Introductions- the new managers

Hola a todos! We’re Arthur and Matt, the new managers here at Reserva Las Tangaras. We’d like to open our first blog post by thanking Jason and Tasia for being such wonderful hosts, teachers, and friends.

Their hard work has set us up for success. The Reserve is in great shape, and we’re planning on continuing to improve off of the great foundation they’ve laid. We learned more than we thought possible in a three day period, shared lots of laughs, and surprisingly had one of the best cheeseburgers of our lives in the middle of the Andean Cloud Forest. Jason and Tasia, you rock.

Moving on to a quick introduction. We are lifelong friends who grew up as neighbors on the Jersey Shore. We have a shared love of nature, problem solving and adventure, and have lots of experience traveling and working together.

Arthur has a background in biology, as well as wilderness guiding and first aid. His favorite food is banana cream pie. Matt has experience in engineering, construction management and renewable energies. His favorite food is mac and cheese, with a lot of parmesan. 

We’re beyond excited to have the opportunity to protect and maintain this beautiful forest. Everything’s so green! We love being greeted in the morning by familiar hummingbirds, and spending the day surrounded by thriving biodiversity. Reserva Las Tangaras is a true gem for birdwatching and nature lovers alike. 

The dry season is starting to show its buds, with more sunny days as the weeks go on. We are prioritizing clearing out the trails to and around swimming holes on the property for guests to enjoy and soak up the incoming sunshine. We of course make sure to test each swimming hole and cascade for swimmability after clearing the trails.

Every day so far has been an adventure. Finding new beautiful corners of the reserve, spotting new birds, plants or insects and identifying them using the lodge’s library, or coming up with creative ways to solve problems unique to remote cloud forest living. 

We officially feel like experts on gravity-fed water systems, after an arduous battle setting up and maintaining the dry season water source. The time spent hiking and climbing soaking wet was worth it though. Poland Spring couldn’t hold a candle to what we’ve got going over here.

Also: Birding is awesome! We came into this with an appreciation for nature and wildlife, but not specifically birding. We’re hooked. We find ourselves getting into arguments about bird identification, gluing ourselves to the hummingbird feeders and freaking out if we see a new bird. We have already learned to identify all of the hummingbirds that visit the feeders, thanks to the handy guidebook at the lodge, and it is great share the excitement of discovering rare or new birds that come to feed with a good friend! We’re excited to be in the perfect place to continue to cultivate this new passion and share it with guests and researchers alike. 

All for now! We’ll check back in after another month of green, birds, and most likely wrestling with the water line. Hasta Pronto!