Written By Jackie
Hello friends and family!
This week we touched down in San José, Costa Rica on a red eye flight from Guatemala City. After spending the night in San José, we loaded up our backpacks to head to Villas Mastatal, where we lived and worked on a family owned Refugio. We got to know the family, Javier, Rafaela, Andrés, and Ainara, with nightly chats and gratitudes, which are staples of every Carpe Diem meal.
On Monday, we met an indigenous shaman, who gave us a medicinal plant tour, and a huge signature to Lauren’s Costa Rican bandana recuerdo. Then at the Refugio, we took tours and got to learn about horticulture, which included yuca and sugarcane cultivation, which were staples of our meals and stars in our cooking class. We also attended a seminar on the Rancho about the stages of fermentation to make wines, vinegars, kimchi, and kombucha! It was a slow and restful week, with plenty of midday naps between waterfall hikes and chopping wood for charcoal compost.
We even had the opportunity to go on a night hike with Andres and Javier, where we encountered the deadly Fer-de-lance snake! But all was well, because we observed from a distance and went on our way. This wouldn’t be the only encounter with creepy crawlers this week! There were plenty of lizards to chase, and one tarantula hiding in the toilet paper dispenser (that was a surprise!) These creatures later became the inspiration for our mural on the shower doors at the Refuge, which included Scarlett Macaws, hummingbirds, a monkey, a viper, and a tree frog, which we saw plenty of. On Saturday, we went to La Iguana Chocolate, where we got to take part in the 7 step cacao production methods, which mostly included taste testing a lot of chocolate. Gracias a todo la familia a el Refugio, y bienvenidos a la costa! Next week, we look forward to rafting and surfing on the water, and collecting new memories. Adios!
