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!

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!

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!

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!

Newest Adventure Tour at AmaTierra

We are so excited about AmaTierra's newest adventure tour option - The Adventure Park! Our guests are loving the extra-long zipline canopy tour, with 25 different cables soaring above gorgeous waterfalls and acres upon acres of lush tropical forest. The Adventure Park also offers the Superman zipline, where you fly hands-free like a bird in the sky. For a full day of adventure, you can add on additional attractions inside the Park, like the biggest high ropes course in Costa Rica (or low ropes for the kids) and horseback riding tours. A day of fun-filled adventure awaits you...

This tour is the newest addition to our well-rounded list of nature-inspired adventure tours, including Vic's one-of-a-kind experience at Carara National Park - a guided hiking tour in the rain forest to see monkeys, tropical birds, and cool colorful frogs up-close and personal in their natural habitat. Plus, the exhilarating Mangrove Boat tour is a must-do to get a closer look at the fat and famous crocodiles of the Tarcoles River - don't worry they can't get you while you're in the boat! Vic might even feed them a snack so you can see their giant jaws snapping for a treat. Great photo ops.

These attractions and many more are all available during your stay at AmaTierra, just let us know what interests you and we'll help you plan an experience you'll never forget.

Exciting New Additions to AmaTierra's Staff

We are thrilled to welcome two new members to AmaTierra's staff - Pablo Montero Arce, Head Chef; and Rachel Shopper, Yoga Instructor.

We are getting rave reviews for AmaTierra's new chef, Pablo Montero Arce, who continues to tempt our taste buds by introducing new gourmet menu items, including this perfect salad, topped with roasted eggplant & tomato - one of his many delicious vegetarian creations. With Pablo spicing up our kitchen, we are happy to announce that AmaTierra now offers cooking classes for our guests - just let us know you're interested and we'll be sure to include it in your stay.

We are so excited to introduce Rachel Shopper to AmaTierra's yoga program, bringing a versatile Vinyasa yoga style, emphasizing proper alignment and specially geared to all yoga levels, from beginning to advance. Guests have loved Rachel's yoga classes and we are grateful to have her on board.

A big welcome to both of you, Pablo and Rachel - thanks for joining our team!

AsoYoga Festival and International Day of Peace

Commemorating the International Day of Peace, and the AsoYoga Festival

Yoga para Todos (Yoga for Everyone) Festival here in Costa Rica was a wonderful event. Held in downtown San Jose, Jill led a meditation with Crystal Singing Bowls in an ancient tower with four foot thick stone walls. Performers, Indian music, Kirtan chanting, booths of fun foods and yoga clothing drew over 2000 people for all day yoga and meditation classes
AmaTierra's booth was a popular one as people signed up to win a free night for two at the Retreat Center. Lourdes Amador was the winner, and she is very happy!

Costa Rica has long been a destination site for yoga, second only to India as the place to go to practice with a group or at one of the many studios which cater to foreigners.
But Costa Ricans too love their yoga, and practice it in a very spirited, strong and serious way. It was wonderful to be in classes led by Spanish-speaking instructors, (the language of sanskrit for the names of poses was helpful!) and amidst those who have a zestful love of yoga.

All in all, a wonderful day, and a positive, collective intention was sent out for harmony and peace on the earth.