After our rafting excursion we visited an organic pineapple farm called BIOSOGO, which is a privately owned finca (or farm) on hundreds of acres that are divided into smaller plots for rotational planting year round. They also grow other crops but their principal business is pineapple. When we arrived at the farm house we boarded an open passenger vessel pulled by a large, red tractor and drove around the entire estate. Everything they grow here is certified organic. We were taken to a pineapple field where the farm's guide explained how they grow pineapples organically without chemical fertilizers and pesticides like the big agro companies use. It was very informative. The tractor driver pulled several ripening pineapples from the field and we were treated to one delicious sample after another. When we returned to the farmhouse they had pina coladas waiting for us, and a very tasty pineapple marmalade which they served with crackers. The following day, before we left Heredia Province, we visited the Tirimbina Biological Reserve to hike a one-mile section that is open to the public. The rest of the park is protected and off-limits. To enter the reserve we had to cross an 860-foot long suspension bridge that hangs over the Sarapiqui River, the same river we rafted on the previous day. Crossing the bridge, especially the first time, was a little unnerving as it would sway with any sudden movement and the bottom looked down onto the river below. If you're afraid of heights...oh, boy!

Heredia Province (visits to a rainforest biological reserve and organic pineapple farm)