The Bamboo House at Finca Ipe and a Little More

Jaw-dropping is the adjective that springs to mind when I try to describe the bamboo house at Finca Ipe. It's completely open to nature. The entire east side of the house is open. Only a very thin mesh keeps the rain and a few of the more stupid bugs out. Most of the bugs find there way in without much problem. We've got a couple of beautiful golden orb spiders in the kitchen for pest control and other than that it's long sleeves, pants and socks all the time for us. Any ways, back to the house. As the name says it´s a lot fof bamboo. Bamboo supports, wall decorations, tables and chairs, kitchen island and counter supports. And it is shrouded in trees on the edge of the farm. We live with the couple who helps run the farm, Derek and Tiffany. They´re from Colorado and Oklahoma (it´s crazy that they´re from OK and we´re always talking about our favorite restaurants and things). They were in the restaurant biz for 14 years before coming down to the farm and getting away from it all. They've got a 10 yr old son named Gabe who's full of energy and has a great imagination. We also live with Dave, a retiredish dude from Florida seeking some solitude.

From the bamboo house there are trails leading to the yoga hut, where we have yoga three times a week, and other houses. We have been spending a lot of time at the volunteer house lately. Two families of three live there along with Rachel. Rachel is from Canada, along with all the other volunteers there so everyone says hoos instead of house and things like that. We really hit it off with Rachel. She's just a couple years younger than us and she´s just out of college enjoying a trip around central/south america. She´s got a great sense of humor and we hang out all the time. We even went on a weekend trip last weekend with her to Manuel Antonio to check out the beautiful beaches and do some hiking in the tropical forest. We were liucky to see 3 sloths, a bunch of monkeys, a really cool cameleon and a cayman along with some very beautiful nature. Lately the three of us have been relaxing a lot in the evening over rum and cokes. A good way to end a long day.

In the pics you can see Rachel and Beth in the kitchen, a golden orb spider, Tiff making quayle eggs (so rich and you gotta each a bunch to get full. When I eat them I feel like the Flinstones. They´re white with purple blotches.), the goats and the snake that was in the kitchen rafters last week.