Happy Holidays from the Tropics

Love to you all. Please forgive me the spell check doesn't work on my comp or blogger! Oh and my ghost writer is in Italy! Thanks for reading and all the support! We love and miss you all- especially the followers...really special friends. Editing continues... 2010 will be a great year!

Orchid Hunting

Truly an amazing day. We left early with Nicho, Limon's 70 yr old uncle and went walking. We walked for 8 hrs and saw more of Volcan than most have seen, I'm sure. Nicho took us to the laguna and the bigger lake and we crossed many rivers and herds of cattle (ganado). He has an incredible eye and would pick out orchids from across the meadow, or 30 ft up in a very obscure location. He taught us the technique- he would use his machete to chop a perfect v out of a stick and proceed to carefully rock the orchid back and forth until it came to him- the "orchid whisperer".

We found the vampiro (vampire) it looks almost like a necklace, and an orange hanging orchid with tiny flowers, a large yellow one that almost looks edible, and I actually impressed our guide finding a very rare red with yellow and a small peat moss-looking variety with the smallest flowers of all! Nicho said he'd never encountered it! He participates in the annual Fiesta de Flores in Boquete and said we would probably win for rarity and might even have discovered a new orchid! We'll see in January- just have to keep them alive until then which is not easy! We also saw two more varieties of limon- limon dolce is like a water orange- crunchy not much flavor. Our favorite hands down is Persa, its big, very limey with a hint of sweetness, lots of juice, but sadly as it is a hybrid no seeds.

Creole and madarin with orange flesh, very sweet are close seconds and we have quite of few of these types growing.

Nicho says in December there are a few weekends when everyone goes down and camps around the lake and it's very safe and tranquil. We're going to go soon so we miss the crowds. We heard the coffee farm near there, instead of killing the snakes with chemicals, rounded them all up and released them at the laguna, although we didn't even see on snake, now we're going to be very cautious.

You can fish- there's trout (trucha) and carp and a few others. There's also coffee and tons of fruits- delicious oranges. It really opened my eyes up to how wonderful Volcan is. It's a veritable playground.

Lakes and rivers and water holes, even hotsprings for swimming, mountains for hiking and foraging, long routes for biking and exploring, EVERY PLANT YOU CAN IMAGINE to use for cultivation, even the beach is only a few hours away.

Seed Saving Blog

It is so empowering and liberating to plant the seeds you have collected! Seeing them germinate, sprout and become edible wonders is the most beautiful process on earth. We have been collecting and saving our seeds since a little before we left Hawaii, many did not make it however with all of the transit, humidity and a few punctured bags...but we have almost a hundred different seeds that are growing and being prepared to plant. We will now be keeping a detailed list of our plants on the blog. Limon has set his ultimate goal at 1,000 diverse plants! Also, from every batch of seeds we dry and save, we label, date and store them in our "seed catalog" for future propagation and general data. This is very laborious and kind of a pain when all you want to do is make dinner and you get to sit there cleaning the seeds our of all the veggies for a half hour- but trust me- it's worth it.

Every seed is a challenge to sack but cucumbers, tomatoes and hot chilies are by far the worst. For these you let the pulp and seeds ferment for 3-4 days then strain them and let them dry. Most things are fine to sun dry but not these- chill dry in the shade with lots of air flow or they will start to rot. Most things germinate nicely with a wet paper towel, but I prefer to start everything in my little dirt seed-starters in the greenhouse so they can have a week to get strong before the face the wind. I cleaned about 20 chilies, a rare heirloom that's as big as

ahi chombo dulce but bright yellow and as hot as a habanero. I had no idea they were that hot and wore no gloves. I literally had pink burning skin on my fingers for a day and a half! So con

cuidado! The salsa I made it a beautiful color and the hottest thing you've ever tasted! Today I also started the globe watermelon I ate last week, perfectly round (almost personal-size) sweet and lots of seeds. Can't wait for those!

Don't be a slave to big agro! Save seeds at home with every meal- especially when you find something really delicious- shouldn't you get to eat that again? Viva semillas!

Limon:

"Where am I going to sleep tonight? Who cares! What is the world doing? Have new gods been discovered, new laws, new freedoms? Who cares! But up here the primrose is blossoming and bearing silver fuzz on it's leaves, and the light sweet wind is singing below me in poplars, and between my eyes and heaven a dark golden bee is hovering and humming- I care about that. It is humming the song of happiness, humming the song of eternity. Its song is my history of the world." - Wandering, Hesse

The Big Fast

So wow. We have been in the yellow house for almost 2 weeks now. Our rental options faulted by a week and we camped on the land in our greenhouse for a week- it was rough but we made it-

and honestly it was very peaceful and we got a lot of work done. Shiva is in heat for the first time and attracting every dirty, mangy mut in a 5 mi radius! It really tested our fence and we found all the holes after a few nights. One night i left a pot of chicken soup boiling on the fire for the morning and Shiva and a friend up-sided my soup, stole the pechugas of chicken and I can only imagine proceeded to have a rowdy chicken eating-dog sex party all night. We're praying she's not preggers and are going to take her to be neutered.

