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…
