True Nature Travels Blog

Happy New Year! One Cycle Ends and Another Begins…

We want to start by wishing everyone a wonderful Happy New Year from all of us at True Nature Education. New Years always brings the end of one cycle and the beginning of another. We just completed our best year yet at TNE and look forward to an incredible 2013!

Just in time to wrap up 2012 we completed our Costa Rica Tikkun Olam and Adventure Program. With the auspicious timing of this program ending on NYE, it was fitting that it turned out to be one of our most special programs to date. Throughout the week the group had a very unique, caring, and collaborative energy which continued to grow to the end.

In addition, this group being from Asheville, where TNE is based, had an added element of meaningful connection, knowing that not only will the group get to continue to grow together when they return, but we at TNE can also grow with them back at home in the US.

The final day of the trip had us waking up to a warm and sunny morning at Finca Luna Nueva Lodge. Following yoga we gathered together with Ishmael, our naturalist guide, and headed to our reforestation project.

The Rabbi shared some poignant words about the relevance and importance of planting trees in the Jewish tradition, and with that said we headed out with our trees and began our planting.

Once again one of TNE’s groups took part in the expansion of the explanding corridor of the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. The group planted the trees with such mindfulness and care, a reflection of the group itself, with some making special dedications to friends and family with the plantings.

Following the project we headed back to Luna Nueva one more time to prepare for our departure. Leaving the farm for the final time, we made one final stop at the San Rafael School. The children met our shuttle with smiles, taking our hands and following them into their classroom. Together we took part in a very special time of connection, sharing, and celebration for our time in Costa Rica and in the village. The activity culminated in our offering of the school supplies (altogether they weighed 60 pounds!) which the group brought from the US and which we carried all week with us. 🙂 We shared in waives, smiles, and a big “a dios” as we drove down the road for the final stage of our journey.

Our final night back at the Orchideas Inn, we sat around the same table, as we did the first night, sharing appreciation for one another, stories, and setting intentions for how we plan to bring this energy back home. The group flew into the sunset yesterday arriving home just in time to bring in the New Year with family.

We want to thank everyone from our group from North Carolina, New York, and California. We have coined the group the first cohort of The Costa Rica Toucan Alum’s.

Wishing everyone the best from TNE!

True Nature Travels Blog

Day 5 and 6: True Service and Adventure

Day 5
We awoke at Finca Luna Nueva Lodge, a biodynamic farm and ecolodge – quite a different environment than the coastal zone where we had spent our previous days. This is clearly the rainforest. 🙂

After our first morning yoga session of the trip and a great breakfast we were ready to head to the village of Chachagua where we took part in a morning of service. Our project for the day was to give the Chachagua Church a facelift with a new coat of paint.

We were met by Lindsay Padilla and her family. Lindsay is one of True Nature’s Village Representatives, and a wonderful community leader and organizer. We were also met by the pastor of the church. In a very meaningful moment following the project the Pastor and Rabbi Meiri each offered a prayer, one in Spanish and one in English.

Rabbi Meiri shared, “It is with great joy that we offer our service in your house of worship to lift up your services.”
Following our work we headed back to the farm where we had some much-needed downtime, which included time in the hot-tub, a farm tour, and a night hike for some.

Day 6
Today we took part in our Arenal Adventure Day. It was a full day of adventure and excursions including zipliniing, horseback-riding, a volcano hike, and a trip to the hot springs.

We were honored to have Christian Padilla (Lindsay’s brother) as our naturalist guide. “We have had such a great assortment of wildlife on this trip,” shared Peter Oppenheimer, which has included over 45 different birds (counted by Noa Meiri).

Christian’s passion and knowledge illuminated our day as we truly had an opportunity to explore and embrace the beauty and brilliance of the rainforest.

