Rancho Mastatal is an environmental learning and sustainable living center, retreat, and lodge located in the last virgin rainforest of Costa Rica's Puriscal County. Rancho Mastatal practices and promotes living responsibly in the tropics, while educating its visitors about the significance and majesty of the world's disappearing tropical forests. The site encompasses 500+ acres of picture-perfect waterfalls, crystal-clear rivers, and impressive trees in the transition zone between very wet and pre-montane rainforest in one of Costa Rica's most undiscovered regions. The property shares a significant border with the splendid La Cangreja National Park, a protected area providing habitat for a number of endangered animals and flora, and containing some 2,000 plant species and varied fauna. Rancho Mastatal maintains 19-kilometers of rainforest trails, connecting to a network of footpaths in La Cangreja.

On site and in the community, they build using natural techniques, including the use of bamboo and cob, and support the use of renewable energy systems. In their ongoing commitment to education and instruction, they organize and sponsor a wide array of workshops ranging from alternative design and construction to Wilderness First Response Certification, and work with schools in both the United States and Costa Rica in offering customized educational programs on rainforest ecology, Latin culture, and Spanish and English as a second language. Rancho Mastatal welcomes volunteers, graduate students, interns, and all others in search of a memorable and unique tropical experience.

Our schedule is designed to give you time to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and people of Mastatal. We take a two-hour lunch/siesta/swimming break in the middle of each day. And we take the middle day of the workshop off from studying and projects, to go on
recreational or cultural trips in the area.

Our past groups have experienced an educational, exciting, and inspiring time while having fun with a great group of people. If you need more information about the workshop program, contact ian@solarenergy.org.

Click here to see photos of the 2006 workshop in Costa Rica.

Don't miss this great opportunity to learn about renewable energy applications for the developing world! Join us for an educational eco-vacation that you won't forget. We hope to see you in Costa Rica in January! Download a complete lodging and logistics packet

Lodging & Food at Rancho Mastatal

Rancho Mastatal is providing lodging and food packages for SEI workshop students. Lodging options include all meals (primarily vegetarian, and sumptuous), and are for a minimum of 8 nights (Sunday night January 20 through Monday morning January 28). Longer stays on either end can be arranged with advanced notice. Accommodations, except for campers, include linens.
For rates for this program, including all meals, please go to
http://www.ranchomastatal.com/pages/links/page.php?Grouping=Accommodations&PageName=rooms.
Available accommodations for the workshop are at Jeannie's House, the Maine House, and Leo's.

Apart from the above options, we can arrange for you to stay with a local family for 1-2 nights
during the middle of your visit at an additional cost of $10 per night.  Rancho Mastatal works
with a number of local families to offer homestay opportunities for those that want to see,
firsthand, how the wonderful people of Mastatal live.  Students taking advantage of the
opportunity to stay with families have the chance to work on their Spanish, eat traditional "tico" cuisine, and live, at least for a few days, as the locals do. This is an incredible chance to
participate in a cultural exchange, while helping a local family to generate some additional
income. Accommodations are comfortable, yet more rustic than at the Ranch.  Students interested in
this opportunity would eat dinner, sleep and eat breakfast with their host families before coming
to the Ranch at approximately 8:30 a.m. for the beginning of class.  Please let us know if you
would like us to arrange a homestay for you as part of your experience in Mastatal.

We will do our best to accommodate your requests at the time of booking.  Please see our website
at http://www.ranchomastatal.com for much more information. Please note that the folks at the Ranch can only check email every 2 weeks, so please make your reservations well before the beginning of the workshop.


Travel
All travel to and from the workshop site at Rancho Mastatal is the responsibility of the individual student. Reasonable airfares from the United States to San José can be found from a variety of Web sites, airlines, and travel agents.

Travel by public bus within Costa Rica is very inexpensive, but you must allow a day to get from one place to another. Renting a car is an option, but it is relatively expensive. We will be happy to connect you with other students if you want to try to arrange carpools or share a rental car, but we encourage you to get into the spirit of the country and the workshop by traveling as the locals do.

We recommend that you fly into San José on Saturday, Januray 19, at the latest. This will allow you to recover from your flight, spending the night near San Jose. Then you can travel to Rancho Mastatal on Sunday, arriving in time to get comfortable and be ready for the start of the workshop at 9 AM on Monday. Directions from San José to Mastatal can be found on a separate sheet in this packet.

