Livin' on the RANCH!

FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!

We come to you from our new humble abode in the jungle. We know it has been awhile and we apologize. We have been without internet for days. Since we last spoke, we have experienced a whole new world, and we are inspired. This post will be slightly longer than usual, as we hope to cover what we've been doing over the last week. So, feel free to read it in installments. Or on your lunch break. Or you can even pretend it's some important document at work and act stressed out while reading it.

As we mentioned in our last post, we are staying at Rancho Mastatal. Hopefully, you've taken a chance to check out the website, but even if you have, this community is so much more than can be expressed in a few words. We are residing in an homestead wonderland and to make it even better, it is nestled in the middle of the jungle. We are crafting, gardening, cooking (we just cooked a meal for 21!!), fermenting (kimchi, sourdough, orange kefir, etc.), building, compost making (with our poop!), eating, bird watching (we saw toucans!), outdoor showering, bread baking (nice one tawsh!), macheteing (we even watched a 9 year old learn how to use a machete!), cribbage playing, friend making, and card playing.

We have a lot to catch you up on so we will start with day one.

According to the Rancho Mastatal website, once you've taken the bus from San Jose into Puriscal (the closest city center to Mastatal), the next bus you take, "leaves from in front of a carniceria [a meat store], across the street from a market". Sure enough, Grant and I lined up in front of the meat market waiting for a bus. There is only one bus that leaves each day for Mastatal (the town) and we could not afford to miss this. When we got in line with what looked like 70 other people, and we waited nervously in hopes of getting a spot on the bus. (In actuality, there were just two lines for two different buses, so we need not have fretted. But, we were still nervous that it might not have room for us.) Waiting in line, there were people with babies and chickens and food for livestock and us...two backpackers hoping we were about to hop on the right bus. Sure enough an old, jenky school bus shows up and people start hopping on. Is this bus going to Mastatal? Yes, yes don't worry. We got on and luckily there was just enough room for us to squeeze right into the back of the bus (next to the huge bags of chicken feed).

We knew the bus ride was 2 hours; however, we did not realize it was two hours through a windy, dirt road that takes you a long steep cliffs and areas where "mudslides occur frequently". Boy, was it a long ride. It was really amazing though because slowly, we began to realize how far out we were really going. It is one thing to be a tourist and it is another to be heading two hours deep into the mountains with a bus load of locals. We arrived right as the sun went down and we got off the bus. We were pretty worried because it was dark and we had no idea what we were looking for. All of a sudden we hear "Grant? Natasha?" and we see a woman with a headlamp coming towards us. PHEW! (and what a nice welcome!) She brings us in and we get to the door. She tells us to take off our shoes (we have inside shoes and outside shoes here; we both wear our Sperry's as inside shoes) and to come join them for dinner. We proceed around to the back and there are three long, beautiful wooden tables lined up and about 12 people sitting there smiling, drinking rum, talking and eating. We are immidiatly welcomed and sit down to enjoy a DELICIOUS warm meal that had just been cooked in the open aired/indoor kitchen.

At first, we didn't know exactly how to compose ourselves or how to interact with the others. We grabbed a plate, and chose from a great selection of vegetarian dishes (it's all buffet style eating here) and sat back down. A few of our future friends starting fielding a few questions about where we'd been, what we'd been doing, and how long we're staying. There were no formal introductions to the group, or much guidance whatsoever. After dinner we were shown where we would be sleeping, and given some sheets to put on our bed. So, in retrospect, it was and it wasn't a warm welcome. What I realize now, is that for the people who have been here for months, it is emotionally tiring to fully invest yourself in a person who know is just leaving in a few days/weeks. We weren't given the cold shoulder, rather it's merely that the process by which you're welcomed into the group takes some time. After dinner we spent some time chatting and began to feel more welcomed. We strapped on our headlamps and walked down to our little house (called Genie's) to unpack and sleep. On the way down we were warned about scorpions and snakes and also told about the composting toilet around back.

"You lift the lid, put down the seat, poop, and then scoop a bunch of sawdust on top"

Sounds a little funky but the structure is built with natural wood and overlooks a beautiful jungle. There are only three walls, and to explain this to you, we want you to imagine sitting on a toilet. There is a wall to your left, one to your right, and one behind you. In front of you is no wall, but you are overlooking one of the areas where they've cleared most of the local trees and replaced it with a banana/starfruit/other Costa Rican fruit orchard. As was explained to us on our tour of the Rannch, when they take action to do something like clear a slope of its natural fauna, they assume the responsibiliity for the local ecosystem of that area. Meaning, they still want that area to be erosion free, condusive to the natural harmony of the local plants and animals, and at the same time, yield a crop. So, by planting fruit trees that are indigenous to these areas, and adding other local species that help prevent erosion, they are doing their best to be sustainable as they provide food for themselves. Needless to say, thinking about all this permaculture action, or spotting a pretty blue butterfly while you're pooping, makes getting the job done much easier. (You do learn to hold it at night though because when it's dark there are insects and animals and other things out there and it can get pretty scary).

