(This article appeared in thestatesman.com on Saturday, December 19th)
SAN ISIDRO, Costa Rica Breakfast at Monte Azul, a small ecolodge outside San Isidro, comes with a show: monkeys.
SAN ISIDRO, Costa Rica Breakfast at Monte Azul, a small ecolodge outside San Isidro, comes with a show: monkeys.
I nibble fried plantains as a rowdy gang (or troop, or cartload, if you'd rather) of capuchin monkeys swings down the hillside across the path.
They're after their own breakfast: bananas, hung here for them by the owners of this mountain hideway, which is as much about art and social responsibility as it is about a comfortable bed.
Drama, inevitably, breaks out.
One white-faced capuchin monkey has grabbed another and is dangling it precariously from a branch. My husband, Chris, and I are traveling with another couple, Charlie and Sara McCabe of Austin. We all pause, mid-mouthful.
"Don't drop the monkey!" Sara calls out helpfully.
Monkey No. 1 disregards Sara. Monkey No. 2 crashes through a few branches before latching onto a vine 15 feet below and bellowing its displeasure.
We humans are more polite at our breakfast table. Vacations will do that to you, and I've slept well in our chic little cabana, with its own private garden (pineapples and exotic heliotropes growing right there!) and a roaring river just yards away.
Monte Azul, which opened in December 2008, is situated on a 125-acre private nature preserve. Each cabana is decorated with handmade furniture made from salvaged wood and art created by visiting artists. We wash with homemade soap, eat greens grown in the garden and sip coffee from a sustainable, two-acre onsite plot. The lodge even plants a tree for everyone who stays here.
"It really is about working with the community," says co-owner Carlos Rojas. "Everything is done from the ground up, by us."
The lodge sponsors a village soccer team and started a recycling program in the community. The goal is a zero carbon footprint — and an appreciation for art and artists.
You even can sign up to take classes. I'm tempted by the cheesemaking course myself, but offerings include print screening, soapmaking and a slew of others.
We don't have time today, though. Our plans include a hike to a nearby waterfall and an afternoon at the Talamanca Mountain Thermal Baths up the hill. There's a little roadside bar, too, perched on a rocky outcropping, where you can sip Imperial beer on a deck overlooking the river canyon.
When all else fails, I'm content to sit on the porch of our cabana, trying to spot as many of the 240 species of birds that live in this rain forest as I can.
The monkey show is over. It's time to get moving.
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Updated: 11:53 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009pleblanc@statesman.com; 445-3994
The complete article can be found at the following link:
http://www.statesman.com/life/travel/breakfast-at-ecolodge-comes-with-free-show-from-134010.html
The complete article can be found at the following link:
http://www.statesman.com/life/travel/breakfast-at-ecolodge-comes-with-free-show-from-134010.html
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