Friday, January 28, 2011

Fiestas and Rodeo in San Pablo de Turrubares


Over the past two weeks, AmaTierra guests have taken part in the local "fiestas" of San Pablo de Turrubares, the nearest town to AmaTierra, 3km down the road. Each year, Turrubares natives come together to put on a two-week carnival to celebrate local traditions, inviting visitors from throughout the country to enjoy typical foods of the area, horse shows, bull-riding, dance contests, karaoke and more.
The highlights this year were the bull-riding in the rodeo corral and the "Gran Tope" show, where community members bring out their best horses to parade around the central park and show off their horses' prancing style, known as "tope." This year was a bit more mellow at the fiestas than years past, and the famous Costa Rican motorcycle brigade was absent this time around. Hopefully next year, we can help support the publicity team so that more visitors will come to celebrate all things Turrubares at their special local fiestas. Tuanis!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Hydroponics 101 at AmaTierra


We are so excited about our organic hydroponic garden - learning so much about sustainable small-scale farming and local production for sustenance consumption. So far, we're growing hydroponic ginger, arugula, lettuce, celery, cucumber, tomato and cilantro - using what we grow to add to Pablo's delicious gourmet creations in the kitchen. When we start producing more, we plan to give any excess to local distributors, so that they can sell it in the community markets and make a bit of profit for themselves. Sustainability in action, indeed.

Our hydroponic plants grow in raised planters with no soil, sitting in beds of rice hulls ("garza" in Spanish) and coconut husks. They drink an organic cocktail of nutrients and water on a daily basis. We are in the beginning stages of hydroponics and have learned so much from others' experiences. If you are a hydroponic master, please share your secrets, we'd love to learn from you!
Hope to see you soon at AmaTierra so you can taste our hydroponic goodies for yourself. Pura vida!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

New Year's Wellness Adventure Yoga Retreat in Full Swing


Hosted by dynamic husband-and-wife team Aimee Roberson and Rawles Williams, owners of Luminous Body Yoga, this week's retreat has been fantastic. Participants have enjoyed daily yoga sessions, crystal bowl toning sessions, meditations and excursions. On Tuesday, the group went on an adventure tour to the waterfalls; they spent Wednesday soaking up the sun at Esterillos Beach, famous for the squawking, joyful presence of the awe-inspiring scarlet macaws; this morning they went hiking to nearby waterfalls for a refreshing dip to rejuvenate their spirits; and last night they partied latin-style with salsa and merengue dance lessons in the dining room. This 7-night retreat is our first of the year, and needless to say we are grateful for such a wonderful start to 2011.

Thanks to retreat hosts Aimee and Rawles, we are so happy you were able to join us this week, and hope to see you all again in the future as part of our AmaTierra family. Blessings for the New Year!

Monday, January 3, 2011

A Unique New Year's Eve at AmaTierra

To ring in 2011 with grace, we hosted a meaningful New Year's Eve for AmaTierra guests and staff this year. The evening began with a delicious gourmet dinner, another incredible creation by our new Head Chef, Pablo. After dinner, we all gathered outdoors for a unique New Year's ceremony. First, Jill smudged us all with White Sage - used in native traditions for clearing old energies. We had written down some words about what we wanted to release and let go of from 2010, plus what we acknowledged as blessings, gifts and learnings from last year. To let go of the old year, we threw our papers into the ceremonial fire, allowing us to release the old to make room for welcoming the new.

Next we gathered in the yoga studio and shared our intentions for 2011. Our favorite, from one guest, a Doctor from Florida, was "I want to DO less and BE more." The crystal singing bowls helped whirl our intentions out to the universe on a clear starry night, and we finished with a meditation and prayers for Peace. Traditional champagne was served before we all retired to our cozy beds.

Morning Yoga on the First Day of the year started us all on a good track - the perfect ending to such a unique way to celebrate and nurture all that we experienced and learned from 2010, and create new space for all that is yet to come in 2011. We are grateful for all of you who were able to join us for the celebration this year, and hope to welcome new and familiar faces to AmaTierra in the new year.

Feliz Año Nuevo!