So once we moved in next door (so cool) we started detox and fasting, I made it 7 days this time. Wow. Once you set your mind to it it's not impossible and if you're in tune with your body you know when it's ready, or when it's begging! My body was so ready so it was an easier transition. The first couple days are always hard and at the end when you start to get your hunger back and you have to ease back into it with straight teas, raw and fresh juices and then finally vegan meals. Yesterday I made eggplant parmigianno and we celebrated our return to the world of cheese!

So for the first days I eased myself down with lime juice, honey with propoleos (polen etc.), teas of lemongrass, lime leaves, ginger, and garlic, cayenne, and flax. We made purees of water, beet,

carrot, celery, spinach etc. We ate raw garlic- try this! whew.... and ginger and drank a lot of water, green tea, red rooibos tea (thanks Rob!), black lychee tea and lots of sage tea. Limon also got a plant that grows like a weed here, they say it cleans your blood- and much more- but it tastes terrible, lots of that too.

Once you peel away the layers its so refreshing, you feel so clean. The first hardest thing is the carbs- refined white flour, rice whatever. After this maybe you crave some fat, any kind, animal fat... a glass of wine...something...but then the worst darkest hardest thing to cut- SUGAR. You would kill for sugar- just a spoonful of honey, a flake of dark chocolate, a glass of agua de pipa

(coconut water) anything, but you persevere and after that last cruel day you're free. You crave nothing. It's total liberation. You don't need or want a thing. The next 4 days of my fast we amazing, I meditated, watched a lot of movies, read, walked, gardened. It was amazing. Once I started to feel weak I started introducing calories again slowly, just raw veggie juice, lime and teas, no honey at first, then with time, fruit juices, pinapple, watermelon, orange, avocado, and then finally whole foods again. What a wild ride. You need a peaceful environment, time and the right state of mind- and this is truly a gift everyone should give themselves. Fasting can save your life- and if you'd like more info there's a book by this name- check it out! Not to mention- you loose an average of 2lbs per day!

Fence con't

The fence is just gorgeous. Seeing the way the light changes during the hours of the day is inspiring. It creates its own shade but let's the breeze through. My beans have all sprouted successfully and are about 3" after a week. I built 2' beds with river rocks and the topsoil from the fence digging all around the perimeter (well i'm halfway through...) for the beans, other vines: squash, watermelon,

chayote, chilies hot and sweet and various local flowers. Of course Shiva's favorite place to sleep! The greenhouse is amazing for germination and sprouting- we had a slight ventilation problem, although the mesh does breathe- it's not enough so we opened up another door on the opposite side for cross-ventilation. Hopefully the breeze will keep the flow and we won't need to install fans. Our Paiu plant had a small fungus infection but we moved it outside near the coffee and it's doing great.

We are waiting for our reclaimed felled teak, eucalyptus and ceder to come in December before we can start the cabin. It's being certified reclaimed so the paper work is taking some time. It's a really good thing however, the gov. makes sure all wood cutting is legit and no wood is cut from the many reserves and forests. It's tempting for the indigenous people to sell their trees but this keeps black-

market wood sales in check and promotes recovery of fallen trees. They literally pull over all trucks carrying wood, a small victory for the pathetic panamanian government. We had another lead on some felled pine from our friend Jose, so Limon is taking a trip down to the Frontera to settle up- it looks like we can just pay to load the wood and transport it back to the land (roughly $300-400 for 3,000+').

Usually wood goes for between $1-2 per foot so a real steal!

We saw a nice wood cabin nearby that used the rounded outer edges of the trees which is a large part of what we'll be getting, it's beautifully rustic. We figure we can build the first 2-3' of the foundation and walls with all the river rocks we have and minimal cement- we've seen quite a few examples around we like. And the roof is going to be a living sod roof with self-irrigation and water-catching. We're going to install a small solar shower and a compost toilet off of the back of the cabin, both of which we have already practiced (a couple prototypes...) and are comfortable constructing.

It's so funny when you walk up to the land now it looks like an old Spanish fort, with the huge Panamanian flag dead center on a 25' bamboo pole and the impenetrable bamboo circa. It's quite formidable and impressive.

Greenhouse and Bamboo Fence

A very proud day indeed! We constructed our greenhouse. It only took two weeks days, 20 pieces of bamboo, hours and hours of hoeing and digging and a whole lot of mesh- but we did it! Sourcing the bamboo was a challenge but we had 15 pieces donated by Iris (cousin) and found our neighbor sells both green and dry. And to think we were looking as far away as Bocas! when all the while it's right in our backyard. Buena suerte! We used a model we found locally and fit it to our specifications 20 x 30 with overhangs for herbs. We already have thyme, mint (yerba buena), basil (albaca), culantro (cilantro's cousin), coffee, sweet and hot peppers, mountain tomato, onion, garlic, ginger and green onion. We hope to transplant the avocados, citrus, papayas and mangos we have inside to save them from the torrential downpours and fierce winds that come in February. I hope to have much more planted in the near future!

We used the excess bamboo to set up a shelter with our tarp and bamboo mats and now we have a nice little tent to sit out the rain or take a break from the sun. We also built an underground storage compartment for our tools etc so we don't have to transport stuff everyday with our bikes. The grass is as tall as the trees Augustine planted, over a hundred, and they're all about knee high- some are taller than both of us. The grass that took over in his absence is fierce and

eradicating it is some of the hardest work I've ever done. One shovel or hoe full at a time. But I've cleared the entire area for the greenhouse so we can build our raised beds and make paths.

