Costa Rica: Coffee in the Clouds

Some journeys begin with a flight. Others begin decades before, with a conversation that refuses to be forgotten. In 1999, a chance meeting with a Costa Rican stranger in Delhi planted a seed that would take more than twenty years to grow. When Shantanu Chand finally arrived in Costa Rica, he expected another destination. Instead, he found a country that would become one of the most important chapters of his life. From the cloud forests of Monteverde and the volcanic landscapes of Arenal to the Caribbean coast, the Blue Zone of Nicoya, and the everyday rhythms of life in San José, Coffee in the Clouds is a deeply personal memoir of travel, friendship, belonging, and the search for a place to call home. Along the way are Italian families in mountain restaurants, lifelong friendships formed across continents, coffee farms hidden in the clouds, a grandmother's memory carried across oceans, and a dream of building a new life in a foreign land. Written in a reflective and atmospheric style, this is not a guidebook to Costa Rica. It is the story of a country lived in slowly, loved deeply, and remembered long after the journey ended. For readers who enjoy literary travel writing, memoir, and stories of place, Coffee in the Clouds is an intimate portrait of Costa Rica and of the dreams that shape a life.