Casa Cecropia

We had an awesome canoe trip with Rafael today. We found him by an internet research. Rafael is a very kind and pleasant person with great experience and knowledge about wildlife and plants. We had a very interesting conversation about the history of Central America as well. The boat trip lasted 3h and at a cost of $30. The best is, that the little boat is propelled electrically or by paddle, so no bothering noise, only the pure sound of mother nature. As it’s so small and electrified, Rafael is able to go into very small Chanel’s bigger boats cannot. Plus we were alone. The max capacity would be only 5 persons. We really enjoyed this tour and would highly recommend it. Thank you very much Raphael for this fantastic morning trip and all your knowledge shared with us.

Wonderful, informative, welcoming coca plantation tour and presentation! Such welcoming owners. GREAT time!!

Chocolate tour This was the highlight of the day to say the least! 20/10 Super interesting and engaging and above all exciting to be able to make and flavor your own chocolate to take with you. I had the tour with just 2 others so it was very intimate and personal which was nice. But I really think that it would also go just as well with several as there was plenty of space in the room. We felt very welcomed by the owners Rafael and Claire. And it felt as if you were invited to a nice home full of friends.☺️ We started the tour outdoors where we learned about the cocoa trees and fruits. Then we picked one of the ripe fruits straight from the branch! If you're worried about missing out on wildlife when you're in Tortugue by doing this kind of tour, DON’T BE. The animals are everywhere and Casa Cecropia is right at the entrance to the national park. We were pleasantly surprised when a group of spider monkeys passed by just above. They even tried to steal our cocoa fruit before we had picked it! Apparently, this is not uncommon for them to visit and look for something yummy to eat in the afternoon.🤣 The tour then continued indoors and we learned more about the importance of cocoa for the native people of Costa Rica. We also got to taste the raw cocoa fruit, which was very exciting and tasty. If you are like me this may well be the ONLY CHANCE you get to try kakao fruit, especially straight from the tree! We also got to taste traditional cocoa drink with the same spices that were used by the natives. At the same time as this, Rafael had begun to roast the dried cocoa beans and the room was filled with the lovely smell of chocolate. We then had to peel the beans while we enjoyed pieces of various flavored chocolates that had been prepared for the tour so we would know what to flavor our own chocolate with. Then we had to grind the beans and finally add sugar, and if you wanted spices, for example cinnamon, vanilla and chilli to name a few. Then you got take your creation with you in a nice little container. The perfect souvenir if you ask me. Or the ideal snack on the go if you can't contain yourself.😉