The first night we left the greenhouse the wind was so fierce it ripped the roof plastic and caught on the ends of the bamboo. We had to spend the whole next day lowering the wind-bearing side by a foot to help with rain pooling and wind. Now it's stronger than ever and we have a double layer on the worst parts. The mesh works well as a wall and allows breeze and water to trickle down and water the herbs inside. Shiva is the worst gardener ever and crushed my tomato seedlings...so we attached the bottom of the walls to bamboo posts and now no humans or dogs or birds can sneak in.

With our new structure we started camping on the land during the week to build the fence as much as possible. up with the sun at 6- sunrise on the volcano is amazing...start digging, cutting etc usually the rain comes afternoon or by 4 everyday.

The fence is almost finished and although we had a few minor setbacks- mainly the rain...but we built the whole damn thing ourselves. We went with the more labor intensive method and refused to cave in and hire someone to build it. I think I filled the wheelbarrow with sand and rocks a thousand times. We cut our 25' long pieces of green bamboo into 9' lengths and dug

out a 2' trench all the way around underneath the existing fence. We stood up all the bamboo and used u-shaped nails to attach it to the existing barbed wire. We used "ripio" gravel and pounded it down level to compact it and make it structurally sound. We layered river rocks throughout and capped the bottom of the circa on both sides. Many people walking by have said it's very beautiful and it's the only fence like it in all of Panama. Not a single bag of concrete used, no carbon emitted and it will serve as a living trellis for us to grown beans, squash, berries and floral vines. Shiva is just loving the land- a true wolf at home and seeing progress is the greatest thing since pie! Any ideas why my eucalyptus have brown spots on the leaves?

The best news however is we made friends with our neighbors, a young couple who lives in the city, and they need someone to live in and watch their house for them- so starting next month

we'll have our own little house right next door to our property.

People have asked how we prepare for projects. Kent does a lot of math and I make a lot of lists- We both sketch and change our minds a lot. Pretty much as organic as it gets.

Comenciamos!

We continue to fight an uphill battle against ignorance and opposition- but this just makes us more determined!

9/23/09

we are struggling with the crazy ass grass! but we had a break-through today- IRIS offered us her old green house- so we deconstructed it. and tommorrow we'll take it to the land. this get's us so much closer to constructing the green house which we at one point priced out at $1,000. we've got to be able to forage for bamboo and something besides plastic! so we're almost there and the truck full of 25' pieces of green bamboo from the border comes on fri. to begin the fence. We're really rolling and it feels so good.

Volcan how we missed you!

Fresh Frijoles- ah muy fresca!

I think he's in love...

So he can ride a horse!

Not bad sexy...

Esmilito our 98 year old love! He can tame any wild caballo!

We settled in (sort of) to kent's cousin's house and have started phase 1. The underground storage box/food storage is dug. We are beginning to construct the fence slowly but surely. There are several tallers(woodworkers) in town and we go around and collect bike-fulls of the discarded wood, beautiful recently felled pines, cedars and teak trees are whittled down to make produce boxes and the scraps are amazing! Plus all the sawdust for our compost toilet is a dream come true! I'm almost finished constructing that as well. we've been waking up with the sun and riding to the land for work every morning. We're also fasting so we have to take it slow but its amazing how much energy you still have. And believe me it works miracles- if you have any questions consult the book Fasting can save your life, it's a real gem. But yea we've been doing great fasts (especially with kent's dad) and meditation up here in the peaceful valley.

This is my journal from one morning in volcan sitting in the grass looking at the mountain:

It's true you become aware of certain things when you fast: you're more aware of your body and its needs and ailments. You realize you can subsist on very little. You don't need money- it's meaningless. You don't need food or wine or shelter. All you need is your wits. Dependance on others or things is useless. Believing food and water are bountiful is ignorant. Seeking validation in others or things is hopeless. Your health is your greatest asset. Autonomy is freedom. True

freedom allows the pursuit of hapiness.

So yes, I highly recommend both fasting and meditation...

The New Plan: Side Project Zancudo

Just had great day in zancudo y pavones: rocks, surf, iguana

s, whales and dolphins.

We have returned from our bday extravaganza and its time to get back to work...however we have fallen into a strategic alliance with our friend norielle.

This will now be phase two. With much consideration and soul searching we both realize

the magnitude of our project and have resigned it more to a ten year plan. Phase one will now be trees and forest garden (which we have moving along nicely) and the rock fence around the terrain in volcan. We also hope to construct a bungalow/teepee for us to live in initially and a greenhouse to start seedlings, herbs, tomatoes and other edibles. We have two months now in Volcan to complete phase one. After Halloween, which is very popular here, pure hilarity, we'll

head back to Zancudo to start ramping up to open the hostel in mid November/early December until the season ends in Feb or March. While we were there for a week after my

bday we ventured around the entire bay and fell in love. The peninsula you can see across the bay from us is Costa Rica's biggest national park Corcovado, which is densely populated with endangered species of flora and fauna. The strip of land that makes up Zancudo is uniquely amazing and is the reason the bar/restauarnt is named Esteromar (we'll keep the name for the hostal too as a cohesive operation) because our backyard touches the estuary and the bar is beachfront.

