The freshest cup of coffee in Costa Rica….roasted by YOU!

Out of all the coffee tours in Costa Rica…Finca Flor Mar is best experience bar-none. This family owned and operated farm invites tourists into their home for a homecooked meal & on-the-spot roasted coffee….the catch is that YOU roast the coffee & get an authentic, hands-on Tico cooking lesson!

Take a guided excursion around the farm with the owner, Ken Lander, as he shares with you the farm’s organic and sustainable processes, step-by-step. Finca Flor Mar’s non-traditional, innovative techniques have brought organic, environmentally friendly, community conscious, sustainable practices into the small town of San Rafael. The switch to non-chemical, biodegradable, water-conserving, non-polluting practices is helping to preserve the beautiful country of Costa Rica for generations to come.

Finca Flor Mar is located on the outskirts of Monteverde. Ken picks up groups (in his very cool 1970 Jeep…you will feel like you are in a movie!) at the Pension Santa Elena and brings you out to the farm. You will tour the Costa Rica coffee plantation, learn about organic coffee growing, harvesting, and drying. Then join the Landers in their home to roast coffee and learn the secret ingredients in Gallo Pinto (the signature Tico rice & beans). Ken’s friendly daughter and son-in-law come over for their daily 4 o’clock cup of freshly roasted joe & talk with the day’s visitors.

 Finca Flor Mar is also said to have the best coffee in Costa Rica. All the finest Monteverde restaurant serve their organic Costa Rican coffee exclusively.

This is a truly unique experience and a peek into real-life Costa Rica today. Go visit and bring home to your friends the best coffee of Costa Rica that you roasted on the coolest farm in the country.

Moon Shiva is a Mediterranean style restaurant in the heart of Monteverde - Santa Elena. A simple but tasty menu mixed with Live Music at night makes for the coolest vibe in town. Enjoy local musicians & out-of-town talent, flamenco guitar to creative Sublime covers. The owner and staff of this awesome Monteverde restaurant are super friendly and always accommodating.

Downstairs is the Moon Shiva Lounge Bar. Live Music & Guest DJ’s rock out this local’s hangout with salsa, house, and more. Weekend nights, this is the place to be in Monteverde - Santa Elena. Make some new friends, have a juicy cocktail, shake your booty on the dance floor. Meet the locals, introduce yourself to fellow travelers. All with a good clean but lots-of-fun feel.

You can learn more about this Monteverde restaurant at www.moonshiva.com. Moon Shiva was opened by a Israeli family and recently sold to an American. What was already the one-stop place for a delicious dinner & a good party, is only getting better. Old & young, families & singles, any country, any language, make sure you make it to Moon Shiva when you visit Monteverde, Costa Rica.

The Costa Rica Paramo Ecosystem

The Costa Rica Paramo Ecosystem is truly a unique environment found in the highlands of Costa Rica. In Costa Rica’s highest peaks, the forest gives way to a treeless landscape known as the Costa Rica Paramo Ecosystem. The Costa Rica Paramo Ecosystem areas are known to be cold and frequently covered in clouds. Because of this stark difference, the Costa Rica Paramo Ecosystem seems as a completely different planet compared to the tropical lushness of the rest of Costa Rica. In the Costa Rica Paramo Ecosystem you will find tough low-growing shrubs that are resistant to the cold and the wind that is prevalent here. The Costa Rica Paramo Ecosystem is also found in the Andes, as well as scattered in some of Costa Rica’s high mountains, and in the northern most parts of America.

Costa Rica Mangrove Swamps

Costa Rica Mangrove Swamps are forests of specialized plants that have evolved adaptations to survive in seawater and saline silt. Costa Rica Mangrove Swamps are comprised mostly of 5 different species of Mangrove, which are the natural vegetation of muddy, low-lying coasts throughout the tropics. Known to botanists as halophytes, these specialize trees have systems for getting rid of excess salt and spectacular roots that anchor them in the shifting mud, making Costa Rica Mangrove Swamps a sight to see.

Although often unreachable, hot and smelly, Costa Rica Mangrove Swamps are full of life. Particularly interesting in the Costa Rica Mangrove Swamps is the variety of crabs you will find. There are the fiddler crabs, which pick through the mud of a Costa Rica Mangrove Swamps. You will also find fist size land crabs crawling all over the Costa Rica Mangrove Swamps, and most interesting is the Mangrove crab. This crab can be found n Costa Rica Mangrove Swamps feeding on the leaves of the Mangrove. Watch them leap from branch to branch, earning them the title of the acrobats of the Costa Rica Mangrove Swamp.

Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetlands

Because of Costa Rica’s topography, Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetlands are created by rivers that are generally short and fast flowing on their journey from the interior to the ocean. Because of the countries intense wet season, sudden fluctuations of water levels are common events in Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetlands. In the lowlands of the country, where Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetlands are known to be calmer, a greater variety in river wildlife exists. Because of the vast changes in water levels, freshwater animals of Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetlands are experts at taking cover when water levels abruptly change. One of the better known animals you may see in Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetlands is the caiman, a crocodile like creature that bask in the sun on the riverbeds Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetlands. Another unique creature you will find in Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetlands is the basilisk, which is one of the world’s only bipedal lizards. This lizard, also known as the Christ lizard, can be seen escaping danger by running across the water on its back legs.

Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetland rivers and streams can also run through the forests and jungles. Because of the canopy break these Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetlands provide to the surrounding area, a different plant life grows that you would not readily see in the interior of the forests. One of the most eye-catching of these Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetland’s plants is commonly known as the “lobster-claw”. Heliconias, as they are properly named, often spring-up in the mud banks, coloring the sides of these majestic scenes.

The largest body of water in Costa Rica is the lake of Arenal. This Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetlands, rich in aquatic life has an unexceptional variety of birdlife due to its highland feel. By contrast, Costa Rica Fresh Water Wetlands of shallow lakes and marshes of Palo Verde National Park and Caño Negro, have a much more impressive variety of birdlife to enjoy. These seasonal wetlands attract a wide range of birds that come particularly when water levels are low for the availability of easy prey.