La Carolina Lodge

La Carolina Lodge is a rustic, relaxing, environmentally enriching resort that gives people the opportunity to be in wildlife and nature. It is a self-sustaining lodge situated on a very large farm. The food at La Carolina Lodge is grown on the farm. There is minimal electricity, so dinner is by candlelight. The spring fed water comes from the mountains and is drinkable.

Lucia, Don't Pick The Flowers!

Tired, hungry, and in desperate need of a bathroom, we finally arrived at La Carolina Lodge. The last seven kilometers felt like it took 100 hours to drive. The road to the lodge was rocky and we had to drive very slowly. I was thankful when we finally arrived and was greeted by one of the owners, Karien Harwell. She could tell we were hungry and tired and gave us a brief tour. 

The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the lodge. Lunch was a delicious spread of black beans, white rice, beef stew (browned chunks of beef floating in a caramel colored sauce), cabbage salad, fresh squeezed juices that shimmered like amber hued jewels and much more. I filled my plate with a little bit of everything.

My own bed, finally!

With a full stomach, I slumped my shoulders and headed to our room, collapsing onto my bed. It felt good to have my own bed again. For the past few weeks, I had been sharing a bed with Lucia, my youngest sister. Our room was in the main lodge. It resembled what I imagined a cabin room at sleep away camp would look like. The walls were made of wood planks, the windows had wooden shutters, there were three small beds, and one big one. The covers were red and above each bed hung mosquito netting. After digesting our lunch, we went down to the rocky river to swim. I dipped my foot in the rushing water. It was as cold as ice.  So cold, my ears hurt when I went under water.  The rushing water created white foam and the current was so strong, I felt my body pulled toward the jagged rocks at the far end of the waterfall. After that, I went to the wood burning hot tub. 

The Rocky River

Dinner was by candle light. It was dark and there was little electricity. We had rice, beans, and fried chicken. The beans and rice had been grown on the farm, as well as the yummy fried chicken we were having for dinner. For dessert, I ate a 100% farm-made lemon cream pie!

Candlelight Dinner

Early the next morning we climbed a hill to milk cows. If you milked cows then the (cocineras) ladies in charge of the kitchen, would make the best chocolate milk in the universe. When we entered the barn, we were welcomed by baby cows mooing and stomping their hooves. We were separated from the hungry calves as the cows were led into the barn. Milking the cows was messy and fun even though I wasn't able to get much milk out of the utters. For the rest of our stay I had warm chocolate milk three or more times a day!

Are these utters?

Yummy hot chocolate....

We were amply warned about the horses, but I was really looking forward to my second all-time horseback ride. The horses were rough and wild. My horse didn't listen to a single thing I was saying or doing. I could barely get my horse out of the barn. I was the only one riding alone as Ella paired with Mama and Lucia paired with Papa for safety. I was scared! The terrain was rocky and steep. I rode my horse for the entire hour-long ride. After the ride, I felt exhilarated, yet happy it was over. I wanted to sleep for hours listening to the water rushing past the lodge. 

Family horseback ride, before we started....

After lunch, I met some local children and played games at the outdoor yoga studio. Later, I was invited to a treehouse dinner by Bill and Karien's two sons. At dusk, we lit candles around the lodge and up to the treehouse. We spent the evening watching Loony Tunes. My dad came in bearing messages from other parents. It was time to go to bed. That was the end of the party for me.

Love you La Carolina Lodge!

The next day, we said a silent goodbye to La Carolina Lodge. I will always have precious memories of jungle treks by the river, delicious meals, dips in the river and the hot tub, hot chocolate, the friends I made, the wonderful staff, and my incredible horseback ride.