Click to see entire picture
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Zane with finca mangos |
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Zane takes a
plunge even after 5 months with no
rain |
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VERY large
freshwater shrimp claw down by the
finca's Rio Frio |
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Zane and Mom,
Lauren from Eugene |
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April - A strong finish to
the dry season…
Las Brisas majority partner
Al Benner was a sprinter on his college
track team. One of his specialties was
anchoring the mile relay. This last trip of
the dry season found Al doing just that,
finishing out a strong season for the Las
Brisas project. Al traveled alone into the
hills of Costa Rica for meetings with
additional prospective lot buyers and with
other professionals in order to continue
moving forward with plans on several fronts
for the coming rainy season.
Coming off a big sales month in March,
during which time four agreements of sale
were signed, spirits were high and
expectations for the project ever expanding.
Highlights included a very interesting and
productive meeting with architect couple,
Evangelina and Lucca from Nosara, who
provided some excellent ideas for the
community center structure and associated
waste water systems. Abe Acton, President of
Costa Coast Construction from Samara also
spent a considerable amount of time on and
off site with Al discussing all sorts of
possibilities for environmentally friendly
materials and construction techniques. Abe
is passionate about doing the right thing
for the community, and is even involved with
helping the nearby town of Samara to
establish it’s own recycling center. Al also
was in close contact with another
sustainable, “off grid” building expert
further up the coast, who he plans to visit
with partners Ray and Darlene when they all
return in July.
Time was also spent reviewing ongoing
projects on the finca with Site Manager,
Christoph Hubmann. Some of the recently
completed projects include a new fence line
installed along the eastern boundary of the
property, wing walls for the main entry gate
constructed from local river rock by the FLB
site crew, and continued watering of the
600+ fruit trees and coffee groves. Upcoming
projects include: An extension for the work
shed to allow for shaded outdoor workspace,
a small pump house for the well pump, and a
rancho-style cover for the water tank.
Additional fruit, nut, and spice trees will
be planted this rainy season, along with
giant bamboo for construction and heart of
palm (palmito).
Observations made on site included: finding
several large “hands” of bananas (not yet
ripe) on the banana plants that were planted
just one year ago. The old mango trees down
by the corral were also loaded with fruit,
and Lauren and Zane from Oregon, along with
Al were treated to some exceptional tree
ripened mangos. Other interesting happenings
included finding an exotic “mot-mot” tail
feather, as well as an enormous fresh water
shrimp claw (think ceviche) down along the
river.
Perhaps the biggest news obtained on the
trip was that the local municipalities of
Naranjalitio and Maquenco got together with
the help of local school teacher Don
Alberto, and raised funds (FLB contributed)
to re-grade and gravel the entire road from
the pavement turn-off all the way to the
school adjacent to the finca – 70 loads of
“lastre” gravel in all!
Al also visited with finca worker Jose
Antonio at his home in the hills of nearby
Naranjal – what a lovely area and what good
company. Upon returning to the States, Al
and the team learned of the loss of Jose
Antonio’s father – our sincerest sympathy
goes out to Antonio and his family during
this difficult time.
Finally, on the day prior to Al’s departure
a very enjoyable afternoon was spent with
finca neighbor, Rapha Morales, his wife, and
three sons – all in from San Jose where
Rapha is still undergoing cancer treatments.
Rapha appears to be responding well to
treatment, and all were in good spirits. Al
even received a much appreciated tour of the
interior of the farmhouse built sixty years
ago by Rapha’s father – the wood is so hard
it is still in perfect condition. The
elements of design utilized in the structure
are fantastic, allowing for natural, passive
cooling and warming as needed.
The partners will be returning to Costa Rica
and the finca for the better part of July
(“little summer”). If you find yourself
heading in our direction at that time,
please be sure to contact us so we can plan
to get together.
Hasta Luego… |
