Where you stay while traveling can be an important part of the experience, and this was my dilemma - until now. Originally, I had priced out
hostels, figuring that it was the most economical
way to go. There is certainly nothing wrong with a hostel - in addition to being the right price, it can have a very cool vibe with its common areas and communal living. I visited several very nice hostels that were family run and very safe right in
Santa Elena, just outside Monteverde.
I was satisfied with those accommodations, but throughout our planning I continued to be nagged by the idea that there was a better solution. While a hostel is an interesting experience, it's a travel experience rather than an indigenous cultural experience - which would be a better fit with our class. When my wife and I went back to
Monteverde last year, we stayed at a wonderful family farm that had added a few cabins on their property -
Cabanas Valle Campanas. The cabins range from 3-person to 10-person, and each have running hot water and a full kitchen. It was paradise! Rather than being surrounded by the bustle of a hotel or town, we went to sleep with a private view of a splendid sunset and awoke to the birds just our door. We had breakfast a couple of the mornings with the family, in their home. (If you'd like to see some video of the cabins, they are in our feature video on
the class YouTube Channel)
After speaking with the owner, Reina Cruz Brenes, we all decided that this would be an ideal solution. During our previous stay, I had spoken with Reina about my hopes of "someday" bringing students to Monteverde, and she had commented on my passion and dedication to them. As I started to fill her in, now, on the details of our class, she surprisingly shared that she knows Wolf - the main character of our book,
Walking With Wolf.
Now, I gather that many people in Monteverde "know" Wolf, but Reina explained that her uncle, Eladio, worked with Wolf - and it hit me that Eladio Cruz has a central presence in Wolf's stories (the picture to the right is from the author's blog, and has Wolf in the middle and Eladio to the right) . I can think of no better way to have the students immersed in what they have been learning, and am incredibly excited about this fateful discovery.
Please take some time to check out the student blogs, and if inspired to do so, head to our
website to see ways to support their work.
The students have finished reading Walking With Wolf, and are starting to decide on their research projects that will dominate the spring semester and dictate our itinerary while in Costa Rica. We were also thrilled to be featured in the Portsmouth Herald this past Friday, with a great article by Jennifer Feals. In the article, we share our current status and plans for finishing our fundraising. We have a fundraiser at Papa Ginos in Portsmouth this coming Thursday night - just print out the flyer pictured here if you can come and support us. We'll also be doing a Costa Rica dinner mid-February - details to come.
