Hello all.
First off, an apology. You guys really did express an interest in following my blog, and I didn't mean to ignore that. It was just hard to stop and reflect on things.
I will try to do some catching up now. I can't post pictures though, I realized I forgot the connecting cable just
after walking the 3 kilometers to the computer cafe. Good news though: I got my camera fixed, so I will upload pictures soon.
I am now on a permaculture project outside Mendoza, in a small town called Los Barriales. It is WWOOFing as I had hoped it would be. The two owners are Sil and Hugo, a young couple from Argentina. They bought the abandoned land a year and a half ago, and for the first six months lived out of a tent as they rebuilt the house using mud and brick (about half the foundation was remaining). It is really impressive. There is no electricity, but there are solar-powered ceiling lamps and a gas stove, though most of the cooking is done with the wood-fueled oven. There is a cold outdoor shower, which isnt so bad once you acclimate to it.
Sil and Hugo are expanding the vegetable garden outside, which means collecting organic material from around the property so it can decompose. They also harvest honey, and the other day I went with them to the beehives. We wore the full protective overalls and headnet, and I held the smoker (a can producing smoke to calm the bees) while Sil and Hugo extracted the honeycomb. Honeycomb is the greatest thing.
There are two French WWOOFers, Paco and Marjouille, and I share a room with them. They don't speak any English, but speak Spanish fairly well (better than me) so we've been communicating easily. I've been doing some projects with them, mainly working in the vegetable garden removing dead material and planting seeds. We've also been cutting down bamboo with saws and machetes (so it can be used for the fense of a chicken coop), and various other things like harvesting olives and baking bread.
The five of us always eat together. Breakfast is usually
granadas or
membrillos (two fruits which I had never tried before but are fantastic), with bread and marmalade. We have maté around noon, and then a large lunch around 4. Dinner is more of a snack, fruit and peanuts usually.
We are joined by five animals, three dogs (Gorda, Chicita, and Mangin), a full grown cat (Miska), and a kitten (Coroico.) Gorda and Chicita are best friends, Miska hates Coroico, Coroico loves everyone, and Mangin got Chicita pregnant. The puppies are due in a month.
So all is well in Los Barriales, I really like it here. None of the work is mundane, because it's usually beautiful outside (though cold at night) and there is no set schedule. I realize I have a whole gap to fill in, between Olmue and here, and I will do that tomorrow when I can upload pictures (so long as the internet cafe is open).
I´ll be home in less than a month! I miss you all.
