The Eagle’s Nest or El Nido, is getting a new top. A palm thatched hut on the ocean may be romantic, but it does have a down side… it doesn’t last forever, We started seeing some wear this year and if you stayed there in the summer rains, you may have experienced a bit of that rain on the inside. So a call went out to Candillo, our master palapa craftsman and he got us on his schedule. I don’t mean just his work schedule, but also the harvesting schedule. We are using Royal Palms for this palapa.
When it comes to having to buy products in containers, we encourage aluminum and metal cans. There is actually a place in Puerto Vallarta that recycles. After a fair amount has gathered in the recycling bins, we give the bounty to a local woman who takes the metal to town and she gets the cash for the stash. Make sure you rinse everything out, the raccoons will get into ANYTHING!!
As you may guess, plastic is one of the most prolific products that we have to deal with in Yelapa. Because all the trash has to boated out, we are constantly trying to figure creative ways to deal with all the plastic that comes in. At this writing Mexico does not have a system in place for plastic recycling. We, however, just received this bit of information from Kendra Gracia:
Plastic Recycling through Vallarta Adventures: Plastic recycling pick up is every Monday around 10:30 AM at the town pier and around 1:30 PM at Rogelio’s on the beach. These times are approximate as Vallarta Adventures picks up plastic at the town pier when they drop their tourists off and picks up plastic at Rogelio’s when they pick up their tourists to bring them back to Puerto Vallarta. Separate your plastic and bring it to the closest pick up point to help keep Yelapa beautiful! And please spread the word!
NOTE: Vallarta Adventures does not sell our plastic. They have agreed to carry away our plastic for no charge and no party involved in this program incurs any financial gain from the arrangement.
We continue to encourage our guests to bring their own refillable water bottles…we have wonderful filtered water.
Summer interns Katie and Spenser are going to get first hand experience in the art of creative recycling. We have just purchased a super duper glass bottle cutter. The plan is to use as many glass bottles for our glasses, candle holders and wind chimes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydwV_dj-UKs
With the summer rains, the gardens are growing like crazy. Summer Intern, Doris, has been thrown into the thick of things as Rocky directs her to the unruly bushes that just keep growing…no matter how many times we cut them back. Thanks Rocky and Doris for holding down the fort this summer.
Because Yelapa is subject to a very wet season and a very dry season, we are committed to collecting rain during the wet season to supplement our irrigation during the dry season as to not over tax the existing underground streams and rivers. Grey water systems are also being set up for irrigation use.
The idea is to trellis the hillside to minimize the damage from erosion. Dead palm branches and 
tree limbs are being stacked across the steep raveens to lessen the impact of summer rains washing down the hill. Plants with extensive root systems are being planted at the edge of the terraces to retain soil. Edible landscaping is part of the design to provide fresh fruits for our guests.
There is a marvelous stand of bamboo in the back of the property. We are committed to restoring 
the stand to a healthy, productive grove of diverse bamboo. Andrew Huffstutler, one of our great volunteers, is shown here working in one of the old growth stands.
By adding composting toilets we are able to lower the amount of waste in the septic tank. We 
have installed two toilets so far.
