Inner Contents of a Cloud

David: Here is something interesting about living in a cloud forest; sometimes you are completely in the clouds. This afternoon Sarah and I were watching an episode of “Arrested Development” while taking a break from lab and storage duty as a cloud passed by our bedroom window. It was pretty cool to be inside a passing cloud. I told Sarah to get her head out of the clouds.
Sarah and I had a nice U.S. night last night. We ate hot dogs and French fries while watching the first game of the Yankees/Tigers series. Baseball and hotdogs! It was a good night.
Everyday life is passing fairly fast as we’ve been working on the organization and clean up of the laboratory and storage room. It doesn’t sound like much, but it sure has been. It is funny how rewarding it can be to see an area organized and ready to be used. And it can’t hurt to know what lab and field equipment is lurking on the shelves and in the plethora of storage trunks. We are really close to being done with both of those areas.
We were really glad for the fact that the mess we’ve made here is finally started to clear up when, today, Marino Chacon, who is the eldest of son of Efrain, came by leading a tour group of students from CATIE. CATIE is a university here in Costa Rica where students from all over Latin America come to study tropical agriculture and sustainable development. They came to San Gerardo de Dota to observe the sustainable development model that the Chacon family has set up using eco-tourism for income while protecting the environment. QERC is a part of that story and Marino wanted to share that with them too. It was so encouraging to see this group of ten students coming from all over Latin America because they want to learn how to take care of people and take care of the earth at the same time. It was also interesting to hear Marino share the story of the valley with these students. He shared all the successes of his family as well the downfalls of tourism. Downfalls such as trash production and the effects of the trout ponds on the once bountiful frog population have come along with the blessing of a sustainable business. Are there answers to these problems? Maybe, but sometimes the answers are not easy to put into action. We did just find out that the Hotel Savegre is starting a community recycling program and putting in a water reclamation system to clean wastewater. Those are perfect examples of how a community can show its dedication to conservation, and also earn its certification for as a sustainable eco-tourism business, which goes a long way for promotion here in Costa Rica.
The picture is of the study lounge that is located upstairs in the middle of the dormitory rooms. It is a favorite place of ours for reading because the sun warms the room up and the hanging chairs are really comfortable. We just relocated the library up there, so although you can't see in the picture, the room is one of our most recent accomplishments.