Run Through the Jungle

We are in San Pedro now after our week at the Finca. And if i wanted to spend my vacation trundling through the jungle with a machete and a hoe, I got my wish!!!! We had a truly unforgettable and formative experience at the Finca. We spent Monday and Tuesday building a new trail. We cleared a path, used machetes to cut wood stakes, hauled bamboo and made stairs!

Wednesday and Thursday were spent picking macadamia nuts and the next time you balk at the cost of macadamia nuts, let me tell you, THEY ARE WORTH EVERY PENNY. Our group of eleven spent 3 hours and picked 203 pounds of macadamia nuts, for which we would have been paid 50 Quetzales. That is the equivalent of roughly about $8. The second day we picked about 175 pounds. Divide that amogst the 11 of us and for 6 or 7 hours of work and I made, what, approximately $1.50? Unlike coffee, the macadamia trees provide nuts year-round, so picking is the livelihood of most everyone on the finca. Families will go out around 7 am and work until noon. Once the nut is picked, they are seperated into different quality categories. The very best are used to make nuts and and the others are used as fertilizer.

It was very interesting to see a sustainable development project. We got a tour of the entire finca, which included all of their revenue projects including bio-deisel, bottled water, coffee and hydroelectricity. It was very primitive but also quite ingenious. We also spent some time with kids and added a number of books to their humble library.

The week was fun. We spent a lot of time playing Headbands and Yahtzee and crib. No TV, no internet, no hot water and electricity every once in a while. Hot sun int he morning and torrential rain in the afternoon. Some great conversation and interesting and unique people. But I am glad to be back in civilization. We saw a myriad of snakes, insects, scorpions, large and freaky spiders, moths and things that probably don't even have names. No mosquitos due to the higher altitude, and therefore no worries of malaria as it turns out, but that's okay, the little black bugs that bore into your skin and made your legs look like carpaccio more than made up for that. Roosters crowing at 4 am, a gander that wouldn't shut up, a whole village-full of early-rising Guatamalens and a bed that was only marginally more comfortable than sleeping on the floor...ah, gotta love it! Capped off this morning by a scene right out of 'Little Miss Sunshine' when we all had to get out and push this old 1953 Toyota pick-up in order to get it started! Hilarious!

All in all, an unforgettable and truly unique experience.

Be home on Monday.