I went to Finca Lilo de Biolley to volunteer for two weeks and during that time I fell in love with farm life! I decided to accept the amazing opportunity from Bruce and Jennifer, who own this farm paradise, to house and dog sit for 2+ months.
Not photo-shopped! This is me, in my current backyard!
The pool at the finca (Paradise)
On a walk up the road, coffee plants and + on both sides, Hunter the dog leading the way.
Kris and Kelly down by the falls (again, not photo-shopped!)
Kris and Kelly were Finca guests my first two weeks on the farm and now...real life friends!
GOATS! LAS CABRAS!
BABY GOATS!
I call this one Huckleberry
Goats on parade!
Milking Amy the Goat with the assistance of Kris.
Kris is also staying on the farm with me and makes sure I am well taken care of...as long as I feed
After milking the goats, we went on a coffee field, finca tour with Jennifer.
Here Jennifer is pulling off a fruit called guaba, I think. If it's not, I still wanted to mention guaba TASTY!
The drying beds of the finca. Jennifer showing us the almost dried mango seeds.
These guys are ready to be transplanted!
Amaranth
That's a big tree!
Pineapple and squash growing side by side in the garden
One of the many banana trees on the finca!
CAFE y FRIJOLES!
PAPAYA!!
After the coffee and garden tour we had a delicious breakfast made by Bruce and featuring his famous puffy bread. Following breakfast we went to visit an extrodinary artist and close friend of Jennifer's named Pancho. You can read all about Pancho and his projects here !!! <<<Please read the attached link, my pictures will mean more if you do! He was so generous to open his space to us!
Pancho playing an instrument he made, similar to a didgeridoo
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What looks like a blurry picture (it is) is actually a picture of a bug that looks like a stick!
LOBSTER CLAW!
Pancho and I :)
Later on day 2...I found out there is a natural (better tasting in my opinion) cilantro (culantro) growing right by the house! YUM ! After dinner...we danced! Day 2 on the farm is also important because I met the other cabin mate Nisha. You will see and hear more about our blossoming friendship.
Junior, patiently teaching me how to dance (We're still practicing, I plan to be a pro by August)
Journal entry Day 3
I have been experiencing "happy face food" it's hard to eat because you're smiling too big, because the food tastes SO GOOD. Today for breakfast: scrambled eggs with green onion and garlic greens from the garden! Nisha and I prepared the fruit sald which included bananos, mangos and papaya. Passion Fruit and OJ to drink, goat yogurt and tortillas. After breakfast we ventured down to the river to experience the waterfalls of the finca. The whole gang went! It was so beautiful, refreshing and relaxing. There is even a natural shoulder back waterfall massage. *More photos here from Jennifer Long. The group worked up an appetite after the trip to the river and falls. Jennifer prepared goat yogurt cucumber dip with garden veggies! YUM! Then...(some time had passed) We had Dal prepared by Jennifer and it was complimented by Naan by Bruce. SO GOOD and Great kitchen team! I am comfortable with the majority of my journal entries centered around what I have been eating, I hope you are too.
Luis! This is Domingo's other son, Kris's brother. He joined us for the waterfall fun
Journal entry Day 4
Awake and ready to go (after two cups of delicious coffee from the farm), fed Hunter and Draco, emptied the trash, put on my boots and headed to the garden with Jennifer. We transplanted amaranth and a mystery plant (it was SESAME!!!). Tons of squash growing, tons of squash ready to eat. I have been incorporating squash with every meal, nature's candy!!!
My first two weeks also included Iris. I unfortunately didn't get a picture with Iris but she helped and taught me a few things about keeping a house clean in the tropics. She was very kind and patience with me.We may not have been able to say a lot to one another, but with hand motions and the Spanish I did know, we kept each other laughing. Or maybe she was just laughing at me...
You can view more pictures via facebook in my Finca Lilo album but I wanted to (and I have been meaning to) give you more context and depth on my adventures on the farm.This is just a little taste too, I have 2 more months to cover, with a trip to Panama as well!
