Costa Rica GREEN Program: Day 7 (1/14/14)

Tires, wine bottles, beer bottles, wooden logs, and concrete. The building supplies of a house. A self-made house. An artist’s house. After feeding us lunch, the restaurant owner had led us proudly through where much of the food was made: his back yard of chickens and pigs and composting worms and aquaculture ponds, amongst a back drop of wind turbines on the ridge and gorgeous views of water beyond fields of grain. He then led us to the entrance of a house, clearly still under construction, where his son took over. Light waned and waxed by the temperament of the clouds, casting new shadows onto the walls every few minutes. The house was at once beautiful and puzzling. Was someone actually trying to live here? Are these walls of glass and tires sturdy? Where did these materials come from? Why would anyone actually do this? But it was inviting and beautiful and comfortable. And who needs stability in paradise? Or maybe this is more stable than a house not built by your hands. And what’s the purpose of privacy if you own the surrounding acres and are nestled amongst tall trees? And god, that puppy is adorable. Can we stay just a little longer?