que calor

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Me encanta de este lugar... tranlslation= I am enchanted by this place. It´s been a while, and in a lot of ways I feel far away from being able to convey experience, the past 2 weeks has felt like a time warp where days are defined by the height of the sun in the sky, or the brightness of the moon.

We arrived on Isla de Omnatepe on a barge that swayed in the water and made me sort of sea sick. Omnatepe is an island situated in the middle of Lago de Nicaragua, one of the biggest lakes in all of central America. The lake is so big that often all you can see is a flat blue horizon making you feel like your floating somewhere in the middle of the ocean. I dont know much about the geography of the island but the obvious are pretty awesome... it was formed from two volcanoes erupting and then forming a land mass in between them. Im often rendered sort of speechless as I walk down the road as at some points i can look to the left and see one volcano and to the right another. Maderas is the name of one volcano that looks like a mystical mountain, its really green and lush and when we first arrived here I climbed it with some people that have neded up becoming friends. It was a 6 hour climb, and it really felt like a journey. At times the mud was so thick that Id lose sight of half of my leg for a moment... the trees are covered in vines that wrap around the trunks like possesive lovers. I dont know why, but Ive noticed the aliveness of nature more here then i have anywhere else, ants crawling across pathways with little leaves on their backs, birds making crazy swooping songs to each other, howler monkeys!!!! On our way up we ran into a gang of howler moneys... I was hiking with James who had perfected his howler monkey call, a low rumble that sort of sounds like being extremely constipated and angry at the same time... after a while an entire group of monkeys made there way into the surrounding trees and were howling at James... the sound was unreal, someone started humming the jurrassic park theme song, which was pretty fitting for the moment. The climb led us up to the volcanoes crater which was a breath taking valley with a laguna in the middle. The group of us sat there greatfully eating nutella and bread and not speaking, feeling the sun beat down on our faces, me wondering if this was maybe what Eden would have looked like. The descent was a little less glorious, we basically had to run down in order to stay with the light, and we got lost and ran out of water... by the end of it I felt like I had just been spat out of a desert, water has never tasted so good.

Ive spent the entire last while in one place, a finca organica called El Zopilote. You climb up a path from the main road, which is dirt and mainly populated by horses and motorcyles, into a little haven like community thing of bamboo and thatched roofed houses, hammocks, and little dirt paths that lead you all around the farm. My favorite places on the farm are:

A- the ducha japonas or japanese showers which is basically a rock mound surrounded my broad circular leaves and open to the elements, I actually feel reborn after I step out of this thing.
B- the moon tower, a large wooden tower that a platform for amazing star gazing and sunset watching
C- the mirador- this place is an hour away from the farm and is one of the most special spots ive encountered on the journey so far, its part way up Maderas, and is a little spot with a few benches that look onto a view of Conception, the other volcano, the rest of the island, and the lake. Conception really is a physical presence, its perfectly symetrical and cone shaped and looms like a force to be reckoned with, black against the often clear blue sky. I spent a night camping up here with some friends, we lit a fire and sang songs and watched the moon rise over our heads, clouds racing across the sky making everything feel like a movie on fast forward.
D- the compost toilets, all the latrines on the farm are compost based, it makes me super happy knowing that what comes out of me will go back to the earth some how in a good way
E- Mi casita, the comedor or eatery at the bottom of the hill that ive frequented many times when im to lazy to cook. The plates are always the same, huge, and good, serving you a hefty portion of rice and beans, eggs and salad. Its run by this kick ass lady named Kristina who always hugs and kisses me when I go to eat, and looks extremely proud when I finish my food. She has this big mama vibe that always comforts me and makes me feel a little closer to home somehow. She also supports probably 30 people with the business she brings in with her cooking, pretty amazing accomplishment in my opinion. The only slightly annoying but also entertaining thing about eating at Mi Casita is the awful music videos that have apparently captured the hearts of Kristina and her family. The kids and adults all cluster around watching this really really sleazy dude with long greasy hair and a pot belly sing very bad mariachi. It wouldnt be so bad if he wasnt surrounded by a cluster of girls dressed in high waisted bikinis who dance in a repetitive aerobic like style, only stopping to be caressed or handled by the singer.

Ive done a little bit of work, canning tomatoe sauce, peeling cocoa beans for nutella... they make a whole bunch of products including whole grain fricken amazing bread that I salivate over every other day. Its hard trying to describe this place as theres so many nuances that words wont touch on. Being in one spot for a while has been interesting, confusing, rejuvanating, and exhausting at the same time. We had been on the road for about a month, moving for place to place, knowing the back of our heads that relations with people were temporary, and that our base lay in each other. Zopilote presented us with a situation that was a little more permanent and stable, and has let all of us do some exploring on our own which has been amazing, but tough. Ive had a hard time with being confident in my identity, as meeting new people all the time and making new friends always brings up the issue of who you are, where your going, who you want to be. Im realizing that no matter where you are, in a lot of ways your always you, with your insecurities and questions and doubts... i guess the key is being open to learning, remembering that hard stuff can also be a really good tool to find things out about yourself. This is the first time on the journey that ive felt homesick, the need to be around people who love me with no strings, Ive had a few urges to teleport home for a day, sit in the kitchen with my house coat and family, listening to the sound of familiar voices.

Even though being at Zopiloe has been challenging its also been the first time where I have felt a part of a community, have made friends who I may see again in different parts of the world, have had the time to interact with people on a bit of a normal level. The same group of people hung around for about 10 days, so by the end, it was feeling like a bit of a family. We had some amazing fiestas at night, dancing in the forest, hanging out in the day. I remeber one particualrly nice time where a group of us spent the day teaching each other to dance, by the end of it we had covered line dancing, salsa, bachata, hip hop, traditional indian. I love way people sit around the communal kitchen, playing chess, eating breakfast, making bracelets, talking, sleeping. Its cool sharing space with people, and its been really good for me to be at peace with connecting through other ways then talking and getting to know peoples life stories... just being together, or seeing something with someone can bond you in this quiet way that doesnt need to be affirmed all the time.

I want to try and describe some of the people that ive gotten close to here as theyve been such a huge part of the experience so far, but I feel weird about trying to condense personalities and stories into little blurbs... inspiration for another writing project to come I guess. Im heading off to go and work on another organic farm called Bona Fide, which is a little more Perma Culture based for a few weeks, spend some more time among plants and manure! As for other updates, Im now using spanish swear words on a regular basis thanks to my mexican amigos, we can drink the tap water on the farm which is awesomely satisfying, I now live in a tent which gets unbearably sweaty by 9 00 in the morning, my friend George and I have named the farm horse Kamu after Albert Kamu because it stands alone all day and looks pensive.

Im feeling more jumbly and random by the minute, so Im going to stop before my writing becomes incomprehensible. I love everyone with all of my corazon.

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