Well, here we are. One week has passed since we arrived in the country and let me tell you how amazing that week has been. last sunday shannon and i arrived in San Jose around 2:30 pm after two flights. we took a taxi to la musoc (a bus station) and rode the bus for three hours south to San Isidro Del General, Perez Zeledon. the sun set and it got foggy around 6 pm and we arrived in a downpour at the station in san isidro where Alana(one of our hosts) picked us up and brought us home on the winding dirt road that leads out to the farm. The closets town to the farm is called San Augustin but is very tiny. i think it is a town because it has a church in it, otherwise it is a 40 minute drive or hour+ bus ride into san isidro where we can get supplies and go to market. the bus picks us up at the farm at 6:20 and drops us back off around 3 just once a day. it is absolutely stupifying to see a tourbus drive up the steep ridges on a narrow bumpy dirt road. sometimes making 180 degree turns, sometimes up 45 degree inclines. they will often pass each other inches apart. Even some of the ticos(locals) get quieter at these points and that is what is really freaky.
The farm itself and the people on it are super awesome to say the least. the house where Jason and Alana live with the three kids Jangara, Baraka, and baby Cedar sits near the top of a ridge facing east towards town and has an enormous deck that overlooks the region. We can literally see for miles, including much of San Isidro (which is lit up beautifully at night) as well as the distant mountain range(including Costa Ricas highest peak). when you wake up for sunrise the land is lit up green and gold and it takes your breath away. Once the sun is out clouds condense below the level of the farm and it shrouds the valley and river between ridges and the foot of the mountains and after an hour or two the clouds rise above us(sometimes causeing a white out with a visibility of less than ten feet. this especially happens at night just after sundown). We are living in a remodeled schoolbus with beds, table and chairs, and a resident spider named Erv and i have been feeding him flies and moths. he is about the size of one of those old half dollars when his legs are spread. Another community member who is just building her house on the property named Desiree owns a hornless unicorn called athena. we are bonding with both of them. The work here is light so far, i have built a table and a couple shelves and done some planting and composting but the expectations are pretty low and we have been having fun while exceeding them. To say that we eat well is an enourmous understatement. Organic salads and fruits all the time. Jason is a spectacular cook. so far we have been able to find everything we need except my camera cord and that is why we have not posted pictures. hopefully soon. anyways my internet time is running out so i´ll leave aything else for next time.
Pura Vida,
Jesse
