NPHG gets a new wave of volunteers in January and July of every year, so we had just received a group of newbies last month. Traditionally, the old and new volunteers go away for a weekend to spend time together and get to know each other a little better. When I was new, we went to the beach in Monterrico. This time though, we headed to a place called Earth Lodge, an avocado farm up in the mountains about a half hour outside of Antigua.
Overall, it was a really great weekend. I had seen appealing flyers for Earth Lodge throughout the year, so I was thrilled to be going at all, let alone with so many great people. We got to get reallyyyyy close... because 8 of us (about half the group) were crammed into the super tiny dormitory! ;)
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| ittttty bittttty living space |
What I did that weekend was basically a lot of... nothing. Earth Lodge is a place to relax, chill, and hang out. I spent a lot of time soaking up the sun in a hammock with a book. Mixed in with the quiet time were lots of good conversations, card games, and DELICIOUS food. Seriously, the food was fantastic and almost entirely vegetarian. Let me tell you, the avocados from the farm were superbbb. I felt healthy, full, and happy with life.
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| logging hours for mandatory "hammock time" |
All the great food and comfy hammocks aside, I think my favorite part of Earth Lodge was the view. Perched high up in the hills, Earth Lodge looks out over the Antigua valley, which is decked out with volcanoes on each side. It was pretty nice, especially first thing in the morning while the sky was still clear. Given our spectacular vantage point, we could even see the plumes of smoke from when Volcan Pacaya erupted one morning while we were there. Cool, dude, real cool.
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| the view. niiiice. |
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| watching the volcano erupt |
The weekend was quiet, relaxing, and peaceful. It was also a great opportunity to spend time with the other volunteers. All in all, I was very satisfied with our trip to Earth Lodge. And with that, I can add another thing to the "been there, done that" list!
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