La Finca Nueva Alianza

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Yesterday I woke up around 5:30 am (cause I couldn´t sleep) and went to meet the bus for Nueva Alianza, the trip that we are going on this weekend, at 7 am. Like every year, I called my mother for her birthday on May 20 instead of May 23, sometime before 7 am (sorry Mom). Nueva Alianza is an organic coffee and macadamia finca which is owned and operated cooperatively by the campesinos who work it. The patron (the old plantation owner) went bankrupt and lost the farm to the bank. Now, the campesinos must pay off the debt and they will completely own the farm.

It was a bit rainy when we got here yesterday, but we went on a nice long hike that was absolutely beautiful. At times, I felt like something was flying around outside my body checking out things that I couldn´t see with my own eyes --- muy tranquilo.

Along the way the guides were explaining the various plants and their special uses, or dangers, if any. We eventually came to some swings which were really fun and reminded me of the swing at my house on Alpine Acres in Fall ´05.

(By the way, there are a bunch of other visitors here as well, not just me and the 2 students). Coming back to the guesthouse very tired I began to play one of the guitars they have here and others gathered around. Two other guys played also so we just passed it around, song-for-song-for-song.

After going on a somewhat boring tour of the coffee making process, we returned for dinner. After dinner we passed around the guitar until 2 am --- it was great. This one guy from Canada plays and sings really well and we plan on playing some more when we return to Xela since he´ll be there for the next several months.

After playing I had a crazy moment of … zen? No, just a crazy coincidence. This girl came in as a volunteer at about 7 pm from Ontario. She chilled and listened to us play. We finished playing and she mentioned she like traditional American music --- she even went to Merlefest this past year! Well she told me she stayed up late listening to music in the campground --- Creekside. She then said, ¨there was this girl with long curly blonde hair, her name was Julia¨ and I knew exactly what she was talking about. This girl here, Jessie, her best friend looks just like Julia and people were getting them confused all night long! Small world, huh?
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