It feels like theres so much to write. The past week or so has been moving so fast I have struggled to find the time to sit down and blog. Since last Thursday, my traveling band of commrades (Jeremy, Jimmy, Dan, and I) have been living and volunteering at a place called Cascada Verde. It is located on the side of a mountain just outside the town of Uvita, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In the late afternoon, as the sun is setting, we do yoga on the upper deck and watch the sun set over the ocean.
This place is completely different from anything else weve done so far in Costa Rica. We are sleeping in a loft just above the yoga deck, at the very top of this eco resort, but we spend most of our time in the volunteer house out back, where we have our own kitchen that we share with the rest of the volunteers. These volunteers are of all ages and nationalities, currently we are living with three turkish women, a crazy french artist named Dominic, who we are helping construct this massive in ground pool based on a concept of the three hearts, one for each of the loves of the boss of this place, Patricio, a polish woman named Grazshena, who is much older but a very young soul, a mexican hermano Ellio, and his french girlfriend Magali, a swedish girl named Sora who is convinced the world is a big conspiracy, and various other characters who move in and out. The communal kitchen has been a great place to come together, it is open air, with a big picnic table, plenty of space for many people to cook at the same time, something I never thought I would enjoy so much. It is funny that cheese and avocados have come to be the ultimate luxury, as we are buying most everything we are cooking from the store. It is so nice to hang out in the communal kitchen, hearing French, German, Turkish, English, Spanish, and maybe some Polish or Swedish, sharing card games, recipes, dishes, massages from the master Robert.
This reminds me of a earth shattering, life changing discovery I have made down here, which I will never look back from the same: Cashew Butter. Since I got my hands on my own jar of the stuff, its all I want to eat. I have been eating nut butter and jelly sandwiches, nut butter on bananas, nut butter and honey, anything I could possibly spread it on. I feel like Im five years old, but it is like my life of peanut butter deprivation has come to a crashing end, and I couldnt be happier.
During the day, we work about four hours, on all different kinds of projects. Currently we are working on and learning about this incredible grey water system that Patricio is trying to get started for the hotel. He is using a huge biogas digester, which uses a combination of filters, animals, and toilet waste to create energy, something that totally blows my mind. The water left over then moves into a canal system that links different ponds, along which he will be growing bananas with the super nutrient rich water, and other crazy plants in the pond. In learning about sustainable living, this project has been incredibly interesting for me, as he is generating energy with waste that is naturally produced in his own house, and reusing the water from a process that usually just throws it away in large quantities.
After work we walk across the dirt road at the end of the property, down a little hill and we are at a waterfall, with a big natural swimming pool, and a rope swing that comes down from a big hill on the side of the river. Recently, we decided to climb the 30 foot waterfall, sit in the river at the top, and allow ourselves to be carried down the waterfall. This was absolutely terrifying.
The evenings consist of rowdy dinners in the communal kitchen, where everyone comes to congregate after a days work. We are having such a great time here, we have decided to extend our stay. Next week we will be going to Panama for a day, then to the Osa Peninsula to camp for a few days, and then back here to Cascada Verde until the end of my trip. I am looking forward to home, but as the end draws nearer, I am sad that this trip is coming to an end. It has been a great trip, with many lessons learned, which I will be sure to blog about next time.