Lara's Blog Chapter One

Chapter One:

Coming down into the Valley

So, this is my first afternoon in the town of San Vito, which is to say that I actually don't even live in this small village, nor in the still smaller village of Sabanillas nearby, but rather down the hill 9 kilometers on a wild dirt and mud road across a few creeks deep down into a mountainous or hilly valley. We don't even live in El Valle, but Bonanza. That's right: Bonanza. That all came after the 6 hour bus ride south from San Jose, a taxi ride, lots of waiting, and two flights. and so far I like it. There's definitely some adjusting going on, but actually I feel like I just got completely transported into another world and time so that the “transitioning” out of school and into summer has been jump started after just a week at home. During the day my thoughts are pretty diverted by all the bright colors, fresh fruits, the rain and slippy mud, and so many other things that it is only really at night that my normal world back at home and school can deeply sink in. And then, of course, I wake up totally astonished at the clanging hammers, loud Spanish TV, wild loud bird sounds, humid air and a big white mosquito net around me.

I live in the old farmhouse which is bright blue and turquoise. there is also the “church” which is where the kitchen is and where I do some of my hanging out, especially at night because it's buggy and dark everywhere else. Writing all this feels weird and makes me feel like I'm not actually here anymore. Internet, computer. I have no watch and only minimal electricity at the farm but its great that way. I've been sort of touring the farm and learning the ropes for the last few days and tomorrow the real work will begin. I'm to be the head of the garden—a big responsibility which makes me nervous but also excited. We pretty much grow everything we eat here so I have real pressure to produce some juicy veggies. Even the coffee we drink, the beans, the rice, the milk (and cheese! --I've already made yogurt, ricotta and a sort of feta) are all from this farm or the neighbors'. Today we dropped off the coffee beans for de-husking and roasting and grinding and then collected empty husks and sawdust for our worm box and compost. I'm going to have to start the compost system...in the tropics? One thing I've found shocking is the incredible speed at which everything rots, decays and grows here! It is unbelievable. The bananas, for example, ripen by the hour. yummy. And they are everywhere.

And a perk I totally did not anticipate is that Keli is a yoga teacher so we do a session every afternoon when the rains come. And the other is that it's only a mile and half walk down to the river to go swimming--and over a rickety suspension bridge very near its end...

Yoga studio

Okay this is getting long. Basically all you need to know is that I've now chopped down a banana tree with a machete in the forest, eaten many strange fruits that I've never heard of before, will be making chocolate soon, and sucked on my first sugar cane. I go to bed at 8 pm and wake up at 5:30 am. It feels totally normal to rise with the sun. By 10 I feel ready for an afternoon nap.

Keli on the public "road"