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Set in a large verandaed house in landscaped coffee fields two kilometres north of Heredia, the Museo de la Cultura Popular (daily 8.30am-5pm; US$1.50) tries to give an authentic portrayal of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century campesino life. The kitchen has been preserved as it would have been on a coffee finca, and you can sample authentic food of the period, including torta de arroz, pan casero , and gallos picadillos , although apart from this there's little to do other than to wander around the house and the carefully kept gardens. The colonial village of BARVA , about 1km further on, is really only worth a brief stop on the way to Volcan Barva to have a look at the huge cream Baroque church , flanked by tall brooding palms, and the surrounding adobe-and-tiled-roof houses - though Barva was founded in 1561, most of what you see today dates from the 1700s. The village also boasts an excellent Mexican restaurant, El Charro de Fofo , which serves all the usual Mexican staples like tortillas and refried beans in a cheerful corner spot 300m south of the village's main square on the road to Heredia. Buses to San Jose de la Montana (for the volcano) stop opposite the soccer field. On the way north from Heredia to Barva, look out for the signs to the Cafe Britt Finca , 1km south of Barva (daily tours at 9am & 11am, and at 3pm mid-Dec to April; US$15; www.cafebritt.com ), the country's most important coffee exporter, and producer of one of its best-known brands. Costumed guides take you through the history of coffee growing in Costa Rica, showing how crucial the crop was to the country's development, with a rather slick multimedia presentation and a thorough description of the process involved in harvesting the beans. It all ends on a free tasting and, of course, the inevitable stop in the gift shop; they can pack and mail coffee to the US. The finca is signed from the road between Heredia and Barva and offers a pick-up from most San Jose hotels (US$25 including tour).
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