Warning: These are the answers to the Finca Rosa Blanca Riddle Hunt. Do not proceed if you do not yet want the answers!

(Want hints, not answers? Click here!)

Congratulations! You’ve tackled Finca Rosa Blanca’s Expert-Level Riddle Hunt. Whether you got them all (and are here to check your answers) or are struggling with the last few, this answer key will tell you where and how to find your answers.

Simply scroll to your question number, where you’ll find not only the answer, but help on where to find the clue and some cultural, historic, or Finca Rosa Blanca background. Have more questions? Please stop in at Reception and we’ll be happy to chat!

Jump to (Answers):

Warning: These are the answers to the Finca Rosa Blanca Riddle Hunt. Do not proceed if you have do not want the answers.

---

Question #1: I am a bed but have no sheets, natural décor for Finca’s “streets.” Some call me “dirty,” (and it’s true); more accurately, I’m a blooming clue.

Answer: Flower Beds

Find me: Everywhere!

We’ve planted native and tropical flowers all around Finca Rosa Blanca, not only for their beauty but also to attract pollinators, including hummingbirds, butterflies, honeybees, and even nocturnal bats!

Question #2: Long and warbly, crisp and clear, to my differences, lend your ear. Listen well, my tone so keen, learn to identify, sight unseen.

Answer: Birdsong

Find me: Everywhere!

Montezuma oropendola bird at Finca Rosa Blanca


Costa Rica is one of the best bird-watching destinations in the world (not to mention, one of the planet’s most bio-diverse locations). An astonishing 921+ bird species have been recorded within the country’s borders – and we’ve spotted 130+ species of birds (PDF) of them at Finca Rosa Blanca alone!

Question #3: I have no spokes but I roll. Years ago, port cities were my goal. Add three more of me and then an ox, we’re off and destined for the docks.

Answer: Costa Rican Oxcart

Find me: At the restaurant and in the Main House

Painted oxcarts and their spectacularly painted wheels are integral to our Costa Rican identity. They represent our national coffee-growing heritage, as they were once used to transport our "golden bean." Each region had its own designs that they painted onto the carts.

Question #4: I sound like rain where there is none, I fall even when the sky is full of sun. Make a wish but don’t take a drink, tasty I am not, I wouldn’t think.

Answer: Fountain

Find me: Outside the Main House

Finca Rosa Blanca’s fountain is located just outside the Main House. Here, beneath one of the farm’s most imposing trees, you’ll encounter a variety of aquatic plants, including our lovely water lilies.

Question #5: You may not know that I am bitter, but you can see I’m a ceiling outfitter. Not bamboo but rather cane, traditionally handcrafted, and never plain.

Answer: Cane Ceilings

Find me: At Reception and in the Restaurant

traditional cane ceilings at Finca Rosa Blanca


In Costa Rica, ceilings were traditionally made of the stalks of a plant called caña brava, or bitter cane. At Finca Rosa Blanca, we've done the same (in many places). Look up!

Question #6: In Costa Rica, forget the metal downspout; for I am lovelier, without a doubt. With links and cups to channel the rain, I am mesmerizing as I drain.

Answer: Rain Chain

Find me: Outside Reception (easily spotted from Restaurant tables with a view to the back of Reception)

Finca Rosa Blanca rain chains


Did you know? Instead of gutters with downspouts, Costa Rican homes often use decorative rain chains to direct rainwater. And at Finca Rosa Blanca, we do, too!

Question #7: I guard the inn from things outside, I’m made of metal and I stretch wide. Through me you pass when you arrive, again, once more to take a drive.

Answer: Entrance Gate

Find me: Outside Reception

Like much of the metalwork you encounter around Finca Rosa Blanca, our front gate is the unique craftsmanship of Marcos Mesen, our Santa Bárbara de Heredia neighbor and iron artisan. Marcos’s art is truly unique, and Finca Rosa Blanca is the only place in the world where you’ll find a front gate crafted to mirror trees, vines, and flowers!

Question #8: Panoramic by day, sparkling by night, even more beautiful by sunset light. Sky-high buildings, miles of green, from the restaurant I can be seen.

Answer: San José Skyline

Find me: Almost anywhere, but easily spotted at the Restaurant and Pool/Hot Tub!

San Jose skyline from Finca Rosa Blanca


Finca Rosa Blanca is located within Costa Rica’s Central Valley, overlooking the nation’s capital (San José) and within the Greater Metropolitan Area, which houses about 60% of the population in just 4% of the national acreage! This is the beating heart of the Costa Rican economy, and we have an incredible view to it from our perch in the coffee highlands.

Question #9: I have four wheels but no gasoline, a better choice for driving clean. Slowly I meander the hotel grounds, I'll cart your luggage all around.

Answer: Golf Cart

Find me: Outside Reception (except when it’s in use)

You may not know that golf carts were one of the original “electric cars”! It’s true and at Finca Rosa Blanca, our golf cart is powered by nearly 100% renewable energy. In fact, did you know that currently, Costa Rica produces 98% to 100% renewable energy, from four main sources: hydroelectric power (water), wind turbines, geothermal energy (volcanoes), and biomass/solar panels (natural plant & animal material and the sun).

