Happy New Year! From all of us here at Cloudbridge, we would like to wish you and your loved ones a prosperous 2026, filled with good health, laughter and many blessings. Looking back on the year that has just come to an end, Cloudbridge of course suffered a huge loss with the passing of long-time CFCA board member and Cloudbridge artist-in-residence Linda Moskalyk. However, there were also amazing highlights throughout the year, and in December we were honored to have both Cloudbridge founder Genevieve Giddy and long-time director Tom Gode share a small presentation with our program participants, about the early days of Cloudbridge. What a treat!
Most of the staff members of Cloudbridge Nature Reserve were able to participate in an end-of-year staff dinner at Sendero Los Gigantes. 2025 saw some new additions to our staff, most notably with Blanca Cejalvo in the position of executive director, and Olivier, who has joined the maintenance team. The manager of Los Gigantes, Mariana Hernández, is a dear friend of Cloudbridge and will be cooking for the Gatton groups who will be at the reserve in January. In addition to some great trails and delicious food, Sendero Los Gigantes also has some amazing views, though sometimes it can be hard to tell behind all the clouds : )
As is usual, our program participants had a lovely potluck Christmas dinner and seemed to greatly enjoy the holiday season, though for many of them it is one of the few years they have not been near their family during this special time. However, being in Costa Rica, surrounded by such beauty, certainly does have its perks : )
Some of the wildlife seen around the reserve this month include some frogs and snakes that our hospitality coordinator Anthony Garita was able to photograph, as well as a new ocelot that has been observed a couple of times on the camera traps : )
