Book Review by Hans Pfister

On my Nature Air flight back from Lapa Rios recently, I continued to read the book “Hot, Flat, and Crowded” by Thomas Friedman.  What a great book.  It has had me captivated for a few weeks now and is truly eyeopening and inspiring.   I totally recommend this to anybody interested in Sustainability.  But then again, EVERYBODY should read this book.   There was a passage that called my attention since I had just spent a few days at Lapa Rios. 

 

On page 372, he talks about his experience with a nature guide in the Peruvian Rainforest.  I quote him:  “… we had a remarkable indigenous guide named Gilbert.  He always led the way.  He carried no phone.  No binoculars.  No iPod.  No radio.  He did not suffer from a disease of the modern age, “continuous partial attention – always trying to do ten tasks at once.  Just the opposite.  He was always and only paying attention to what was happening around him. “ 

I am sure we can all relate to this.  And how refreshing it is to see that there are still people that are completely in the now, not distracted by the next e-mail, voice message or appointment.  I cannot guarantee that you will have 100% of this kind of an experience at Lapa Rios, but if you want to, you can get very close.  No internet available for guests, no phones and computers allowed in the public areas and nature guides that will listen to every chirp, whistle, howl or crackle in the rainforest to look for animals on the tour. 

By the way, we recently had guests at Bungalow #14 see a Puma from their deck jump on a tree about 30 feet from them.  And it did not happen just once.  It happened two days in a row with different guests.  Amazing.  Check out Facebook page for news on this.  To be kept up-to-date on all the latest happenings at Lapa Rios, subscribe to our blog!

Cayuga's Family Day!

We had a 'Family Day' this past weekend! The Cayuga team and their families (dogs included!) unplugged for the day to join together at Ana Maria's (our Human Resources Coordinator) farm.  It was a fun day to reconnect and catch up with one another and everyone had a fun time!  Delicious food was prepared by Jose, Cayuga’s Executive Chef, as well as other team members which included ribs, fish and salads.  We also took a very nice walk along a river canyon.

The day also celebrated Jose and Marissa’s baby shower (just a few weeks left!) as well as Maria Laura’s “farewell” party as she is leaving Cayuga Corporate this August to join the Lapa Rios team as their Operations Manager.

It was a day of good food and family fun time!