We woke up the next day and walked down to breakfast which starts at 7:30 am. There was a huge buffet laid out (which included egg fritadas, green smoothies, beans, coffee, tea, and salad). It was delicious! BUT WHO COOKED THIS?!? After breakfast was the morning meeting and we all gathered in the main house and sat in front of a whiteboard. The board consists of a calendar and a list of chores/projects that need to be done. They went through the board, eveveryone signed up for the different things, and we chimed in too, to offer our help. (This process pretty much takes place every day. Some examples of projects: patch the cob floor, transplant seeds/weed/mulch the garden, move the wet dish towels to the clothesline in the sun, etc. There are some chores that need to be done every day, some that occur periodically, and other are more one-time events.) We also found out that people take turns making each meal and cleaning each meal.

So, it goes like this: Breakfast is at 7:30; lunch is at 12:30; dinner is at 5:30. If you're making breakfast you show up at 6:00, lunch you show up at 10:00, and dinner you show up at 2:00. Cleaning up each meal generally takes 30-45 minutes. So, unless you're signed up for cooking or cleaning, you're more or less expected to be doing something productive for the Ranch in between meals. Although, there is a fair amount of down time as well, so that we can all make significant progress on the various books we're reading. (Tawsh just finished the Andromeda Strain by Micheal Crichton, and Grant is still chugging away at The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky).
After the first meeting we were present for, one of the interns took us on a walking tour of the ranch, and afterwards we jumped right into doing what we could to help. At first, we did our best to fit in and get to work. Grant ended up spending some time at the woodshop while Tawsh helped make kimchi. We also helped with some gardening and cooking.

Of course, given that each day has essentially the same routine, it is the case that some of our days here are blending together! However, we still have a vivid recollection of the various highlights of our time here. We have learned how to make plenty--for example, different fermented drinks, empanadas and sourdough bread. Making the bread was really fun because we got to add different things like garlic and hot peppers! We have also learned how to pasturize milk and make butter from the cream on top. In the past we have skimmed different homesteading books but it is completely different and inspiring to see these things in action (and working!!) They have chickens and goats here, and when the goats produce enough milk they make goat's cheese (we REALLY want to be here for that). Though both of us had, at times, prior to coming here, romanticized the idea of keeping animals for the sake of producing our own milk/cheese/eggs, seeing what the reality of keeping animals is like we realize that they are responsibilities we can easily live without. So, bottom line, volunteering here teaches us much of what we want to know how to do, as well as what we might not want to do.

One of the most inspiring aspects of this place, which we absolutely hope to incorporate into our lives, in one way or another, is natural building. Of the nearly 20 structures on the property, each is builty with an assorment of natural building techniques. By constructing their living spaces, bathrooms, showers, classrooms, etc. out of materials like bamboo and cobb they are first and foremost keeping the environmental footprint of the Ranch at a minimum. But what is absolutely the most striking aspect of the infrastructure here, is that it is all astonishingly aesthetically appealing. One of the first aspects of each place we see, is that it is all built with a genuinely artistic eye. Not only are these spaces quite pragmatic in terms of their set up, but every structure is infused with gems of art, made from the very materials used in creating the building in the first place.

Another two enjoyable highlights have trips we've taken to the water. Yesterday, we went to a nearby waterfall, and today we went to a wider section of the river. At each place we were able to swim and play (and jump off rocks!) while we enjoyed the rainforest environment

What is really our favorite part of this experience is the community. The initially overwhelming feelings that came of arriving and meeting people, quickly wore off and allowed us to ultimately connect with the people here. They are American, French, Canadian and Costa Rican and are anywhere from 9 years old to somewhere in their mid 40s. Each person really has their own thing to bring to the table and as the days move forward, the more this place feels like home. We know we must get on our way but Thanksgiving is coming up and we are thinking about extending our stay here for a few more days to be here for that. They have a rooster that they are going to kill for the feast and people have stocked up on wine and rum. They finally got their internet stick to work here so between twenty one people we are hoping to get in fragments of computer time to keep in touch with everyone. We will be leaving here on friday and moving along as planned to Quepos. \=]`

We've really gone back and forth as to when we should leave. For many days we were committed to leaving as early as we had originally planned. But, as you can hopefully tell from our writing, we really like it here! So, as much as we want to continue travelling, we've decided that extending our stay in this particular locale will be worthwhile. Besides, we'll be back on the road in no time!

So that is it for now. We have a lot more to say but we want to get this posted before someone steals our internet stick. We miss you all so much and we will be back in the land of more promising internet soon. We will try to post again soon and hopefully with pictures once we get a better internet connection (they take forever to load). But lots of love and HAPPY THANKSGIVING. We wish we could be there. xoxo

<3
T&G


p.s. the insects are so cool here! There are tons of butterflies everywhere and grasshoppers that are 6 inches long!