La vida loca! Wished you were there? We did, so here we are on our big adventure! A year in central America, to make sense of this vida loca...

Thoughts on La Vida Loca

Monday, 13 Jan 2014 | Views [476]

It was odd and pleasant to get off the plane and be surrounded by familiar accents and environments.  Being away a year certainly gives you fresh eyes on your own country and home.  What struck us most?  Well, San Diego had given us some ... Read more >

Tags: post journey

Riding the Rio Negro

Sunday, 17 Aug 2008 | Views [3312]

A Little time a go the interns and volunteers at Rancho Mastatal had a day off to go to the hot springs and waterfall at the nearby village of San Miguel.   The plan was to go down to the hot springs and then traverse the Rio Negro downstream to ... Read more >

Tags: adventures, river trekking

Pura Vida!

Sunday, 20 Jul 2008 | Views [1456]

Well, sorry for the delay since the last journal entry.   Rachel and I have either been away at a weekend at the beach (damn, it´s hard here), or have otherwise been thwarted in our attempts to get to Puriscal (lack of sleep and motivation to get ... Read more >

Tags: drunkeness, futbol, projects, sport

A week in the Merde

Saturday, 21 Jun 2008 | Views [1332] | Comments [5]

After our less than successful trip to the beach, it was good to get back to Mastatal, even if the last part of the journey back was a trip in the back of what was effectively a cattle truck (picture big flat-top with a wooden frame), as the landslide ... Read more >

Tags: el rancho mastatal, frisbee, futbol, work

Becoming part of a community

Saturday, 21 Jun 2008 | Views [1025]

I wrote this story for the Ranch´s newsletter.  It´s is a reflection on what it means to become part a small community and the whole idea of responsible tourism.  As part of our orientation here, we have also discussed the impacts that our presence ... Read more >

Tags: community, sustainability

You know what I was saying about... (or yes! Costa Rica is a developing country)

Saturday, 7 Jun 2008 | Views [729]

es Well, our second week of spanish lessons at Las Cabanes Siempre Verde turned into a bit of a wash out – in the sense that we had four days of heavy rain – two of which were continuous. Yeah, we complain a lot about the rain in England (and ... Read more >

Tags: a whole lot of rain, no services, no transport, tropical storm alma

Gallery: Costa Rica, the wildlife

Sunday, 25 May 2008 | Photo Gallery

Only four days to go!

Sunday, 11 May 2008 | Views [870] | Comments [1]

As I write this, there are four days to go until we fly and it’s organised chaos. Our house is chaotic, stuff everywhere – how can we own so much? Packing is a slog and at the back of my mind is the knowledge that we have to keep on going. We have an ... Read more >

Tags: chaos, preparations

Un-encumbering is harder than you think...

Wednesday, 2 Apr 2008 | Views [822]

So, only six weeks 'til we leave, and under a month of work left. Let the panic commence !  Well, slight exaggeration, but it is starting to get a bit serious now.  We're well and truly into the 'do it now, or it doesn't get done' period.  Which means ... Read more >

Tags: pre-trip, preparations

Gallery: Home

Monday, 3 Mar 2008 | Photo Gallery