It's amazing everyone has a river in their backyard and the beach in their front. We saw one piece of land about twice the size, down the beach a ways, going for 350,000. Not bad. This allows for maximum fishing. Almost every household had a lancha or motorboat and we saw a small sailboat with a retractable keel for sale...uh oh limon's getting ideas. Many families run successful tours and water taxi operations. You can go by boat anywhere around the bay including Pavones which boasts the longest left break in the world- depending on the surf you can ride the wave a half mile! The top of the mountain behind Pavones is an indigenous reserve and you can hike or repel up any of the many valleys and waterfalls to reach the peak. Many greengos live here as it is one of the best surf spots in the world. It took us about 25 min by car and the boat ride is about 45 min. We are also about an hour from the port town of Golfito and about 7 hrs by bus from San Jose or 3hrs from David, you can fly to David from Panama City for $60 (45 min).

So in this most pristine and perfect of Costa Rican beaches we will open a chill little hostal, right now we have 20 beds and we're planning to buy 5 hammocks and maybe a few cots. Our dentist friend already has it set up very nicely as his family vacation home although the caretakers aren't up to snuff. We'll be taking it over in hopes of building a good reputation and client base for the future. There are plans in the works (sadly) to build a Four Seasons and a Hilton in the next few years and although its already a widly popular tourist destination this will push it over the top and make access to the area easier.

Not particularly good for privacy and tranquility but thats the tradeoff for business. The bar and restaurant are already very profitable especially around xmas and new years.

This is an amzing opportunity- karma is good...almost too good. hehe. I feel very liberated and blessed that we can make money while down here to reinvest in our project. It's incredibly hard to get started without the necessary capital (whew i sound like my dad...) but its the sad truth, even when your plan is to be self-sustaining you have to be smart about how you get to that point- or you can easily crap out. This will "keep hope alive" and keep our project

afloat. Commencing phase 2...

It's amazing when you come to a place with an open mind and altruistic tendencies. We have been proposed two projects to either spearhead or expand. Not to mention our own project. I guess the world really is your oyster.

Map of Golfo Dulce, Southern Costa Rica

Link to a great map of the area around Zancudo.

http://www.alternativalodge.com/map.htm

Feliz Cumpleanos a mi...Gracias mi amore

i must say i had my best bday ever. we stayed in a little cabin at las lajas (the plateaus?) and woke up to a beautiful sunrise every morning. we swam, body surfed and rented boards to conquer the bigger olas. we found the biggest rancho i've ever seen and the germans who owned it had paulaner shipped in- we were surfing, drinking german beer and eating bratwurst. what a day!

on our sunrise and sunset walks kent collected a bunch of shells and made me jewlery. one huge sand dollar he rubber cemeted my watch face too and made me some flava-flav-like bling! He also made me a 26 shell salute with whites and pinks- beautiful. The Panamanian cook was such a sweet lady and made us a special breakfast. We dined beach-side while watching the dance of the thousand little flame red crabs scurry about as they avoid birds and certain death. They're hilarious and shake violently to extract the few nutrients from the sand then drop little pellets in concentric circles. Beautiful beach-art!

And not to forget our first skype session! Brilliant- everyone should sign up!

Beach, bodysurfing, beers and my honey- che paradiso!

Bocas to Volcan

Wow almost my bday. we've been here for more than four months and its been a wild ride. we finally finished renovations to the bocas house and rented it to some nice panamanians with a contract to build the new bridge from panama to costa rica at the sixiola border. we're traveling around a bit and stopped in Volcan to check on materials and the trees. they look great and have grown about six inches! we're headed to costa rica for a week to hang out at norielle's in golfito. we're helping him put his beach front bar/restaurant and house up for sale. know any buyers? we'll have pix in sept- its gorgeous and golfito is a bay so the water is very calm. after that its back up to Volcan to start the build. we have 2 truck loads of river rocks coming from the abundant rocky bed of chiriqui grande and will begin constructing our fence. our first project is to build a cabana, like the one we stayed in in puerto viejo, costa rica. all bamboo and local reclaimed wood. we're taking on the project ourselves to see just how hard it is to build. once we have the fence and cabana to stay in we're going to build the hearth and get the garden going... the big house is phase two.

we met our new neighbor today (from seattle haha) they're 45 and are moving down to start a coffee farm and community projects with the local indigenos. they are going to be great partners and are as altruistic and optimistic as we are- i guess you can trust people over 30. haha. Impressive research and knowledge of the area and the things we are looking into. It's just so nice to finally meet people down here who get it! the population is relatively ignorant and uninformed which is a real challenge. Resistance to change and pride leave people unable to experience new things and unwilling to participate in community programs. We have to educate before we can help. It's overwhelming at times but that's how we know its worth it.

oh and i'd like to give a shout-out to 3liz and Margalatate! Freshman year in University & high School! WoooHooo!