Question #10: I wave all day but never tire, you could call me a frequent flier. Here, I’m ordered white, blue, and red, to find me, you must tilt up your head.

Answer: Costa Rican Flag

Find me: Outside Reception

Costa Rican flag


Fun fact: In Costa Rica, the order of our flag’s colors are described as “white, blue, and red,” not “red, white, and blue”! To Costa Ricans, blue represents the sky, opportunities, idealism, and perseverance. White stands for peace, wisdom, and happiness. Red is for the blood spilled in defense of country, paired with the warmth and generosity of our people.

Question #11: Botanically a berry (you wouldn’t think so), I’m encased in a jacket, colored yellow. In a tree, I hang by the bunch, you’d love to eat me, I just have a hunch.

Answer: Banana Plants

Find me: Many places around Finca Rosa Blanca, but easily viewed when looking out at the gardens from the Restaurant

banana plants are not trees


Costa Rica may be best known for its coffee, but we’re also one of the world’s biggest banana exporters. In fact, it is estimated that Costa Rica produces about 1 out of every 10 bananas consumed worldwide!

And, yes, bananas are berries (but raspberries aren’t… the things you learn!). Perhaps even more interesting is how they grow: While there are dozens of banana species, they all grow as huge, tropical herbaceous plants – not quite trees (despite their appearance), because they don’t have a woody stem.

Here’s another interesting fact: Banana plants live only one year, dying after they’ve produced a bunch of bananas. But the plant isn’t truly dead! Bananas are perennial herbs that grow from a corm or rhizome (similar to a plant bulb), sending up new “suckers” (plants/trees) every year. So, while each above-ground growth dies after harvest, the corm itself lives on to produce another year!

Question #12: Over Finca Rosa Blanca, I wend and swirl, like my green inspiration, I wind and curl. But I am painted and made of metal, my supportive tendrils grow nary a petal.

Answer: Vining Metalwork

Find me: Almost every path and structure at Finca Rosa Blanca sports these painted metal “vines.”

Did you know that the term “sustainability” is rooted in not one but four pillars? They are environmental responsibility, social education, socio-economic sustainability, and local cultural interpretation.

At Finca Rosa Blanca, we strive to benefit our local community. That often begins with hiring our neighbors. Marcos Mesen, resident of our own Santa Bárbara de Heredia, owns the expert hands behind Finca Rosa Blanca’s distinctive ironwork. We say distinctive, because Marcos’s art is truly unique: Finca Rosa Blanca is the only place in the world where you’ll find these handrails, dining chairs, and balustrades that mimic and complement the flow and feel of Finca Rosa Blanca’s surrounding trees and flowers!

Question #13: Behind the villas, above the pool, hike into the woods, dark and cool. Manmade help upon the forest floor, I bridge the gaps, so walking’s not a chore.

Answer: Ground Bridges

Find me: On the trails that extend into the forest beyond the upper level of the pool/hot tub

If you’re visiting during Costa Rica’s dry season (roughly, mid-November to May), then you may not know just how very rainy Costa Rica can be. During our rainiest days and months, water channels under these trail foot bridges, diverted to well-chosen spots, so our guests can continue to hike our grounds, even after a heavy rain!

Question #14: A master without a mistress? Take your best guess. A room in the round, easily spotted from the ground.

Answer: Rosa Blanca Suite

Find me: At many points around the property; just look for the Main House and identify the “round room”

Finca Rosa Blanca master suite


Our Rosa Blanca Master Suite is the crowning jewel of Finca Rosa Blanca’s original Main House. It features 360-degree Central Valley views, a freeform rainforest bathroom, a hand-painted tropical rainforest mural, and stairs built around a Cristóbal tree trunk that connects the suite’s two levels.

Question #15: My ancestors used gas to light last century’s streets, but here, clean energy guides your night-walking feet.

Answer: Old-Fashioned Lamps

Find me: You can spot me in several places around Finca Rosa Blanca, including down near the stairs/trail entrance at El Targuá Spa.

We love the old-fashioned look of our streetlamps, paired with renewable power sources! Did you know? Currently, Costa Rica produces 98% to 100% renewable energy, from four main sources: hydroelectric power (water), wind turbines, geothermal energy (volcanoes), and biomass/solar panels (natural plant & animal material and the sun).

Question #16: I hang in the trees, where I hold tight when there’s a breeze. I help but don't hurt, so please, whatever you do, don’t plant me in the dirt!

Answer: Epiphytes

Find me: Hanging on to many trees around Finca Rosa Blanca, but especially onto the towering Ficus trees near the inn’s entrance and at the Main House fountain

epiphyte plant in Costa Rica


An epiphyte is a plant, such as an orchid or bromeliad, that relies on another plant or tree for support but not for nutrients. An epiphyte is not a parasitic plant, which hurts its host, but rather works in symbiosis, by increasing the amount of air moisture and aiding in nitrogen absorption.

