Lunes 29 de junio - Mastatal
We start the day with a restorative yoga session, closer at times to meditation and without the same intensity. Each position we hold for around 5 minutes and calm music is played throughout..the perfect antidote to the previous days hike.
Today I am the strongest spanish speaker left and therefore have to attempt to translate our work dictated by Randall.. During the work I begin teaching Jared some simple spanish using the Michel Thomas approach, this also works as a good way to consolidate my own understanding.
In the afternoon we chill out at the farm, playing cards which as usual gets competitive between us. Two new volunteers Alex and Melissa arrive, so I give them a tour of the dormatory and communal areas. In the evening a heavy storm hits us, resulting in the electricity being wiped out, cutting short any more card games, we all head to bed early. Big red ants have found their way into our dorm and are going in and out of a holein the wooden planks above me and Floriane's beds...Floriane also finds a few in her bed so decides to move.. I tape up some of the holes in my mosquito net, along with the section the ants are trying to get into and hope that will keep them away.
Today I am the strongest spanish speaker left and therefore have to attempt to translate our work dictated by Randall.. During the work I begin teaching Jared some simple spanish using the Michel Thomas approach, this also works as a good way to consolidate my own understanding.
In the afternoon we chill out at the farm, playing cards which as usual gets competitive between us. Two new volunteers Alex and Melissa arrive, so I give them a tour of the dormatory and communal areas. In the evening a heavy storm hits us, resulting in the electricity being wiped out, cutting short any more card games, we all head to bed early. Big red ants have found their way into our dorm and are going in and out of a holein the wooden planks above me and Floriane's beds...Floriane also finds a few in her bed so decides to move.. I tape up some of the holes in my mosquito net, along with the section the ants are trying to get into and hope that will keep them away.
Martes 30 de junio - Mastatal
I have a good nights sleep, unaffected by any ants, and awake to see no more above me on one of the banisters. At 6.15am Rosie runs a yoga session, a few of the plank type positions kill me. At breakfast Javier announces that he will be taking the group on a tour of the finca this morning.. With Mali and Jasmine away, I will now be required to translate. .
The tour is similar to the one Javier took us on a few weeks ago.. Taking us around the farm, providing information and history. For parts the translation is fine, but during some sections it becomes more complicated. Thankfully Javier on the whole can understand English (so knows if what I am saying is correct or not!) and can use his broken English to help explain the trickier parts.
After the tour we paint again, this time the majority of the group focus on the outside of the compost toilet, whilst me and James paint signs. In the afternoon, after some more card games playing speed, we all head into town to play football. On route we speak more with Alex (from Canada), he is 18 and, we are told, was kicked out of school in February due to continually not attending one of his classes. He seems to have a super quick brain and has now come to Costa Rica with little money.. We rename him Supertramp a reference from 'Into the wild'. We have a fun game of football but are heavily beaten when the locals arrive. . in spite of our skills training to begin with! A refreshing beer afterwards, as always is a deserved reward!
Miercoles 1 de julio - Mastatal
This morning we split into two groups and preceed to mix the two compost piles. Afterwards we collect leaves and fill trenches dug next to rows of plants. Our final task for the rest of the morning is clearing the roots around different trees and adding a soil compost. In the afternoon I finish painting a sign for the baño and then play chess against Supertramp.. and lose. Later in the afternoon Floriane gets her accordian out and entertains us with her excellent music.
Later more newvolunteers arrive, Florence (FRA) and Matt (USA). The group chill in the rancho in the evening, with a lot of laughs between everyone. At the end of the night, I play Supertramp again at chess. The rest of the group slowly head off to bed until its only me and Alex left. . I manage to win. My mind is in full gear meaning, despite my physical tiredness, I strugle to fall asleep for a long time afterwards!
Jueves 2 de julio - Mastatal
This morning we start the day with yoga again, proving to be a great way to start the day. Today it is Javiers birthday, although his son Andres isn't too happy about this due to it not being his own birthday and therefore screams at the mention of 'feliz cumpleaños'.
Today we will again be working in the national park. Javier, aided by his volunteers, is the only project in Mastatal that is taking time to improve the state of the park and therefore make it more attractive to tourists, helping to promote it. We are equipped with rakes and a couple of machetes. Our job for today is to continue clearing one of the pathways we started working on a couple of weeks ago. On route we come across a few sections blocked by large trees that have fallen. Javy uses his chainstaw to cut them down. We stop at a waterfall for a break, next minute Supertramp is off on his own exploration..we lose him until later when we are heading out of the park!
After lunch we play some more chess with the gigantic sized pieces. Later we make our way into town for another football match, today we split up and play alongside some local chicas.. another enjoyable game. Afterwards at the bar we find Mali, who has returned from her long weekend trip to Montezuma, along with two new volunteers Ben and Alberto.
In the evening after singing happy birthday to Javy, we enjoy some tasty chocolate cake for dessert that Raky has made... Muy rica! Instead of heading back to the bar for more drinks, we all gather in El Rancho and have a ping pong championship.. I end up the winner!
This morning we start the day with yoga again, proving to be a great way to start the day. Today it is Javiers birthday, although his son Andres isn't too happy about this due to it not being his own birthday and therefore screams at the mention of 'feliz cumpleaños'.
Today we will again be working in the national park. Javier, aided by his volunteers, is the only project in Mastatal that is taking time to improve the state of the park and therefore make it more attractive to tourists, helping to promote it. We are equipped with rakes and a couple of machetes. Our job for today is to continue clearing one of the pathways we started working on a couple of weeks ago. On route we come across a few sections blocked by large trees that have fallen. Javy uses his chainstaw to cut them down. We stop at a waterfall for a break, next minute Supertramp is off on his own exploration..we lose him until later when we are heading out of the park!
After lunch we play some more chess with the gigantic sized pieces. Later we make our way into town for another football match, today we split up and play alongside some local chicas.. another enjoyable game. Afterwards at the bar we find Mali, who has returned from her long weekend trip to Montezuma, along with two new volunteers Ben and Alberto.
In the evening after singing happy birthday to Javy, we enjoy some tasty chocolate cake for dessert that Raky has made... Muy rica! Instead of heading back to the bar for more drinks, we all gather in El Rancho and have a ping pong championship.. I end up the winner!
Viernes 3 de julio - Mastatal
I awake to another beautiful morning.. Blue skies and the sun is shining. We split into two groups for work. Me, Jared, Mali and Floriane head into the forest to collect leaves whilst the rest of the group head off with shovels to begin digging a trench. After filling up five sacks of leaves we continue on the path curious to see where the route leads..we end up down at the stream.
Back on the farm we find the group sweaty and tired from their work so far. We take up the shovels and continue where they have begun. An hour or so later we are done for the day.. the weekend has begun. Tomorrow a group of us will be heading to the coast for a weekend trip to Dominical! Whilst Mali will be leaving the farm and soon Costa Rica too. Another enjoyable and rewarding week at Villasmastatal, I will miss this place when I move on in a weeks time.
Back on the farm we find the group sweaty and tired from their work so far. We take up the shovels and continue where they have begun. An hour or so later we are done for the day.. the weekend has begun. Tomorrow a group of us will be heading to the coast for a weekend trip to Dominical! Whilst Mali will be leaving the farm and soon Costa Rica too. Another enjoyable and rewarding week at Villasmastatal, I will miss this place when I move on in a weeks time.
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