Veggies Photos

Check out veggies, the house, the produce delivery truck, Limons ingenious water catching system for our shower, and our indigenous table maker!

http://picasaweb.google.com/ave.lambert/VeggiesAndOurFirstFourDollars?feat=directlink

BOUNTY!

our first four dollars

what a great day. today kent's cousin tito and the other bombaderos(firemen) came by in their fire truck to buy some bunches of platanos. we made our first four dollars! as they were leaving the produce truck came by, talk about fresh farmer's market and they deliver to boot. these guys drive around with a loudspeaker singing the praises of their produce and calling out what they've got today "carrots, onions, cabbage, tomatoes, mango, mango, mango..." and you just step outside (luckily we're usually hanging out in the yard or on the porch) and they weigh your picks. i got a huge bag for four dollars with potatoes, corn, onions, carrots, cucumbers, garlic and cabbage. then limon asked the guy if he buys plantains and bananas. he walked around the property and chatted it up for a bit and helped limon sack 4 big bunches of platano and banana. then he gave us $10 and said he'd be back in two weeks to buy the ones that are green now. so all in all we made $14 off

our trees today! our first profit- it feels really good. i just picked some of my firey hot chongo chilis and some culantro and basil and not to forget our limones! the tree is falling down with them- i'm off to make soup, and definately do some gardening!

Los Indigenos and La Resistance

Here is the link to a bunch of fotos of the indigenous people and a meeting and protest they had here locally and a rally in Panama city. The goverment here is trying to strong arm them into leaving their land because they are interferring with the hydroelectric project. The gov. is building a damn in their river and using tnt to go through a mountain to create the necessary infrastructure. They are devastating millions of trees and ruining the watershed and many fragile ecosystems. These people have great respect for the land and have not changed their ways in thousands of years. They use no chemicals and are one of the only outlets for us to find organic seeds to buy or barter for. The Panamanian goverment is so corrupt they actually dropped gas canisters from planes on their pueblo to try to gas them out (you can see the pile of the canister remains in a few photos). These people are amazing and strong and stood their ground even when surrounded by a poison gas cloud. They are truly inspiring.

Check them out!

ttp://picasaweb.google.com/ave.lambert/LosIndigenosAndLaResistance?feat=directlink

Finalmente Fotos!

http://picasaweb.google.com/ave.lambert/VivaPanamaApril09ToJune09First3Mo?authkey=Gv1sRgCIT9qL3to--uVw#

Link to more photos in Picasa photo album! Hope you enjoy! Salud!

Working hard!

Guabito

wow its been really hard to get internet especially with enough time to blog...sad beans. but we are doing well the reconstruction effort is moving along nicely, although we started to get frustrated last week (more than two weeks in) we have pulled it out and foiled our foes (mostly termites andrats) limon was victorious with his three teered battle against "family vermin" and is quite pleased. we have both had a steep learning curve but are nowmaster craftsmen, construction managers, plumbers, woodworkers and interior design specialists. i built three tables from scratch with reclaimed wood from the ceiling. the first wasn't exactly level, the second was twice as big and flat as a board, haha, and the thrid is a marvel and is currently storingall of our clothing and camping wares. we also made a couch, chair, bed and a hutch! limon retrofitted two bycicles for us so we are mobile and mine has a basket!

we were finally able to do inventory and are ready for our hike into la amistad international park this weekend. we went through quite a few shady characters (its hard to find guys that want to do the dirty work) but ended up meeting a wonderful indigenous fellow named gabriel from los naso-teribe tribe. they are autonomous, build rancho-style dwellings, he is going to help us recreate one here on the property to rent out to travellers, and worship the earth like many natives creating a sustainable lifestyle in harmony with the jungle. thanks to this and the lack of infiltrationby the last century of panamanian and american culture they have all of the organic seeds and knowledge to assist us on our journey into permaculture! che suerte! he is going to take us on a good will mission, most tribes dont accept visitors, and the few extraneros they allow in are led by guides from the tribe on expensive restricted guided tours. we are very excited and he has promised festivities, roasting whole wild boar, bird watching, native ceremonies and dance, and of course never before seen by greengos sacred places, hikes, waterfalls and the like. he plans to start his own guide service (he's only 24)in conjunction with our hostel, to educate foreigners (and panamanians) about his tribe "his comunidad". i have been asked to start teaching english classes for the tribe in the communal meeting place and gabriel will eventually come visit the states with us. this is a very exciting prospect, building a reliance with an indigenous tribe, something we thought would take years to develop. hopefully this weekend goes swimmingly and we start building trust and information exchange.

we got two cute little puppies brother and sister, einstein and shiva (after my favorite author and the god of course =), limon named the boy after his favorite brilliant fixie rider. they have been keeping us really busy, quite a handful and have grown double the size in a week! i never thought i'd be a dogowner but these little cuties have won me over. they were a gift from his aunt and will be our proud protectors of the property. limon built them a dog house which they refuse to sleep in even in a torrential downpour, and the rain is no joke here. when water catching with the size of the roof and the property, we set up two additional tarps to catch, we will bottle over 100 gallons in ten minutes! it's really amazing. limon has become quite the established plumber and is working on a pipe that brings water from the 500 gallon tank to the three bathrooms and indoor kitchen. we also have an outdoor kitchen (a fogon) but its moreof a hearth-in-progress and a fire pit for now. we try to do all of our cooking outdoors, we have an abundance of firewood and it is really fun! there is no trustworthy meat to be found so we are once again veggies which is working out quite well. there is a local farmer that drives around with a loudspeaker announcing his produceand comes down our street twice a week selling everything from onions and carrots to cabbage and tomatoes. the land produces plenty of platanos and bananas. we are waiting for our avocados to ripen and trying to figure out how to harvest the 100 ft tall tree...invention time. we also have breadfruit, mandarin oranges,limons, and an abumdance of culantro (similar to cilantro). i buy rice and dried beans in town (there are hundreds of different kinds of beans) and we have very simple meals. always accompanied by the best hot sauce i've ever had- the local fresh habanero blend. che rico!