Meet Nelle and Derek. Pictured here at Playa Tamarindo
Before
I jump into my weekend of laughter, sun, bugs and MONKEYS, it's important I
give a little background and a lot of credit to these two. (I can just imagine
these two squirming about the mushiness I am about to give, but too bad,
HAPPENING) Nelle and Derek have been traveling, working, and volunteering the
last two and half years in southern and central America. They both earned TEFL
certification (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and started working in
Buenos Aires. From BA they made their way up to central America, traveling and
volunteering in between work. They then stationed themselves in Panama City for
more teaching and this last month volunteered on a farm in Costa Rica using
machetes to cut down bananas, creating grey water systems and barely escaping
GIANT TARANTULAS. If you haven't already decided yet, I'll decide for you,
Nelle and Derek are really cool, and truly inspiring. I can honestly say if it
had not been for these two world travelers I would not have had the guts to
venture out on my own. I met both of them in Eugene while I was attending
school and working and we have become very close throughout the years. They
have both been tremendous resources and support for my plans to come
central...since our first music festival together in 2010 we have had a
running joke where I will call them Mom and Dad. (It's the cute version of
third wheel) ;) It was really important to me and I'll speak for them,
Nelle and Derek, that we get some time together abroad since I have been
talking and drooling over their photos and stories for so long! Also, as you
will view via photos, if you ever get the opportunity to be in a kitchen with
these two, do not pass it up! Derek is an incredible cook!
Our
adventure began in San Jose where Nelle and Derek stayed in Galileo Hostel and
I met them there from my house. You know you're in good
company when seeing each other feels so right and as much as you have missed
them, you pick up right where you left off, laughing and sharing and
celebrating!!! We walked around a bit and ended up drinking a few beers at the
hostel and was treated to a hot fudge pickle shot (treated is not the right
word, but it was free, so we took it) and said our see you laters fairly early.
We had a 5:00 am wake up call to catch the bus to Montezuma on Wednesday
morning. San Jose to Montezuma was close to four hours on a bus, with a two
hour ferry ride in between. The trip to Montezuma cost 7,500 colones (about
$15)
I
instantly fell in love with Montezuma !! A perfect get-away hot spot and
while we were there, not too busy!
This was our Montezuma paradise for two nights! CASACOLORES
Photo credit Delly. Our blue cabin at Casacolores
The view from the left at our cabin.
This guy! Dog of the hostel owners, he came around every time we started cooking!
First Montezuma dinner-gluten free pasta with pesto and salad. (The dog wasn't impressed with this meal, but WE WERE)
Poolside!
Paradise!
He's back. I think this photo documents the first wrap meal of our vacation. Nelle counted a total of 7 wraps per person by the end of our time spent working on our stomachs.
Breakfast in Paradise at our blue house-eggs and sausage wrap with coffee and fruit smoothie!
We spent
Wednesday in Montezuma, after the long trip, thinking about food and enjoying
the pool. For lunch we ate at a restaurant where I had my first hamburger, my
first red meat, since I've been here! It was really good, I have been having
dreams about red meat so I'm glad I could finally make it happen.
We bought
our dinner groceries and spent the rest of Wednesday at our hostel. Not only
have I walked away from this trip with laugh lines and heat rash, but Derek and
Nelle also taught me a few card games that kept us highly entertained. (Really
entertaining the first two nights because I kept on winning) ;) The juegas de
cartas included King's corners , President
, and Golf. I also spent both evenings in Montezuma
swatting at large flying beetle bugs that sounded like helicopters coming
towards you and a constant fear a bat was going to slam right into my face. It
never happened, but I was on edge, Sangria helped the fear.
On Thursday, Nelle and her expertise at planning, had read about waterfalls we
had to check out while we were in Montezuma. We weren't in any rush and ended
up taking more advantage of the pool in the morning for a couple of hours, it
was really hard to say no to pool time. Eventually nature and moving around
started calling us, and so happy it did because we found the spot! The walk to
the waterfalls was ROUGH, three long steep hills, but honestly, I don't even
remember that part now, how sticky I was, how jello my legs felt, because
halfway through the second steep hill, we heard and saw MONKEYS!!! You can see
video of the monkeys we saw here compliment of Derek. On Thursday night we went into town to check out the nightlife. We ended up bonding with a dog, drinking a couple of beers and then getting a ride back to our hostel in a taxi. The taxi driver proceeded to drive the taxi in reverse the 1 km to our hostel because he was almost out of gas!
MONKEYS!
