A little history

Hello all! I thought my first post could be a bit of a history of our connection to Costa Rica and why we chose to come down. It's a very long history starting in the 90's for me, but we aren't going that far back:) 

In 2008, a dear friend of many, Stephen Brooks, called up a whole bunch of friends and told us he had found a property for sale. He wanted to get a group of friends together to purchase it. I knew many of the people from the U.S. that he had invited and knew there were many more from C.R. and other places too. I think in the end there were 28 people who joined. The pics below are a mix of times throughout the years:)

Our vision for the community read "The Tacotal Collective is a self-organizing community of individuals who have come together to create a land based home on a property alongside the Machuca river in Costa Rica where we can live. Our intention is to create a place for our members to gather, create family, build low impact homes, grow food, learn, share, entertain guests and create a sustainable lifestyle that is respectful to the land, each other and our local community as well as the world community as a whole. " That is directly from our constitution created at the very beginning. 

Over the years, some members have left and new ones have joined. It's been an ever growing and changing vision - with all the complicated ups and down that come with community building - and I have to say that I truly believe that all happens for a reason and in the time it should. I've watched the community grow and expand, morph and retract, and expand again. I feel such gratitude to be a part of it. 

Since the inception of Tacotal, I have been coming yearly, with very few years missed, to be here for the annual meetings and to spend time on the land. There were lots of times that Adam could come with and once Ayden and Eli were born, they started coming too. 

Each visit, each stay, we would have the opportunity to get to know the land more deeply.  We would visit our lot, which changed over the years, but did not get to know it too deeply because of time restraints and other commitments. We would practice our Spanish, get to know our local towns, spend time with the community and grow further and further in love with all of it. But all of the visits were always too short. 2 weeks here, maybe 3 weeks or a month in the beginning. Always leaving us with the want of more. 

So about 3 years ago we started talking about the possibility of coming down for a year. We wanted to do it during middle school time for the kids, which feels like a good time to shake things up. It also came at a time where Adam and I were ready for another adventure. We discovered we could make it work with telehealth for jobs and the possibility slowly became a reality. We want to practice Spanish daily, send our kids to local schools, spend more time with friends and really understand our property through the seasons. We feel we can then truly envision what this land can be for us in the future, what we would want to build. 

I've been asked a whole lot whether we left because of the how things are going in our own country. And it may seem like that timing wise, but that isn't it for us. That part is coincidental. Our intention is to return to Charlottesville. What's happening right now in the US is scary and super messed up. We recognize how privileged we are at this time to be able to do this.. it's a complicated feeling that I am trying to work through. 

I'm hoping with the time we have here, which is so much slower moving, that it gives us the time to really reflect. On what it all means. How we can find joy, intention, gratitude and mindfulness in our daily lives and with each other... while continuing to be engaged and fight for what some are trying to take away, the equitable rights for ALL humans to live lives that are authentic, safe, secure and healthy. Rights that should not be only for the privileged. 

We hope that some of you will come to visit:) The universe has truly been showing us that the road we chose was a good one, despite all the feelings that came up while taking the leap! We don't have a space on our property where we can live yet, though we have landed in a magical place, living with local families on a farm. We have an extra bedroom and a pool ready for you! 

Sending much love to all and thanks for reading!