there is no atm in town so i have to go to the next biggest town, changuinola, to take out cash for our various construction expenses and on my most recent tripi discovered the supermarket and brought back some wine and cheese and dark chocolate. it was like both our birthdays! we hope to have our organic chickens soonand i have a lead on some goats. but for now more pineapple and mango!

limon's dad is coming in about two weeks and we are all going to nicaragua- very exciting! so we have to have at least two rooms finished in the house and we are very close to completing the whole first floor. when we finish the house and are ready to head back to volcan, hopefully by the end of summer, we will needcaretakers or renters to watch the property for us so it must be comfortable. let us know if you know anyone who wants to come chill for a few months and watch the hostel for us! the location is clutch- we are right in between puerto viejo, costa rica and the islas of bocas del toro with la amistad on the other side.it is a great jumping off point for any trip!

i'm composting away as the land is mostly clay but fertile as myrtle! we are very close to the river that separates costa rica and panama so many floods have taken most of the topsoil. strangely though this hasnt effected the growing capabilites, but for vegetables and herbs i definately need more humus!

we are surrounded bu thousands of acres of banana trees and the chiquita banana plantation. they control the water and power (which is run off a diesel engine) and have refused to replace their pipes that contaminate the towns water with heavy metals. we might have to start a revolution! due to the diesel-produced power we have power outtages every day for hours at a time and so the internet cafe is a gamble at best. however, i will try to be more diligent in my blogging...thanks for reading. cheers!

mon may 11th paraguas (umbrellas)

so the downpour has us running scared! we packed up our meager belongings and hopped the bus to david to crash at limon´s cousins xiomada´s casa. after a beautiful downhill through bamboo forests, trees and cows and a tipical panamanian meal our friends norielle and rosiri picked us up and took us to his house across the costa rican border. we are putting building the house in volcan on hold until the rain lets up. that night norielle´s son drove us all to golfito, san cudo bay where he has a huge beach house and bar-restaurant. it was pouring intermittently there as well so we made the best of it and walked to the point to explore and buy fresh corvina (white fish). rosiri fried it up with platanos from a nearby tree and we devoured it with habanero salsa. limon managed to knock down about 20 pipas (coconuts) for fresh ice cold agua di pipa....mmmm. we drove with them to the point burica a long point that is half panama and half costa rica, through a small town called limones =). it is miles and miles of gorgeous tropical beach and small fishing villages. we saw hundreds of young tuna jumping in a feeding frenzy while a young pescador threw net again and again to catch some. we passed through many pueblos and a huge petrol station with chinese, korean and american tankers that mocked the coastline with their girth (so gross).
a panamanian couple was stuck in the sand and we offered the help of the 4x4. once we had successfully pulled them back to packed sand we climbed the hill to continue the drive and saw them drive right back down the beach to find themselves stuck once again...our next stop was a couple friend of theirs who had recently lost their two sons in a land slide. we saw their new house very sullen and secluded in the middle of a farm and continued on to their old house. half the roof was gone and two of the back rooms were filled with sand, the walls destroyed. one room was perfectly intact- where the parents had been sleeping at 4am when the rain brought the hillside down last december. they managed to pull the oldest son who was stuck up to his waist in sand to safety but tragically the others were buried too deep. you could see the loss of only 4 months on their faces. and seeing the wrecked house was deeply moving. they were only one month away from moving into their new home. so sad.
after this we went to a greecian style (all blue and white, very santorini) hotel right on the sand! so many rooms and boats to use- a good destination for a group- who´s down? the rooms were crazy and had huge full grown crocodile skins on the wall as well as taxidermied turtles. limon says they may have been leatherbacks. in the trees near the beach we saw a group of monkeys with many babies, not howlers but definately howling, limon is really getting good at this mock call.
on our way back that night we came to a screetching hault as norielle avoided a sloth who had fallen from a tree onto the ground and broken his arm. limon and norielle grabbed a small fallen tree and helped him climb up back onto the nearest big tree, he was moving very slowly and painfully, using his teeth as a 4th appendage, but we think he will survive! so lucky we came along most people here would have either run him over or taken him home to make soup! a few miles before that we came across a black and red striped snake which we had run over.
that night we went to the bar and later took a long walk down the peaceful playa with a full moon to guide us. our soccer game got rough and we all ended up swimming in the ocean of gulfo dolce fully clothed!!!
on sunday we all piled in again and were off to a beautiful river that is a long rocky crevass. we swam and had a picnic, limon saw a black squirrel. that evening we took a long rocky unpaved road up to boquete, the back way, passing by the local hot springs in caldera (definately taking the bus back up here)!
boquete is strange and very americanized but sits in gorgeous, pristine valley at the top of the mountains. we could see volcan baru the whole time, it the preferred entry point for hiking the volcan, and the whole pacific side of the country. they have white water rafting excursions, a pizzeria and coffee shops.
my favorite stores so far were 3 ice stores in a row that had no ice and an internet cafe with no internet! now we´re off to guabito to fix up the little house limon bought from his aunt. buena suerte!

