakfast usually consists of eggs, fruit (watermelon, star fruit, pineapple, plantain), and meat. The meat is usually sausage or flank steak. Often there are tortillas and/or gallo pinto, the Costa Rican version of rice and beans. We also enjoy queso blanco (more under Dairy Products.) I don’t know if the average tico eats like this, but it was all readily available. I suspect there is usually less meat eaten, since the local butcher shop commented on the amount of meat that we purchased. (We became very good friends with the butcher and his wife, fitness enthusiasts who took me out for a grueling bike ride.)

Since our manager, Hector, has dairy cattle, we had fresh milk (and cream!) every morning. I made my multiple cups of coffee every morning using one of those chorreadores de café, something that looked suspiciously like one of my socks. They do make good coffee, however. I had stocked up on Tesoros del Sol brand coffee beforehand (organic, shade-grown — very smooth). Unfortunately, they did not have a coffee grinder (Hector and I had a discussion on this, but Hector doesn't drink coffee, which concerns me) so after trying a rolling pin (sort of works, but very messy) I discovered that if you take half a pound and dump it in a blender, you can get a pretty good grind.

*We are Fred and Amy Morgan, originally from the US. We bought a dairy farm in Costa Rica to plant trees in its pastures, then later caught a dream of turning all the land we can to permanently protected, sustainably maintained forest once the plantation trees have been harvested for profit. Along the way, we made it possible for our former partner to realize his dream of starting a business of his own in his native land. He is featured in many of the earlier stories.

To read more about Finca Leola S.A. and how you can also invest in trees and at the same time help with reforestation, go to Own Trees with Us.

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