Buenos Dias!

It’s Monday morning, and I am resurfacing after a fantastic weekend. On Friday I was preparing for guests to come spend the weekend here, but Saturday morning plans changed and my guests couldn’t make it. But just as quickly, new opportunities sprang up, and this weekend ended up being just what I needed. I am beyond thankful. I’ll explain more later, but it involves a long hike and hidden coffee bean trees…

I wanted to take some time to share a few projects Solin and I are working on at the Choza; day to day things that all add up to the big idea of what we’re doing here. Sometimes projects work out just like you planned, but sometimes they don’t. I am finding that my “to do” lists are generally too long, and that it’s good to relax and let some of that go. That way, when someone stops by to chat, or a project goes slower than you planned, you can still rest in the confidence that you put in a good day’s work. There is always something to be learned in the process, no matter how things go. So, with that said, here’s a little glimpse into our lives right now:

Solin’s soil

Solin is doing an incredible job on this farm. He calls it “strong, slow work”, and I can’t think of a better way to describe it. I have so much to learn from him! The other day, we were walking around and he stopped to check on some soil he’s been working on. A long time ago, this land was cleared for cattle grazing, and the soil has suffered tremendously. We are working on restoring it’s vitality in a number of ways, and this is a good example. On a the hill that slopes down from the house, he’s built a bamboo fence. Behind it, he layered plant matter like fallen leaves and trees, and scattered purchased microorganisms in the pile. Now, after some time, the little guys have done their work we have this incredibly rich soil! It will continue to rest for a while longer, but it’s gorgeous.

Painting

We have lots of windows here. Every day I open the whole house up and it’s glorious. One of my projects was to paint the windows that haven’t been painted yet because it’s beautiful and it helps the wood last longer. I am not much of an artist, but I love to create and I love design. I decided to do a chevron design on the windows, and really enjoyed painting in the evenings last week. I am mostly pleased with how it turned out. It feels like it’s missing a little something still, so I’ll keep adding to it, but it’s a good start.

Flower beds

The flower beds were one of the first projects I started when I got here. I figured it would take me two days at the most, and then I could cross it off my list. Instead, it has been one of those “be patient and wait” kind of things, and a good reminder that I have a lot to learn about this place. I certainly do not know how to landscape in the tropics yet. So, these past weeks I’ve been gathering ideas from neighbors’ farms, watching the beds to see how much sun they get, experimenting with different plants in the beds, and keeping an eye out for new plants that might work well. I think it’s going to turn out really lovely in the end.

Coffee

Yesterday I had the tremendous opportunity to hike down to some special coffee plants. There is a man in Zapaton, the town just up the road a few miles, whose name is Gerrardo and his is one of the remaining indigenous families in the area. He loves to share what he knows—it is really astounding stuff. A volunteer from the States lives with him, and they were taking a few other friends from a nearby farm, so I joined them.

We hiked for several hours through farms and pasture and dense rainforest, while Gerrardo pointed out edible and medicinal plants everywhere. Suddenly, we were standing in the middle of a thick patch of these coffee bean trees. Most cultivated coffee plants aren’t very big, but this variety grows high up on 20-foot, tall, skinny trees. It’s a variety that no one grows for commercial use, and I don’t believe anyone tends to these plants. They seemed to grow up out of nowhere, a treasure hidden in the forest. One has to bend the trees over to pick the berries off, which is difficult work in such a dense area. We picked for several hours, and it was a blast.

We split up our harvest, and I made it home last night with a few pounds of berries. I am so excited to add this little project to my list this week—drying, roasting, and grinding my own coffee! From mountain coffee plants!

This week I will be working on a few things. First, I will be focusing my Spanish study. It’s been a part of my daily routine for the last month, as I’m talking with people everyday, and I have come a long way already. But to continue to improve, more concentrated study is a must.  Second, I will be working to create some art for the bedrooms using some scrap wood and extra paint we’ve got lying around. I think they’ll end up being little painted scenes, and will hopefully brighten things up.

Aside from those big projects, I’ll be doing lots of the little things that make up life here—work on the farm, getting to know neighbors, cooking, reading, and more. It’s a pretty sweet time, and I’m growing to enjoy it more every day.

Until next week!

-Mariah