monday 5/4 the downpour

today was like a dream! we went around to the local woodmills with 5 youngsters all family and collect madera gratis (free wood). there are many within a 5 block radius and whatever they dont use they burn in huge piles (very sad a wasteful). they take huge trees and cut them down to make little boxes for transporting vegetables as this is the place where everything is grown and sent around the country. its a ridiculous procedure and i'm sure they burn the boxes when they get where they're going. we had a wheelbarrow and got so much we ended up constructing a "wood plane" and kent and four of the boys carried the load on two of the larger pieces of wood. it was hysterical to watch lots of yelling, laughing and small pieces falling off repeatedly.

to top it all off when we were en route to the land (a twenty min walk) the torrential rain started at noon right on queue. they say the first of may the rain starts and it comes everyday at noon and its true- bizarre! we were all soaked to the bone, and the wood too. we didnt give up though we kept on truckin' until we made it to the land and started to construct a casita. we had a hammer and nails and the boys and kent made a floor while fanny and her brother set up a tarp with the bigger pieces of wood. we tied string to the trees and when the piso (floor) was built slid it under the tarp and all sat down to have a nice lunch.

while they we frantically hammering and running around i took the bike and flew down the hill in the pouring rain to get cokes and sandwiches, and some cookies as a treat! the disk brakes were so wet i couldnt stop and was nearly clobbered by a taxi (the drivers here are merciless!) but i safely returned after being laughed at by every passing local carrying or riding their bikes with umbrellas (paraguas). the boys were all shivering and wet as wet can be but we had a great time and returned to our casas after another ten min walk for sopa caliente. (hot chicken soup)

friday before the big election

we rose at the crack of dawn again but no work today! we all piled in the little truck (literally 4 of us in the back it's covered with a metal cage and tarp kinda crazy...) and drove to la frontera. the final frontier as you cross into coasta rica! we stayed at an amzing huge pool with three different pools and a 20 ft waterslide. it's arelis' birthday 35. she's guilermo's wife and they are just wonderful! we partied and swam and ate ceviche and huge shrimp and had a yard of beer thats 4ft tall! There are only two types of beer here Atlas and Panama and they're only 4% so the locals don't get too crazy and are sure to go to work the next day. We were technically still in Panama but could walk across the street to the super (market) or the little stores and be in costa rica. There they have two different types of beer Imperial and something else and they're 5% because the Costa Ricans like to get crazy! HaHa!

We tried to find bicycles or at least parts to construct bikes but they we sooo expensive! Damn shoulda brought our bikes even though it woulda been a pain in the ass! $450 just for a frame and whole bikes starting at $650- I'm talking crappy chinese mountain bikes to boot!

We went for lunch to a family friend's house in costa rica which is entirely made of wood and open- beautiful! they have their own pigs, cows and chickens, wild iguanas and a pet crocodile. Chichi, kent's prima, is gifting us a baby cow to use for milk and will reclaim it when it's older to mate. I don't really want a cow, especially for beef but milk and dung will be cool. Good for the chickens! after rice, beans and freshly slaughtered and roasted beef we ate the pie i made for arelis' bday of salsamoras and avenas (oats, i love it my name is everywhere). really more of a crisp- with fresh vanilla ice cream....mmmmmm.

sunday is the big presidential election between balbina (one of noriega's old girlfriends) and martinelli. they do it on sunday so everyone has the day off and will vote, they have very supersticious beliefs that if they dont vote something very bad will happen. and they dont sell any liquor or beer from friday afternoon through monday at noon so the people wont get too drunk on their holiday and not vote. needless to say thursday everyone was buying cases and cases...haha. kent called it prohibition!

we laid low because everyone gets so crazy- you think america has bad bipartisan politics- you should see this! both candidtates are pretty equally corrupt and environmental issues are at the forefront. one huge issue in this area is big payoffs by americans in boquete (little america) to build a road through the dense international park La Amistad to Volcan to cut their drive from one hour to 20 min. very sad let's hope the new president shuts this down! there are a suprising amount of expats and retirees here and they're not the cream of america's crop- that's for sure!

we're gonna lay low and i plan on making beet (remolacha) soup! pink pink you stink!

thursday april 30th, 2008 mountain foraging

Today we hiked 12 miles with Chonga and could barely keep up, it was straight up hill. 2,500 ft climb. we went foraging for salsamoras (like a cross between black and raspberries). delicious. we also found green onions, shallots, cabbage, a ton of parsley, more guava, coffee plants, and so much more. we passed a beautiful house built like my dreams: brick, wood, and terraced beds of soil with everything- beets, carrots, arugula, tomatoes, lettuces, and all the herbs. inside the greenhouse to protect from the wind and give a bit more heat because the climate is mild in the mountains, flowers, herbs, decorative plants. the garden is totally organic and the trabajadero was mixing ash with the cow poop and compost to spread over the beds.
after lunch of rice, beans and hamon we climbed even further through thick grass and berry vines and collected a bucket full. on the descent we walked through pastures of cows and horses and finally 7 hours later back down to the highway. luckily guillermo has a car and we all hopped in and stopped at the super for ice cold agua de pipa and platano chips. a che vida! what a day!

