Written by Central America Student, Cleo Miller
New Adventures in Mastatal
Landed in Costa Rica! This week we traveled to a small and remote, but extremely beautiful, town called Mastatal in biodiverse Costa Rica! We stayed with Javier and his family in Villas Mastatal, and remained unplugged for the week, which was amazing to connect more with nature and I also finished a great book. Throughout the week we worked on Javier’s refuge learning more about permaculture by planting plantain trees using propagation, making compost tea, and more! We also took a quick but very fun ride on Javier’s horse 🐴.
Next, we visited Rancho Mastatal and learned about the different plants that grow in Costa Rica, including Starfruit, Cocoa trees, and Vanilla. Did you know that vanilla is hand-pollinated?
Also, we visited Iguana Chocolate and walked around the farm with Jorge, a third-generation farmer of cocoa, who taught us all about the process of making chocolate and got to make some chocolate ourselves too. We also got to make hot chocolate using traditional methods from cocoa farmers, which was absolutely amazing!
Finally, we took a short night hike with Javier and saw lots of cool spiders, insects, frogs, toads, and even a snake. 🪲🐍
We had a great time at Villas Mastatal!!
Our Top Highlights of the Week
🐦 🐸 Seeing a bunch of new animals/birds including colorful Macaws, Toucans, and a green and black spotted poison frog!
💧💦 Visiting lots of different, big, and beautiful waterfalls. They were extraordinary, even in the dry season!
👧🏽 ⚽ Connecting with Javier and his family, he had 2 kids, ages 13 and 8! We loved to play games with them and practice our Spanish skills. We even played a couple of rounds of soccer.
Challenges Faced
The heat and extreme sun challenged my group and me during our time in Mastatal. I didn’t realize how strong the sun is in Costa Rica, especially when working in the sun. Although it was tough we stayed hydrated and cooled off with all the epic waterfalls! ☀️
Gratitude
During my program with Carpe Diem, I have grown A LOT, especially with the help of my lovely Overseas Educators, Malcolm and Jasmin, and my group! I’ve noticed how much more patient I have become when it comes to dealing with tough situations, I’m much more able to open up about my feelings with my group, and how to deal with my anxiety in tough circumstances!
Thank you, Javier and your lovely family for hosting us at Villas Mastatal. We loved every minute and all the meals we were served!
