Arriving at the Ranch

When I arrived to Boneo it was raining cats and dogs. I grabbed the taxi to the ranch, and although it was hard to see much, my eyes were peeled to my surroundings. It looked like a very poor area, with small huts, farmers, and plenty of countryside. I saw the sign for ranch and as we drove through the gates I saw lots of horses on a field, walking between the cabins/huts and chicken and roosters roaming the farm. The main house is a low house in a bright wine colour, it is where the reception is, eating area, and where the owners live:) The garden has a pool, dining area and a pool table. I go into the garden to talk to the boys who work there Vitalito, and Vitalisio (Brothers from Haiti), they seem a little shy at first and slightly dazzled and shocked at the fact that i address them politely (usted). They seem very nice.

The owner and Keith who works there, are in town, so I pace around trying to relax until they get back. No one else knows what room to give me, so I wait in the house. Two hours later they appear at the house with Dominican style takeaway. I get assigned to my room, number 8, and was eager to see it. As we walked though the house and into the garden, past the pool and down to the freshwater stream, a little hut/cabin appeared divided into 3 rooms, mine being in the middle:) Keith lived next door. I opened the door and have to say that coming from Europe my expectations were too high. The room was crawling with lizards (cute), huge spiders (not so cute when bigger than your hand), and bugs I have never seen before. The walls were all different colours, and the walls and ceiling revealed wholes to the outside or next door rooms everywhere. There was a bed, a little table, chair and a cupboard (too high to reach the top shelf). The bathroom has a sink, a toilet, and a shower (if you can call it that) with cold water only. Electric cables hanging everywhere, and lights working when they feel like it. It looked like something that had been thrown together in a storm ;)

I got settled in and went back to the house for dinner. Food here is great, different but good. They love banana. They eat it for breakfast (mangoo; squashed green banana with salt, butter and milk), for lunch and dinner (boiled or fried). Very nice and very filling, which is great for a backpacker :)


Keith, the owner and I sat down for dinner, and chatted away about what we needed to work on to market the ranch better. After the dinner Vitalito took me to the room and help me put the mosquito net on, and boy was I happy for that. Just the thought of one of those bugs crawling on me whilst asleep was enough to keep me awake for weeks. I tucked the net under my madras so tight, that I could barely get in :) hahahaha
I put my pj's on and rolled out my silk sleeping bag. When I had finished making my bed comfy, nice and homely I fell asleep listening to the stream flowing past, the crickets and frogs competing to be the singer of the night :) I fell asleep happy, and content and excited about what was to come.

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