For some 4 or 5 years i have been attempting this journey to Ecuador. i always had a great feeling about it and the pictures of tropical paradise and rows and rows of banana plants made me long. i made it. and even better, we made it, i come with my sweet Summer love.
I am staying on a farm, a 45 minute walk from a sweet little pueblo called Tumianuma in the south of Peru, close to Vilcabamba. It is the farm experience in many ways that we all might imagine.
Upon first arrival, Summer and I were shood away so that Tina could kill a chicken for lunch. Its the real deal. I started apprenticing on milking cows with my favorite farm hand, Carlos and another volunteer, Neta from Israel. Let me just say that there is something very odd and uncomfortable about pulling on a cow´s teet. But I am two days in to that. It is the first thing in the morning after feeding the chickens. And yesterday on day two, I got it. At first my competition with Carlos on the other side was going poorly, the saddest stream you could ever see was all I could get. But by day two, I could have shot Carlos´s ojos out with the pressure i was getting. Alright, a little exaggeration...but pretty good non the less. A few tips in case you are ever in a life or death milking situation, put a little milk already squeezed out on to the teet and it helps relax so that you can squeeze out more. also, it is not just squeeze motion but a squeeze and pull down motion.
In the late afternoon all of us volunteers grab long bamboo poles and chase the chickens back in to their coop.
Lately because it is a 9 day holiday here in Tumbianuma, the adorable chef sylvia is on vacation, unfortunately or fortunately for us because we have been in charge of the lunches which are the biggest meal of the day. There has been anywhere from 5 to 15 people for lunch and you usually have to make for at least an assumed 10 or so. We all sit around a large homemade wooden table with an awning outside. It has been mostly Summer, or me or Neta or any combo of the three hat have been making the lunches. We start right after breakfast our preperations. There is yucca grown on the farm amongst lettuce but as of right now most of the rest is brought in on horseback in large bulk sacks from town. First off, rice with every meal and I ean these boys pile it on, covering the whole plate. Then we make the rest up from there. I have been learning how to make cheese and bread with Neta. She is my new friend. I am sad that she will be leaving monday. Now I know, what is the point of making cheese if you don´t eat it, but the process is interesting to me and surprisingly easy. Bread...so much fun. I have followed along twice with Neta and I haope to convince her to make some with me before she goes for one last hands on. She is a pretty religious girl so last night she began her sabbath at sun down and will be on sabbath till today. So i helped her make the traditional braided bread. it turned out beautifully!
Summer really loves sitting in the lonely gardens, quietly weeding away. i usually join after our big lunch and lazy time for all. Awhile back Tina threw out some remaining seeds in to the garden that she thought were two out of date and so now about five of the rows are chaos. so we are weeding between a mix of arugula and carrots. there are also chves and garlic and more. we are going to be transplanting some more soon too.
As for the internet...Tina is very involved with Tumbianuma and she is making a internet shop by the church. However, the antenna and box up on top of one of the mountains is a project, mostly for Stephan, a french volunteer who has background in this sort of thing. it has been a lot of bus rides and parts searching but hopefully soon. the pueblo is proud of this an we can´t wait to help teach them more about the internet.
At night it is so peaceful and we all light candles and usually eat lftovers from the lunch and maybe a few other things. There is no refridgeration here so you have to eat things quickly. it is romantic cooking in candlelight in the little kitchen outside with one of those dutch doors. we laugh a lot. Tina has been away a lot on errands and births,she is also a midwife, so after all the farm hands go home it is just the volunteers left to their devices. It is Stephan, Neta, Summer, myself and Philipe, a columbian. It is a hodge podge of Spanish and english and occasional rants at the dogs for jumping at the table in hebrew.
Neta and I went down, 45 minutes in the dark with a dying flashlight to Tumbianuma for the first night of there festivities. It was all quite adorable. Little girls dressed up as a boy and girl couple dancing salsa...It was the best! The little ¨boy¨ dropped ¨his¨ hat and her hair came out...she scrambled. and the little girl dropped her tube top and she had to pull it back up and dance the rest of the time with her arms glued to her side...so precious. There was also traditional dance and some some warm sugarcane liquor to try. The walk back up was a little harder.
The dogs... There are four with all varied personalities. I have grown fond of little Tutti wh followed us down to the village and stayed by our sides the whole time. That is until fireworks went off and she ran off in the opposite direction of the farm. It wasn´t till well in to the next afternoon that she came back all wet, dirty and proud. Then there is Stoobie, who is kind of the asshole of the bunch and likes to get in everyones way and deman attention, but you gotta love him. And of course it is he who is the father of Nova´s puppies which are being born as I type. She lets me put my hands on her belly and I can feel the little pups move about. we all have a bet going on how many pups she will have. Please help me, I think siete and Summer bet seis. The last dog is Sonya who has a hurt paw right now. We have been dipping her paw in some water mixed with a local plant concoction. and last night we had to put a little sock on her and tape it up. it is so precious.
Our room is a dream. It reminds me of a treehouse that i stayed in in Dominica. We have hatch windows on the whole circumfrence practically so it is like being outside. It is all made of wood and upstair so it feels like a treehouse. We end our day cuddeling with good books.
Well hopefully by the next time you hear from me, I am an excellent gardner, bread baker and cook for multiple people. I love you all and I can´t wait to see you.
