Where
Puerto Jimenez,
Costa Rica
Language
English and Spanish. All activities and instruction translated to English, with opportunity to practice Spanish
Perfect for
Solo travelers or families looking for a rich and meaningful social experience, with shared meals, workshops and excursions
7-night Immersion
Sample Itinerary
SUNDAY - Welcome dinner and opening
MONDAY - Farm tour and history, beach trip
TUESDAY - "Humans In The Jungle" hiking tour with Danger, local cooking workshop
WEDNESDAY - Woodworking, bioluminescence kayak tour
THURSDAY - Woodworking continued, medicinal plant tour with Lis
FRIDAY - Horseback riding, night wildlife tour with Emma
SATURDAY - Community farmer's market, beach bonfire dinner
Join us for a 7-night immersion with all meals, transportation, and activities included. Lean back into nature-based living with expert guides sharing their wisdom and lifestyle.
Experience all of our tours and our favorite activities in the area, with plenty of time for rest, beach and a creative project. Join us for family style meals in a small community setting, including a barbecue at the beach your last night!
No need for a vehicle, we'll pick you up from town and take you everywhere you need to go.​
Private accommodation
Open-air cabin
$900
Shared accommodation
House or apartment
$600
Why here?
Welcome to the jungle--a pulsating vortex of healthy ecosystem--a living model of cooperation, complexity, abundance, and rapid death/rebirth cycles. The Osa Peninsula is home to some of the most untouched nature on Earth, hosting 2.5% of the world's biodiversity. On our property you will see everything from ants to monkeys to toucans, all playing their role in an interconnected world. As humans the jungle requires of us that we play our role too. Far from a sanitized version of reality, we will drop you right into the action, supported by humans who know how to live in harmony and mutual respect with the jungle. It is a raw and real environment, where falsehood doesn't stand a chance. The jungle will challenge you, comfort you, hold your yells and your shakes and your tears like no other. The nature here feels like a benevolent supportive teacher, and the hosts of El Cerrito offer the space as a sanctuary and an experimental learning space. We invite you to experience this potent medicine field!
Why an immersion?
We believe in slow, ethical travel with participants rather than spectators. We believe retreats can go so much deeper when you drop into the on-the-ground reality of the place you're visiting. In a local immersion, you can get a sense of the social and cultural context, meet the community, and become a part of our way of life. You'll see neighbors stop by to gift us fruit when they have extra, and join in the bounty. You'll see your hosts change their plans on a dime when a community member needs help, and you'll have opportunities to contribute your skills too. You'll hear stories of the pain and the miracles of this vibrant and quirky small town, and create new stories of your own. Rather than just theorizing about what it's like to live off-grid in tune with nature, let your body make the transition, learning to wake up with the monkeys and slow down with the sunset. Here you can turn future fantasies into realities...have you always wanted to harvest your own vegetables, or build your own furniture? This is not a dress rehearsal--when you're in the jungle, the time is now. What will you make? How will you walk? Who will you be in the wild? Let the jungle show you the magic of a different way of being, embodied and lasting.
Why us?
Feel what it's like to be held by an all-star team. We have hosted many years of laughter and tears and shedding and transformation here, and we're honored to share this unique experience with you! You can expect humility, generosity, some healthy nudges out of your comfort zone, and open arms that feel like home the moment you arrive.
Lis
Lis is a healer in profession, character and lifestyle. She has trained formally in physiotherapy and massage, and studied with indigenous tribes across Latin America. She tends the community through massage and herbal medicine, all sourced from her garden and the surrounding jungle. She can make you a remedy for any ailment. And, she is a maternal figure whose well-timed hugs are their own medicine. She is a role model of what being a medicine person looks like in full form: tending the land, teaching what you know, and creating sanctuary.
Danger
Danger grew up on this land and built all the structures on the property, including the wells we drink from. Raised in an agricultural family that traveled on horseback and carried drinking water up from the creek, he is a keeper of wisdom and full of incredible stories. Aside from a talented natural builder and craftsman, he is an incredible teacher and has guided many visitors through their first experience with woodwork or other hands-on work with patience, encouragement and grace. He is the king of resourcefulness, using materials from the land in genius and lasting ways. Come step into a universe in which nature provides the raw materials and we get to use them to create, led by a master of his craft.
Akerah
Akera is one of the co-founders of El Cerrito, having apprenticed for many years with Lis, Danger and the land. She is a dedicated student of nature and the body. In her free time she organizes connective events for the queer community that combine touch, structural change and vegetables. She will help you prepare for trip, and be on deck for anything you may need while you're with us.
