Home | About us | more: The meaning of the word "boyero"

In order to help you get to know us a little better we would like to explain what our name means (with a bonus history lesson!)
Coffee berries on the plant, in the organic plantation near our house.	After gaining indendence from Spain in 1856, the first economic boost for Costa Rica was the production of coffee (café) for export to Europe. The plantations (cafetales) were located in the Central Valley and the coffee was shipped out via the Pacific port of Puntarenas.
This is an old boyero driving his cart in the middle of the city. The picture was taken in early XX century	This was a trip of more than 100 miles of dirt roads that were passable only by ox-carts. Each one of these carts (carretas) required an ox-cart driver (boyero) who could take care of the animals and protect the precious cargo during the trip. Caravans of hundreds of ox-carts loaded with sacks of coffee were a common sight for decades. This was not an easy trip: cliffs, wild animals, bandits, bad weather and the requirement of being far from their families for weeks at a time made this a very tough job. But many young men took on the challenge hoping to make their fortunes and marry their young ladies back in the capital. The boyeros and their oxen (bueyes) were the engine that moved the economy of Costa Rica during the first years of independence and they continue to be a national symbol of hard work and dedication. In recognition of all the brave boyeros, we use both the name Boyero Tours and the traditional painted cartwheel as our icon.

This is the traditional boyero with two oxen pulling an artistically decorated cart
Costarican Oxcart: Declared by UNESCO Master Piece of Intangible Patrimony of Mankind. Paris 2005