It's Sunday afternoon and I can finally relax after a week of very early mornings and very dirty fingernails!
I was unlucky enough to catch the virus that was floating around the Carribean coast before my farm week, and so I was happy to move on with the hope that a bit of work would make me feel better!
Below: Cool sign at Outback Jack's place, view from the volunteer house, our cheese, vagos place sign and our kombucha!
And for 6 days and 7 nights I volunteered at an organic farm called 'Vago's place' about 10mins away from Puerto Viejo, and seen as I was in town already I avoided another crowded (and dreaded) bus journey! And now my whole body is aching! No exaggeration.
3 of us volunteered last week, myself, an American girl and an Australian girl so we had a nice mix and were able to swap and share travel experiences!
We did so much from milking goats to making cheese, to improving pathways, and feeding the chickens to planting herbs and even making our own pesto and kombucha!
The days were hot and we were so thankful when it rained at night as it drowned out the goats moaning and the world's most annoying rooster who seemed to think it was ok to cock-a-doodle-doo at 2am!
Spotted: 2 teeny tiny hummingbird eggs in the garden.
The farm grows a lot of its own food and it we used most if not all of the vegetables and herbs for our meals each day. We made pesto from the leaves, kombucha from the juices and tea from the herbs. A very healthy and nutritious week I must say.
Saturday was market day, which meant half a day of selling our homemade products.
It was packed full of locals and tourists looking to get some bargains and had so much on sale from fruits to meats and cakes! I tried a slice of homemade carrot cake which was delicious! The best $2 I have spent since I got here!
And for our last dinner we made our own pizzas with their massive pizza oven, leaving us feeling full and happy having craved pizza all week!
Below : Our stall selling kombucha, tea, taco chips, creams, bug repellent, mouthwash and cheese!
The week was hard and I am physically tired from the work and walking quite a way back and forth to town every afternoon, but I really enjoyed myself.
I have learnt how to cook healthier foods, have jotted down recipes for foods and juices I didn't even know you could make(!) and have really learnt another way of living out here!
I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do so and would encourage others to try it, even of you're not sure it would be your thing! I think it would surprise you.