kent said it was the longest day of his life- i agree i am tired and very sore!

wed 4/29 first day on the land

the first day on the land and it was a duesy. we planted 30 more trees in addition to our more than 100. ficos. we have a line of pines between us and the guava grove behind us. we plantred the ficos in between the pines and the fence for a wind break. las brisas. they are strong here and when the real crazy wind came this winter all the pines blew over but the ficos stood strong. our other trees are limons, naranjas and aguacates. we have a cane sugar plant and a palm. we also have 100 guayaba from the semillas ( seeds) that blow into our land fromthe plot behind. when the flood comes, during the rainy season when the area floods there is a small creek, wella huge torrent that flows through and errodes a small corner of our land, but this is the coolest part. there is ahuge pine and a few fern trees the neighbor has so we already have shade. when working all day this is crucial. even with a few midday breaks its intense.

we got up at 8 to meet Chonga kent's aunt, 65, to work the land. she knows everyhting there is to know about the area and plants. she showed us what to machete and what to save and helped us plant the ficos. she's amazing with a hoe and a little seco con leche. hehe. the land is covered with strong grass so we had to clean all around the existing and new trees because it the end of the dry season and there's been little water for a while. the trees were planted by Augustine, kent's uncle and with his sudden and trajic death last year we are very lucky any of them survived. They are a beautiful living memorial.

the pines are dry and half dead but will survive and we only lost 3 fruit trees! there's a fallen tree we need to chop up to use for building and a pit of ash they've been having fires in that we can use as carbon for the compost. we're staying at kent's cousins' house, it's gorgeous, near the land and borrowed their bikes for trips to town. our neighbor is giving us water through the pvc pipes kent set up. we plan on digging a well. but for now we can set up a drip system for the trees. when we get back from costa rica we will start building and plant vegetables to start the garden.

my brain is tired from speaking/learning panamanian spanish but this is a great time!

2009 begins and so do we!

This will be the year of change. After a year working on other projects and gathering information and funds, we are finally ready to move down and start work on the farm. Saying goodbye to family and packing our meager belongings is bittersweet. As we close several chapters- we begin a new life, a life full of possibilites and unknown adventures. Karma and the universe is with us and as we prepare for the struggles and joys ahead we remember all our dear friends and supporters. Wish us well and we'll see you in Panama!

Good General Info borrowed from www.crea-panama.org

GEOGRAPHY
Only 800km long and some 80km wide at its narrowest point, Panama lies at the base of the Meso-American Isthmus and is the gateway to South America. It is a Spanish speaking country although it has a strong historical link with the United States. It is flanked by the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean.
GEOLOGICAL HISTORY
The Isthmus of Panama is geologically recent. Until 10 million years or so ago, the only land that existed within the 3000 km of open ocean separating the North and South American continents were an arc of volcanic islands. Slowly the land between these islands rose to form a continuous land bridge that finally closed about 3-3.5 million years ago, forming a barrier between the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans and a migratory land bridge for terrestrial species on both continents. The isthmus was therefore responsible for an accelerated rate of diversification of the flora and fauna that previously existed in both of the great continents. Panama owes its great diversity to this mixing of species and now contains families that originated in diverse regions of the planet.
BIODIVERSITY
The inordinate number of species that are found in Panama is a result of environmental and geological processes that have been acting together for millennia. This high diversity is reflected in Panama’s bird-fauna of which there are approximately 940 species, more than in all Europe or about 10% of the known number of species worldwide.
FOREST
Tropical rainforests are vital to the global ecosystem and to human existence. Fifty percent of ALL biological diversity is found only in tropical rainforests, although these forests themselves are found on only about 4% of the terrestrial surface of the planet. Not only are they evolutionary wonderlands, they harbor important natural reservoirs of genetic diversity that offer a rich source of medicinal plants, high-yield foods, and many other useful forest products. Tropical rainforests play a major role in regulating global weather and maintain regular rainfall, while buffering against floods, droughts, and erosion. They store vast quantities of carbon, while producing a significant amount of the world's oxygen. Most deforestation and forest degradation in Panama results from road construction, logging, industrial gold mining, and colonization, which leads to clearing for agriculture, pasture land, and fuel wood collection. Of these activities, colonization is responsible for the bulk of forest loss.Panama’s floral diversity is one of the richest in the world. More than 8,200 species of flowering plants and trees have been described of which more than 1,200 are only found in Panama.
PEOPLE
Panama, which means 'abundance of fish' in one of the native languages, is home to seven native peoples, Kuna, Guaymis, Embera, Wounaan, Bokata, Bribri, and Teribe. The Kuna administer their own autonomous ancestral lands known as Kuna Yala. Most rural communities however are composed of “campesinos” or farmers. This group has a mixture of indigenous and European ancestries. They are mostly poor, subsistence communities who practice slash and burn agriculture to grow crops. Some richer campesinos are cattle ranchers and own large tracts of land, which they deforest to open up for pasture land. The interaction between indigenous people, who generally have protected their forests, and campesinos, who generally have opened up the forest is often delicate, and has flared up into open conflict with claims that campesinos have invaded ancestral lands. This is an ongoing social and environmental issue and there have been several government projects to demarcate legal boundaries.