The day ended with pizza in the Luna Nueva cob oven, followed by a beautiful a circle bringing Shabbat to a close. We are beginning to feel the transition that is upon us as our journey is slowly beginning to come to a close. Tomorrow is our last full day together, and we are going to soak up and enjoy every moment. See you tomorrow…

True Nature Travels Blog

Day 3 & 4: The Tikkun Olam Retreat Journey Continues…

Day 3: Toucan Olam
We began our day of Toucan Olam (yes we have renamed it Toucan Olam 🙂 driving through the palm plantations to the Blue Banyan Inn, and the Kids Saving the Rainforest Animal Sanctuary, the site of our day of service. We were met by Tiki, the blue macaw, the first official resident at the sanctuary. Tiki showed off for us by spreading his wings and dancing to Elvis “Nothing but a Houndog.”  Barbara (aka “The Monkey Lady” or “Jane Goodall of Costa Rica”) introduced us to her children, the monkeys. We saw Marmosets, Spider Monkeys, Titi’s, Tamarin’s, and White-Faced Monkey’s.

We later split into two groups, “The Play Group” and “The Rock Stars.” The Play Group created entertaining enrichment for the monkeys, as we learned it is very important for the monkeys to have stimulation, especially when they are rescued and unable to return to their native environment.

The Rock Stars built a stairway to the new multi-species complex, which will be built soon. “It was hard but fulfilling work,” shared Janet Oppenheimer. “Through serving and completing a project it really help solidify the oneness and unity of our group.”

We were joined during the project and for the remainder of the day by the Eastman family, a Jewish family from Palo Alto, California, who were “inspired by the mission and energy of our group.” Ethan and Daniel Eastman (age 9) helped pour the last shovel of rock to complete our 30th and final stair.

During lunch we were visited by Barbara and the Marmosets, the highlight of the day for many. After lunch and a refreshing swim we went back to work for a couple of hours. We completed our day with a powerful walking meditation through a labyrinth, which Beverly Harris called, “a deeply spiritual experience.”

Day 4: Spiritual Sailing
We began our day by saying our farewell to Mono Azul, our home for 3 days, and headed to the pier. We spent the morning on the great Pacific Ocean, exploring Manuel Antonio National Park in a Trimaran.

After checking out some islands off-shore and catching some serious rays we spotted a pod of dolphins. The dolphins swam with our boat for a while until we stopped where they proceeded to show off with some incredible  jumps and spins.

We followed our dolphin meeting by meeting some fish while we snorkeled in the bay of Manuel Antonio. We sailed back to shore where we met our shuttle and began our journey north.

This evening we arrived at Finca Luna Nueva Lodge where we will spend the next three nights. It feels so nice to be deep in nature, surrounded by only the sounds of the jungle, the bright full moon, and our wonderful groups which continues to grow closer each day. Buenas Noches…

Today’s blog was written by guest bloggers and retreat attendants Beth Eckstein and Beverly Harris.

True Nature Travels Blog

Real-Time Costa Rica Updates for our First Retreat of the Season

It’s hard to believe that the holiday season has surrounded us already and 2012 is coming to a close, which means that our 2012-2013 Retreat Season is just about to begin!

To kick things off we will be Costa Rica Service (“Tikkun Olam”) Adventure Program beginning this Sunday, December 23, and continuing through New Years Eve on December 31. The retreat is in partnership with the Jewish community at large in Asheville, NC, where True Nature Education is based out of.

Co-hosted by TNE Founder Joshua Canter and Rabbi Batsheva Meiri of Beth Ha Tephila, the retreat will also include participants from Warren Wilson College and The Asheville Chabad House. The focus of the retreat will be to deepen the commitment of service through  outreach projects in the local villages, working with the local population, and the native environment of Costa Rica. Participants will also take part in exciting excursions and adventures throughout Costa Rica.

Stay tuned to the blog for real-time updates from the retreat with photos, thoughts, and event happenings from the trip. You can also follow along with periodic updates from our Facebook page, as well as join the conversation on Twitter via #costaricaservice from our handle @truenatureed.