Close enough.
This afternoon I am sitting here on the porch of our bungalow at Rancho Margot, an ecolodge alongside Lake Arenal, a hydroelectric reservoir dammed up to produce 35% of Costa Rica's electrical power. The ecolodge is off-the-grid, producing its own power, food, soap, down to its own furniture. Pretty amazing infrastructure to provide for the needs and wants of tourists. I like the idea of self-suffiency (so much so I started to think about taking a 15 month volunteer slot here at the farm) but after being here a couple days, too much concrete, pipe and steel for my liking. They are doing great things here and there is so much to learn, just a tinge bit of artificiality. I think it is a simple product of population. RM has to support a large number of people, putting a strain on realistic self-sustainance. We are talking tourists too so only so much "roughin-it" can be in play.
It was about a 3 hour BUMPY van ride to the shores of Arenal. From there it was onto a boat for an hour voyage to the cross shore where we threw our bags onto a truck and ourselves into another van. A quick trip up the hillside (and I man quick, this driver was not messing around!!!) brought us to the front door of Rancho Margot. Many thanks to the tican angel who grabbed our suitcase and trucked it up the hillside. That 60 pounds was not on my happy list for the day.
Our stay here has been a welcomed change from the UGA-CR campus, if nothing more than a new variety of food. BREAD!!! french toast, pizza, pork, and some new veggies. The Hufnagel bungalow is incredible. A beautiful place tucked away in the regenerating forest. The highlight is a massive porch with a hammock (added mine to make room for 4. The girls continue to like playing in the shower, this one much larger.
The pools have offered a wonderful distraction for the girls. 2 stream fed pools are quite chilly, though wonderfully refreshing in the sun's heat. The little ladies prefer the warm pool (same stream water warmed by the same compost system). No chlorine, JUST WATER! Fun has been had with a couple hula-hoops at the dining area along with a cozy-coupe. That cozy-coupe pics up some major speed down the walking ramps! I think the girls' minds are coming full of nature learning but they still humor us by getting excited about chickens and little piggies.
Sustainability is the buzz word and it applies here. Hot water is created by running pipes through a massive compost system. Power is created from 2 hydroelectric turbines. Soap is created from cooking oils. Hens lay over 150 eggs per day. There is a pig farm, vegetable garden, and of course an extensive dairy. Furniture is created through a sizeable woodshop. It is amazing to see what is involved in making our food and the skilled people who make it appear on plates. Cooking heat is created through collecting liquid waste from livestock and converting it to methane gas. Fertilizer is created through a system of solid livestock waste eaten by redworms with their poop becoming a bio-world like none other.
A major part of the operation here is Yoga. Sarah and I both got a taste of it and it was pretty spectacular. An hour and a half of hard work that felt great. We could both see how doing that every day would really make us whole new persons.
Tough to get pictures up here as the internet is tough to use for much more than email and news. We will upload asap so check back.
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