Hey there all friends and family of the Maya group, Ricky and Lizza here blogging this week on our time at Bona Fide farm on the island of Ometepe, Nicaragua! We´ve been very busy here lending helping hands to the volunteers when needed. Some of our tasks have included, constructing paths out of rocks, gravel, and bricks (all hauled uphill by hand), weeding by hand and with machetes, tending to chickens, helping build a new hammock structure, helping harvest rice, and pitching in with dinner and every night.he work can be very difficult and often tiring, but it is always rewarding,as we get to see the fruits of our labour. There have been many encounters with large tarantulas, scorpions, cockroaches and even a small boa constrictor in the boys cabana. Throughout the day we learn about different permacultural techniques such as the importance of nitrogen fixers, using swails for saving water and nutrients as well as strategically planting diverse plants to support each others growth. While our time here has been very different, rustic and at times challenging, we have all grown to deeply appreciate what the goal of the farm is for the community and for environmental sustainability in general.
This past Thursday we celebrated Halloween at the farm with an awesome pizza party. The volunteers fired up the large cob oven, and each person got to roll out and create their own personal pizza, with a delicious pineapple and banana crumble for desert. Starting off Friday night we all embarked on a weekend long yoga and spirituality retreat on the farm, hosted by the lovely volunteer Donna who is from Mexico, spoke little English, and most recently departed from the farm to continue her travels. Saturday morning we woke up at 5 to catch the sunrise in a field overlooking the lake. Donna lead us in a series of meditations and self reflection throughout the morning. In the afternoon we learned about the significance of different poses in yoga and some of the schools of thought behind yoga. The next day we learned about shakaras and how to focus on them and other various yoga activities.
Tuesday afternoon we had free time so the group decided to take a short trip to the nearby town of Santa Domingo to visit a local beach and spend a day swimming in the lake and relaxing after a weeks work on the farm. Upon arrival we spotted a large group of Capuchin monkeys and were able to hand feed them banana bread which they eagerly took. On Wednesday Carlos, one of the coordinators on the farm, led the group in a Mayan style chocolate making class. We started from the basic coco bean pealing the shells then roasting and grinding the beans. We made several varieties including banana, coconut and peanut flavors.
On Saturday morning we will all embark on our week of student directed travel. We will begin by departing from the farm in four separate groups and independently making our way to Grenada where we will all meet up at a hostel that night. The next day we will travel together north to Jiquilillo where we will be staying for five nights at a hostel on the beach called Rancho Esperanza. There we will have the opportunity to surf, swim, and participate in several volunteer programs. With only a month left in our trip many of us are starting to think about how we are going to apply this experience to our lives and to get the most out of the rest of the time we have together.