Last 12 hours at the Tropical Farm

Although these pictures will give you a decent idea of the eventful night in the jungle, I highly suggest making time to read the descriptions as the adventure continues…

I’m pleased as they show us our room for it has all of the necessities with four walls, a ceiling, a window, a bed and a door. I toss our bag to the floor and turn to see my mom intensely staring at the ceiling.

I see absolutely nothing so I make the mistake of asking, “What is it?”. Now when you’re dealing with someone who is, let’s say imaginative, you have to constantly evaluate the true seriousness. She explains her thoughts of what might be living in there and what could possibly crawl down during the night. Oh dear… It has begun.

Trying to explain to her that the bugs mean no harm is like trying to convince… well, you get it. After pointing out a few critters that she didn’t want to sleep with, we do a quick brush through. “Killing” things really isn’t my forte, so here’s a few “attempts” just for her peace of mind.

After reassuring her that we’ve gotten most of the crawling, flying and jumping creatures out of the room, I get a smile from her as we leave to go help with dinner.

Tonight’s menu is homemade tortilla bread, grilled veggies, sprouted beans and scrumptious hot oil made by sweet Gloria. The drink to complement this flavorful meal was fresh chestnut juice!

Check out the herbs we added straight from the garden, scrumptious! After we rolled it out fairly thin they through it over the grill. Are you jealous?

As we turn in for the night, I ask for a mosquito net. Mostly for moms sake (last year she survived dengue fever after being bitten) and partially for my sanity, as I wouldn’t get any sleep with her swatting flying objects all night.

Turns out I’m a solid 2 feet shy of hanging it, so we call in the other volunteers to help us secure our protective gear.

Does she look convinced?

Sweet dreams (ha…ha…ha).

Our morning coffee was accompanied by the fella in the first photo and I almost grabbed the second one that was headed towards my backpack. Not to mention the jumping spider that we lost track of last night.

After the exhausting night and eight legged company with coffee, the decision is made to leave the farm. The bags are packed and you can see sadness in our eyes as we head out. Must keep faith there’s a greater reason and positive purpose in the new path ahead!
Thank you Gloria, Mauricio, Chilly Willy and the other volunteers that made the last 24 hours a memorable event!