Question #17: I grow on a bush, but I’m much better known as your morning push. When I’m not in season, you'll find me painted on Finca’s walls for good reason.

Answer: Coffee Cherries

Find me: On coffee bushes around Finca Rosa Blanca (cherries from May to January) or, when not in season, on the coffee field mural at the pool.

ripe coffee cherries at Finca Rosa Blanca


Finca Rosa Blanca is home to many acres (and several varieties) of Arabica coffee plants. Their white flowers bloom for a few weeks after the first rains (usually in April), while the coffee beans ("cherries")turn from green to red from May to January. We harvest coffee November through January.

Question #18: I’m dressed to the nines and hanging from the Finca's signs. Locally nicknamed the wrong feline, you’ll find me where you love to dine.

Answer: El Tigre Vestido (The Well-Dressed Tiger/Jaguar)

Find me: Outside the Main Gate and over the Restaurant’s fireplace

Costa Ricans have the quirk of calling jaguars, "tigres" (pronounced tee-grays) or tigers. That means that our restaurant's namesake is not a tiger, but rather a Costa Rican native jaguar, dressed to the nines!

Question #19: Covered in clue #16, I tower high in the sky. Standing tall when you arrive, I’ll later bid you goodbye.

Answer: Towering Ficus/Higuerón

Find me: There are many Ficus trees around Finca Rosa Blanca, but the two easiest to spot are located at inn’s entrance and at the Main House fountain

A native of Costa Rica, the “strangler fig” is a species of Ficus tree that actually takes over its host tree.

Here’s how it works: Animals (most often birds) will deposit a seed in the forest canopy, where the strangler fig will begin to grow from the top down. There, it will mature and send out vines and life, until it roots in the ground. As the rooted tree grows, it will slowly “strangle” its host tree (by gobbling up all the available light and nutrients) until it becomes a freestanding (albeit hollow) tree.

Interestingly, while strangler figs are parasitic – they eventually kill the tree that once provided them support – these Ficus species grow up to become incredible habitats for bromeliads, orchids, and other epiphytes (which work in symbiosis, not parasitism).

Question #20: What has water but no river, a waterfall with no roar? Climb below for a shower, above for heated bubbles and more.

Answer: Pool

Find me: On the path between the Main House and the villas

swimming pool at Finca Rosa Blanca


When is a pool more than a pool? Finca Rosa Blanca’s swimming pool is not only a refreshing spot to spend your afternoon, but also home to our very own “waterfall,”beautiful murals, and a bubbling hot tub with spectacular views.

Did you know? Our pool is solar-heated!

Question #21: I can fly backwards; I buzz as I roam. At least 50 species of me live in Costa Rica alone!

Answer: Hummingbird

Find me: Humming all around Finca Rosa Blanca!

Costa Rica hummingbird at Finca Rosa Blanca


There are over 335 hummingbird species in the world – and at least 50 species live in Costa Rica!

A few of the species we’ve spotted at Finca Rosa Blanca include the cinnamon hummingbird (Amazilia rutila), ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), rufous-tailed hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl), steely-vented hummingbird (Saucerottia saucerottei), stripe-tailed hummingbird (Eupherusa eximia), and volcano hummingbird (Selasphorus flammula).

Question #22: I embody tradition, a humbly caffeinated sock. The coffee that pours through me – well, it just rocks!

Answer: Chorreador (Costa Rican Drip Coffee Maker)

Find me: At the Restaurant

Costa Rican chorreador coffee preparation

In Costa Rica, coffee is traditionally prepared with a chorreador, a version of pour-over coffee. Ask at our restaurant and we'll be happy to prepare you a cup of café chorreado!

Question #23: I’m yellow, striped green, the tallest cylinder you’ve ever seen. I grow lightning fast, into paper and sheets I’m often cast.

Answer: Bamboo

Find me: Walk the trail behind the restaurant and chicken coops, and you’ll wend around to a towering stand of green-striped bamboo.

green striped bamboo

Bamboo is not only fast-growing but striking in appearance. At Finca Rosa Blanca, we use it to construct simple structures, handrails, and more. Look closely, and you may spot new canes growing out of the ground like huge asparagus!

Question #24: Black and iridescent blue, such striking colors as I flit into view. I begin my life in a different state – hatch, eat, then pupa up and wait.

Answer: Blue Morpho Butterfly

Find me: Flitting and fluttering around Finca Rosa Blanca

blue morpho butterfly Costa Rica

The blue morpho butterfly is one of Costa Rica’s most striking butterflies. But, did you know? The blue morpho isn’t blue at all! It’s characteristic color is actually nature’s trick of the light, which bounces off the butterfly’s reflective scales – it’s similar to how a diamond “sparkles” – and scatters the light in such a way as our eyes interpret their color as blue.

Again, congratulations! If you’ve finished our Riddle Hunt, why not try your hand at our Photo Scavenger Hunt? (Click here or ask at the front desk for a printed version of the Photo Bingo Card!)