The Juan Santamaría International Airport, Costa Rica's main airport and where most international flights arrive, is located near the town of Alajuela. We think that it is most convenient, pleasant, and safe to not go into San Jose (15 kilometers away) for lodging after arriving to Costa Rica. There are a number of modestly priced places to stay near the airport, and Alajuela is arguably a nicer city than San José. Many hotels in Alajuela provide airport pick-ups and breakfast.

Lodging en Route to Rancho Mastatal
We have updated the below information to the best of our ability, but would recommend that you double check all information with the hotel before booking, since prices and other information can and do change frequently. A few recommendations for Alajuela and San José are below.

Alajuela (near airport)

• Hampton Inn, 011 (506) 443-0043, 0800-426-7866 (toll free in Costa Rica), fax 011 (506) 442-9532, in the USA 800-426-7866, hampton@sol.racsa.co.cr, ½ kilometer east of the airport terminal on the old road to San Jose (next to Hotel Mango). American-style hotel with pool. Not a lot of charm, but clean and has all of the amenities. Planes fly right over hotel. $75-95 for a double. Transportation to and from airport and breakfast included. In our opinion, expensive for what it is.
  
• Hostel Mi Tierra, 011 (506) 441-1974, 011 (506) 830-3718, hotelmitierracr@hotmail.com, www.mitierra.com, Av. 2, between Calle 3 and Calle 5. We have never stayed here, but have had past guests recommend it. Moderate prices.
  
• Hotel Mango, 011 (506) 443-1200, fax 011 (506) 440-0808, mango@racsa.co.cr, ½ kilometer east of the airport terminal on the old road to San Jose. Nice place. Clean with all of the amenities. Great swimming pool. Planes sometimes fly right over hotel. Pleasant people. $75-85 for a double. Transportation to and from airport and breakfast included.
  
• Los Volcanes Hotel, 011 (506) 441-0525, fax 011 (506) 440-8006, hotellosvolcanes@hotmail.com, Av. 3, between Calles Central and 2, in front of the Juan Santamaría Museum. One of the better, moderately priced hotels in the area. Has some charm. Old house. $45 for a double. Transportation to and from airport and breakfast included. Nice folks. Please let them know that we sent you. Downtown Alajuela.
  
• Mango Verde, 011 (506) 441-7116, telfax 011 (506) 443-5074, cell 011 (506) 391-2177, mirafloresbb@hotmail.com, 50 meters west of the Juan Santa Maria Museum. Decent budget choice. OK rooms. $10-12 for a single. $20-25 for a double.
  
• Villa Real Hostel, 011 (506) 441-4022, Av. 3, between Calle 2 and Calle 4. One of the cheapest places in town. $9-11 per person for shared room.
  
• The Dragonfly Inn, 011 (506) 443-4152, dragonflyservices@yahoo.com, www.dragonflyinncr.com, La Trinidad de Autos San Marino, 25 meters south, 25 meters east. Charming bed and breakfast. $30.00 for a single, $40 for a double.
  

• Costa Rica Backpackers Hostel, 011 (506) 221-6191, fax 011 (506) 222-0588, info@costaricabackpackers.com, www.costaricabackpackers.com, Avenida 6, Calle 21 and 23, ½ block east from the northeast corner of the Supreme Court building. Good bang for the buck. Free Internet. Kitchen facilities. Swimming pool. Free tea and coffee. Hot showers. $8 for bed in dorm. Doubles $19.
  
• Hostel Pangea, 011 (506) 221-1992, 011 (506) 396-0364, hostel@email.com, www.hostelpangea.com, 6 blocks north from Plaza de la Cultura, Central Avenue. Free calls to USA and Canada. Breakfast included in price. Free Internet. Free storeroom. Hot showers. Full kitchen. TV Cable. Great budget choice. $9 per person.
  
• Hotel Aranjuez, 011 (506) 256-1825, fax 011 (506) 223-3528, info@hotelaranjuez.com, www.hotelaranjuez.com, Calle 19, Avenidas 11 and 13, 25 meters south of the Santa Teresita Church. Singles/double without bath US$21/22, with bath US$26/33 or US$28/36. Rates include breakfast. Good value. Rooms have phones. Friendly hosts.
  
• Hotel Don Carlos, 011 (506) 221-6707, fax 011 (506) 255-0828, Email: reservations@doncarloshotel.com, www.doncarloshotel.com. Simple but clean and recommended.
  
• Tranquilo Backpackers, 011 (506) 223-3189, 011 (506) 355-5103, www.tranquilobackpackers.com. From the Holiday Inn, ¼ block north on Calle 7. Hot showers, laundry service, mixed dorms, live music, Internet access. Dorms $7. Single $11. Double $17.