Day one at the ranch has been incredible. After a two-hour bus ride from Puriscal I arrived in “downtown” Mastatal, an area defined by a bar, a pay phone, a large fork in the road and the entrance to the ranch. Being thrown right in, I have already helped with the final layer of an earthen floor for the kitchen addition, been on dish duty for the thirty or so hungry guests and helped with dinner my first night. Mixing and applying the final layer of the floor was quite the experience. After nailing nails at equal heights throughout the floor to create a leveling guide, we applied the earthen mixture. The blend was a smelly mix of clay clip (which I strained earlier to eliminate larger pebbles), black sand and fresh cow manure. We poured the ingredients onto a large tarp and used our feet as mixing implements. When “fresh cow manure” was mentioned during the morning meeting, I had no idea just how fresh it would be. Nothing like the feeling of squishy green poop between your toes and the aroma of just-off-the-pasture cow dung to really wake you up in the morning. Mmmm...
I took two naps today, one in a lovely porch-side hammock. I was woken from my nap by the sound of birds flying overhead and when I looked up, I could see a pair of scarlet macaws flying directly above the ranch. On the bus ride here I spotted a beautiful green parrot that had landed just inches from the bus. The insects here are huge and plentiful, with the ancient cicadas providing our nighttime lullabies.
I can tell I am going to love my time here. It is paradise with delicious food. I am so excited for my next three months!
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