Photo credit Delly. Nelle and I waiting for the bus by our hostel to get closer to the falls.
Rope swing action in the waterfall swimming hole!
Photo credit Delly. On top of Montezuma, on our way to the waterfall swimming hole.
MONTEZUMA!!! Photo credit Delly.
True love!!!
As I
mentioned it only cost about $15.00 to get to Montezuma from San Jose taking
public transportation. Trying to exit Montezuma to head to our next spot turned
out to be a bit of an adventure and a little more money.
After
investigating several tourist shuttles, studying maps and talking with the
hostel owner we decided to rent a car from Montezuma to Tamarindo. It was going
to cost the three of us the same amount to take a shuttle so we decided to add
a private road trip to our Costa Rica vacay.
Things I
learned from our rental car experience:
I can be a
naive gringa princess. I didn't carry a copy or my passport with me because I
thought, hey, we aren't leaving Costa Rica, I won't need it. WRONG. Siempre
Siempre (Always Always) have a copy or original with you at all times. Just
because I know I didn't enter the country illegally, doesn't mean the policia
know, yes, I have a stamp! I was giving too much credit to my friendly face. I
was asked to show my passport by the rental car company and that's when I
realized, wow, yeah I should have that with me. Thankfully I have wonderful
room mates and Danny took photos and sent them to my e-mail so I had a computer
copy handy. Also thankfully, my nice, warm and friendly face and demeanor
allowed Harry, our rental car associate, to still let us rent the car and I
could send the photos later! (or it could have been the fact he already drove
an hour to deliver the car, either way either way, thank you vacation
gods!)
There are no
wrong turns when you are in good company. We headed out one way, turned around
a couple of times, ended up at a ferry at one point, and stopped several times
to ask for directions. Thankfully Derek is and was a great driver and Nelle is
and was a great navigator. I was stationed in the back for comedic relief. ;)
It took us longer to get to Tamarindo than we had thought, but it didn't
matter, because awaiting us was a great hostel with a pool and a kitchen for
Derek to cook in! Yeeeeeeee!
FEAST!!! Cous cous hidden under a melody of veggies, including fried eggplant! Thank you Derek! Both Derek and Nelle inspired me to do more in the kitchen than rice & beans!
After this
delicious dinner, pool time and more card game action we decided to venture out
and see what the night life of Tamarindo had to offer. We ended up at a bar
called Monkeys N Midgets. It wasn't PC but it did have cheap beer and a dance
floor surrouned by a rock wall. While we were there, we did not see any Monkeys
or Midgets...just so you know.
We left
Monkeys n Midgets a little after 1:00 am and decided it was be a good time to
check out the beach we were going to spend the day at on Saturday. Derek had
more in mind than just checking out the beach, he decided to drop his drawers,
yell out PURA VIDA and streak to swim the ocean. ADVENTURE !!! Nelle and I were
in complete shock and we laughed ourselves silly on the walk back to the
hostel.
Saturday we
spent the entire day at the beach! It was a perfect last day together. We swam
in the bath water ocean, we played Frisbee with a Tupperware container, I
climbed on things and we had a lot of fun on those beach swings! After a lot of
fun in the sun we were famished! (We did have delicious breakfast wraps in the
morning made by Derek, but laughing and sunning and swimming takes a lot out of
you!) We ate at BBQ place. I had smoked fish tacos with tropical coleslaw, YUM!
Nelle and Derek also got the fish tacos and split a pulled-pork sandwich that
was really tasty! Tamarindo was an extreme tourist spot compared to Montezuma.
There were more shops, different variety of food, BBQ for example, a lot of
which were owned by gringos. It is low season in Costa Rica so there were not a
lot of people in either locations. I had the best time exploring these two
places in Costa Rica because I had the best company! We ended our vacation in
Liberia. Nelle and Derek flew out on Sunday and they are now in Guatemala on
their last leg of their 2.5 year abroad. I arrived back in San Jose by
bus. In case you're wondering...yes we did have a wrap Saturday night and
for breakfast Sunday morning. I am on an all wrap and meat diet.
My next
Costa Rica move is to go here as a volunteer, I am leaving Friday. I am
really looking forward to my time at the farm! Stay tuned for farm life stories
and pictures. PURA VIDA
