Costa Rica | Artistic Workshop with Mindy Lighthipe

Upon arrival in San José meet your guide and transfer to your hotel. Greet Mindy and your fellow travelers over an introduction slide show of Mindy's art created from her years of travel in Costa Rica. Have dinner at the hotel this evening. Check in starts at 3:00 pm.

After breakfast attend a slide show lecture by Mindy. Next, depart for the Toucan Rescue Ranch, home to rescued birds and animals such as toucans, a variety of parrots, macaws, owls, two toed and three toed sloths, and kinkajous. This is a unique opportunity to see conservation and rehabilitation of rainforest animals up close and personal. After an orientation and tour of the facility, spend the afternoon drawing and photographing animals and birds. There will be a boxed lunch at Toucan Rescue Ranch provided by Sibú. In the afternoon, return to Hotel Bougainvillea for a walk in the garden before dinner this evening at the hotel.

After breakfast attend a slideshow presentation on orchids then depart for La Catalina Jardin Botanico. Visit with grower and expert on the native orchids of Costa Rica, Randall Obsney. He will educate you about his native orchid plant collection at its peak blooming time! After lecture and trail hike there will be time to paint orchids. Have lunch at La Catalina then depart for Selva Verde. The extensive grounds of Selva Verde include a 500 acre rainforest reserve. Upon arrival, check in and settle in.

After breakfast take a guided walk in the gardens, then spend some time painting or drawing Heliconias. Have lunch then spend the afternoon drawing and painting. Before dinner attend an Introduction to Birdwatching lecture. After dinner embark on a nocturnal frog hike.

After an early breakfast, head out to CopeArte, the home of a local artist/photographer. "Cope" is the pseudonym of José Pérez. He is a self-taught artist and amateur photographer with a great love for nature; a simple and humble person without professional academic training, but with enormous innate talent. Cope will demonstrate his painting technique of painting birds in acrylic. His property is designed to maximize opportunities for birding and photography, and features ponds that attract aquatic species as well as blinds from which visitors can photograph birds despite weather conditions. Enjoy lunch on site. Afterward, return to Selva Verde and have time to relax or work on drawing cocoa pods.

This morning, attend a slide presentation by Mindy on Butterfly Anatomy. Visit Pierella Garden, the home of Crystal & William. In 1995 they took bare land and created a rainforest oasis. They are reclaiming the rainforest. True conservationists and ecologists they raise butterflies for many of the butterfly houses around the world. This is sustainable farming and requires a pristine and diverse rainforest ecosystem. Beyond learning the lifecycle of butterflies and seeing so many varieties in their stages of development, spend the day drawing and painting from this stunning live collection. Have lunch then continue drawing and painting this afternoon at the garden. Return to Selva Verde for dinner.

Early morning optional bird walk and photography around the reserve with your guide. The avifauna of Selva Verde is abundant, and feeding stations have been set up around the lodge to facilitate observation and identification of the many species that frequent the area. After breakfast, spend the morning painting or take a walk with Pedro in the reserve. After lunch at Selva Verde, enjoy a short walk to a local cocoa plantation. During the visit, learn about the artisanal process where the cacao fruit is transformed into chocolate, starting with harvest, fermentation, and drying, and ending with the grinding of the dried seeds into cocoa powder.

Early morning optional bird walk and photography around the reserve with Pedro. After breakfast, take a boat ride on the Sarapiquí River for a chance to photograph the wildlife and wading birds that flock to the riverbank. Return to Selva Verde for lunch and then head to La Finca, an eco-farm and macaw rescue, for the opportunity to take close up photos and experience endangered macaws that are semi wild and free to come and go as they please. Tonight enjoy a farewell to Selva Verde pizza party on the lodge's river patio.

Depart Selva Verde this morning and head back to San José. En route stop at Sibú Chocolate for a tour and lunch. Sibú is located in the cloud forest overlooking the mountains of Costa Rica's Central Valley. During the visit learn about the history of chocolate and how Sibú has created a sustainable business utilizing a local organic cacao plantation. Enjoy a chocolate "tasting" as part of the experience. In the evening attend a farewell slide show and dinner at the hotel.

Transfer to the airport for your flight home. Check out is at noon, but the hotel will store luggage for later departures.