Lara's Blog Chapter Three

Chapter 3:

San Vito once more on my third week reunion. Greeted by the darkest clouds I've seen in days up on the hill after the 9km climb on the dirt road. The two boys (sixteen years old and from Sonoma) just arrived a few days ago. I've already become an old timer... At times I feel a bit like the nagging or annoyed-annoying older sister but it's hard to live in such close quarters and share everything all the time.

The Boys

Things get better and more intense by the week. I definitely feel settled in here which is great. I'm also a lot more covered in bug bites (the worst of which swell up my eyes for a few days) and a couple more bee stings. I've gone on a beautiful horseback ride with the other gringo in town, Willy, and took a brief two-day trip with Jim and Keli to the beach near Uvita and Dominical, which was beautiful. We were the only ones on a perfect beach. It looks a lot like Hanalei bay in Kauaii. We covered ourselves in sand, tried surfing, collected pink and purple shells, ate good friend plantain, fish, and homemade ice cream.

Pineapple plants

This morning I planted two rows of pineapple “hijos” (the baby shoots that grow around the mother plant) and helped Raul clear the “monte“- giant brush-weeds to expand the garden.
The chilies and tomatoes came up, I harvested some cucumber and learned how rice is grown by visiting our neighbor's property across the river. I'm learning about the seasons, the crops, the little tricks about the local plants and planting from the passing neighbors and workers, and even the kids. We made sugar and it was amazing: pressing the cane to make cane sugar juice and then boiling it in a large cauldron for hours with a big fire oven underneath. the dulce (brown cane sugar) and the miel (soft, honey-like dulce) are a daily dessert.  

Kids on sugar!

 

                    Boiling Cauldron of Sugar Cane Juice

I'm eating very well. I walked more than 6 km through ´die Pampa,´ as we like to say in German, to buy two dozen eggs... and of course I got loaded up with corn bread and avocados. It's the season for avocados and I think all the locals are worried we’re running out of food so we are gifted them by the dozens as well.

When we are low on food it's time for some food gathering. And I actually feel a bit like an animal foraging when we enter the forest with a horse and some rope and empty sacks, machetes and bamboo poles. Yesterday we got plantains, quadradoes (basically fat bananas), bananas, pejibaye and bread fruit nuts. And of course we indulged in some chocolate fruit while walking through the cacao plantation. It gets me high. I'm telling you, it's the best thing I've ever eaten. And of course the “morpho” butterflies are totally out of control in there with a wingspan of at least 5 inches and phosphorescent, or at least iridescent, colors - purple, blue, green.

Okay, so these are the highlights. Of course there's also lots of muck, snakes, cockroaches, blisters and mold around too, but that’s all overshadowed for me. Thank goodness.