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Published: December 28th 2010
thursday brought the dealer from La Iguana, a km up the road from Rancho Mastatal, who supplies the residents and caretakers here with their bi-weekly fix. the stuff is homegrown, all natural, potent, and highly addictive. the dealer arrives on foot with a giant backpack full of primo stock. the junkies go into a frenzy, scrambling for cash and change, and calling in favors from their housemates, "I hooked you up last time; it's time to pay up!" the entire compound comes to a screeching halt as the dealer sits down and unloads his backpack. they huddle around him and his choice assortment that is splayed out on the table. after a minute of glossy staring and drooling, the dealing begins. as i'm a first time buyer i decide to try a bit of each variety to see what i like. i don't know what to expect and i'm a bit leary of the crazy look in everyone's eyes. i have been hearing about this stuff all week and now i guess it's finally time to partake of the mind-altering substance. i hope i don't become like them...cracked out and dependent. no such luck. i am addicted. to chocolate.
La
community center mural
amy helped paint this when she was here. yay.Iguana is a chocolate factory that makes a variety of chocolates from their own cocoa plants: orange, pineapple, chile, pistachio, ginger, coconut, mint, and several other flavors that have slipped my mind at the moment. i think i may need another hit. there are two different forms this chocolate takes: non-tempered, which is more grainy and dense; and tempered, which is the glossy, smooth form most of us are used to. both are delicious, without question. what i am saying is that mondays and thursdays are pretty important days here on the ranch. possibly the most important days of the week.
friday some stuff happened. probably mostly working. saturday, after a half day of work and a trip down to the waterfall, adam taught a few of us some blues scales on the guitar. then we jammed a little; and that turned into me playing some songs while adam improvised some sweet lead solos and sarah belted out some beautiful backup vocals. before we knew it the rest of the crew here had gathered around us, some banging on tables, others playing the maraccas or the tamberine. we rocked out for a good two hours. it was probably the
most fun i think we'd all had in a long time. that is until an hour or two later when we all found ourselves shaking it to some latin beats at the community center where a dance for all the surrounding villages was being hosted. i danced with just about everyone, sweated my face off, and had an absolute blast.
everyone i've met here at Rancho Mastatal is stellar in their own way. it seems unlikely to be meeting so many awesome people in one place, but i guess awesomeness attracts. as we get closer to christmas people begin to trickle away from the ranch and back to wherever they are from to spend the holidays with family. it is sad to see them go, but more people are also trickling in; and they are just as awesome in their own right. i am really enjoying the constantly changing dynamic, the hard work, the delicious meals that we all take turns preparing, and especially the unabashed creativity of our play time. christmas should prove to be another few days to remember--we are having sushi, entertainment, and a full day of fun and games. should be radtastic.
thank you
all for your wonderful comments and for taking the time to keep up with me and my adventures.
cheers,
bryan
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Sisterface
non-member comment
Toucanette
...Sweet as in awesome? Temperment? Or delicious? Shame on you Bryan, eating sweet little toucanettes.