Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!!

I know, I know. I promised I'd have this blog up and running as soon as I arrived. Time surprisingly has flown by these last two weeks. Really?, 2 weeks gone already? What the hell have we been doing with ourselves?

Well I'm happy to report that we've been having a great time here at the Rancho. We were thankfully picked up at the airport with our collective 200 lbs of stuff that would hopefully get us by for the next several months at least. We were given a beautiful bungalow complete with hand crafted furniture, warmish shower water, a hammock view overlooking the valley, and the fluffiest sweetest golden retriever named Acha.

Life has already settled into a pleasant routine. Matt and I wake up between 6 and 7 each morning and walk out to the soccer pitch for tai chi practice. Three delicious and healthy meals are served up either buffet style or a la carte everyday. At 4pm, we go to the free yoga class for a nice restorative stretch. In the hours between, we meet with Juan (the owner) or with Frederic (his son) to determine our plan of action for our stay here. Before we know it, it's 10 pm and pitch black outside except for an sky full of stars.

The number of guests have fluctuated dramatically since our arrival. There have been as few as 2 and as many as 120. The 120 group stayed only one night and consisted of super marathoners who were running a six day course called the Coastal Challenge. They ran to the ranch from Fortuna which was about 15 miles over mountains and dormant volcanoes. The next day they ran 36 miles to Monteverde crossing the river 5 times. Talk about feeling lazy!

The Rancho also has a pretty consistent population of volunteers, most of which are from the States. They are utilized all over the ranch, but mostly at the bar, in the kitchen, and in the fields. Additionally, there are around 45 employees that tend the fields and gardens, run the dairy farm, manage the pigs, horses, chickens, run the kitchen, clean the facilities, and work in hospitality (reception, tours, etc). Currently we have a couple from Ashville who work the bar, a girl from Murfreesboro, TN and a guy from Boston that work in the kitchen, and a girl from Chicago teaches yoga twice a day. I've given almost all of them acupuncture already!

Matt has been working on architecture drawings for 12 houses, one of which will be completed in 6 months. They break ground with the backhoe tomorrow! I provide wellness services like acupuncture and massage to guests, volunteers, and staff. Additionally, I am studying up on how we can use the herbs already growing here at the ranch to make teas or extracts for juices and smoothies. What more could a girl ask for?

If you want to learn more about the ranch, check out a web documentary on livewellhd.com. The program is called "Save My Planet." I haven't watched it yet because our internet service is not fast enough to watch streaming videos. Hope you enjoy it!