On our third day of the Asheville Community Yoga Costa Rica Yoga Experience, we visited the village of La Florida, the home for many years of Joshua Canter and Kristin Luna Ray, TNE Co-Founders. It was a sweet reunion with some dear old friends along with the special local Costa Rica community, which represented, in many ways, the foundation of True Nature Education.
We left the La Casinga Eco-Lodge and Retreat Center and traveled about an hour and a half to the village, where we began our exciting day of service. The Asheville Community Yoga Retreatants first took on the task to give the recycling center a makeover with a fresh coat of paint to give it new life. It’s truly amazing how much a new layer of color can accomplish!
At the La Florida school, there is an organic vegetable garden in which the students work and contribute to as part of their curriculum. In anticipation of the commencement of school again next week, we put in some love in the garden, helping to prepare the beds and tidy things up.
The village has a small library, which True Nature Education and CREER Service Organization initially helped support to be built. Long time friend and CREER Representative, Amy Schrift, helped to coordinate the projects. She shared her incredible story during a traditional lunch served by some of the women in the village.
We then took a journey to the Nauyaca Waterfalls after we completed our project and a delicious tico-style lunch.
Famous for being described by National Geographic as “one of Central America’s most beautiful waterfalls,” this legendary waterfall has a nearly 150 foot drop into a 3,280 foot wide pool. It is a true gem in the Southern zone of Costa Rica.
We hiked down to the wonderful swimming hole at the bottom and laid underneath the pounding water, soaking up all of its strength and glory.
