Wow, so where do I begin… Okay well I know where to begin and it’s at the beginning, which has been a little rocky for me. This has been confusing (I’m in a beautiful place, I should love it) and so I apologise that this blog post doesn’t start off with elaborate feelings of joy, and excitement…and if you’re in the rainy cold UK and want to slap me in the face, then I understand.

When we first found this work away, I was super excited and ready to get away from the city life, and immerse myself in nature. I became a bit more reserved when I heard there was no accomodation, so we would be camping which meant I had to buy a sleeping bag and roll mat…. Writing that now, this doesn’t actually sound that bad.. But at the time it seemed chaotic to my brain, (and would mean extra baggage whilst I am trying to shed items). I managed to get what I needed, which was a relief! I love camping so this should have been my dream… at one with nature, surrounded by a beautiful clear blue lake, with green mountains all around… However I did find that being so stripped back of everything, really made me miss home. And again, how can I miss home when I’m surrounded by such beauty!

We had to get 2 boats to get here. .. this is the last picture of us before we were dusty people. Wow, so fresh and clean.

We arrived on Thursday 5th January at about 5pm. We were greeted by Joe and Paul, volunteers who had been here nearly 1 month, just them! I don’t know how they did that! We walked up the hill, taking in the new surroundings – an allotment growing tomatoes, pineapples, herbs, black raspberries and chillies! We arrived at the kitchen.. We were surprised there was a sink with running water that we can drink ( water filtered from the lake). A concrete table, decorated with shells, a gas cooker, and an actual oven, that apparently has a leak, so is more of a prop.. It kind of stands out amongst all the other natural kitchen apparatus! There is a roof above, which has a room where the owner stays and a roof made of leaves.

We set up our tent and ate a lovely chick pea veg stew that Joe had made. We sat on the table in candle light… This place could really do with some fairy lights, as the candles and head torches are the only source of light! You can see the stars so clearly though!

It was an early night and we had a fairly good night sleep, apart from the two dogs barking waking up up occasionally. I was surprised that we weren’t cold, and how okay it was sleeping on just a thick yoga mat, after years of camping with a lush double air bed, this was a throw back to our younger days when we went to festivals with the minimum requirements… Now we like to have all the comforts when we camp! And it wasn’t boiling hot when we woke up, so the temperatures were all in our favour!

We got up at 7am, had some muesli and were ready to start work at 7.30am. We did some weeding on a hill, and it felt like we were mountain goats. In all honesty, the whole time we were doing it, I hated it.. I think it was a huge shock to the system. Luckily we just had the Friday to ease into it, then we had the weekend off. The owner Hugo comes to stay every weekend, so it was good to meet him.

On Saturday we found a spot for my hammock, as this place really lacks anywhere comfy to sit and chill, the hammock offered a space to be horizotonal and relax…. (it was short lived because it was no longer there on Monday..Hugo said he would ask Allysio – the local worker to move it as it could be stolen, and I guess he didn’t and Hugo’s worries came true..I would have moved it myself if I had known it was under such threat).

Hugo and his girlfriend made an amazing pasta dish with home made pesto from the allotment. It was so good. Over dinner Hugo said that there was a guide coming to do a hike up a volcano and to Mayan ruins, to start at 5.30am and it could take 8 hours. Due to the time that we were told this we didn’t really have the umpf to prep any food to take with us, which worried me… If I’m going on an 8 hour hike, I need sustainance! However I set my alarm for 4.45am with optimism I would be adventurous and go.

I woke up with an over riding feeling of uncertainty. I had no idea what this hike entails, and didn’t want to be stuck in the blazing hot sun without a pot of pasta to keep me going. I did what I always do in times of need and messaged my mum. I honestly don’t know where I would be without her. Talking it through made me realise that if I don’t want to go, I shouldn’t go… Wow so simple aye. My ex boyfriend would be most surprised as I used to always try and get him out walking!

Hollie went with the hikers and returned an hour later. She said they were marching off in such a hurry, they weren’t even taking in the views. Wow, my instinct was right to not go! Maybe not everything is about adapting and over coming situations, it’s about realising what we are comfortable with, and what we are not. When it is okay to say no, and to not force yourself into something just for the sake of doing it.

At this point it was about 7am, I slept a little more and then tidied the kitchen. This day honestly felt like time stood still. Which is what I used to always want on a Sunday, clinging onto the last bit of the weekend!

This place kind of gives me lock down vibes. It’s slow paced, you want to learn new things and you’re grounded in one place. I learnt how to make flat bread…something so simple that I have never done before, but will do a lot of in future… Water, flour, oil, salt…amazing!

I should explain what the workaway entails, we work 4 hours a day, 5 days a week in exchange for food and a place to stay for free! So we work 7.30am to 9.30am then 10.30am to 12.30pm. It did say in the description that the work would be monotonous, such as weeding, and moving rocks… I don’t think it’s necessarily been monotonous, but it has given me a lot of time to think about and miss people.

There is also a French couple here, so this week we have been working on a dusty hill, pulling out roots, and clearing the hill.. I think so they can plant lemon grass there. By the end of the week my Achilles heel can really feel it, after spending a week of supporting myself from not slipping down!

After work we are sweaty and dusty, so we have to go into the lake to wash! This is tricky on cloudy days, as the lake is fresh! And when there are local fishermen in their boats getting a free show!

To get into the nearest town Santiago, we can pay for a boat, but this works out expensive with minimal people on it, or row in on a Kayiko…on the Tuesday we decided to row into Santiago and thankfully Allysio advised us that it was windy so he would come with us. Thank god he came with us,

a) because it was hard to row against the wind, and at times the boat felt like it would tip over!!!

b) we wouldn’t have had any idea where to leave the boat or how to then get it into Santiago!

It turns out we had to get a tuc tuc into Santiago (we could have walked 15-20 minutes, but were short for time as we wanted to row back before dark!). We found somewhere to enjoy a Jamaica soda, which was so good after just drinking just water for the past few days… And needed some strength for the row back so had to try their chips. (chip advisor rating 5/10 – they were greasy and had an oil taste, points for a big portion though).

We enjoyed sitting in an actual chair and then went on the hunt to find some bbq sauce for pizza tomorrow..we found some.. The last one on the shelf!

We went to an ATM and it actually worked, so this was great. Then we made our way back to the Kayiko and rowed back across the lake, in about 45 minutes! We mostly managed to row straight, and in coordination… It was scary crossing the middle of the lake as we had heard stories of boats crashing into Kayikos! So we were pleased to get to the edge of the lake! It was an achievement, and not something we will do again!

I found some sweets which didn’t have gelatin in, so bought 2 packets and Hollie did too. Hollie ended up giving me hers as she was dubious about the ingredients. I was over indulgent and gluttonous so ate 3 packs because it had been so long since I’d had sugary goodness (well, sugary badness). This later took its toll on me when I woke up feeling so sick… We had been living on such healthy food, that this was a shock to my belly… And maybe a reaction to gelatin!? Who knows. But I still managed to work the next day, with the occasional wretching.

After work I napped then Hollie and I searched for a large flat stone to make a roof for a pizza oven. We found the perfect one, so added this onto the fire pit, where we had placed the grill and stacked rocks to add height. I made everyone a base with my newly learnt bread making skills, and Hollie and I put out pizzas in.

This was a labour of love, especially as we weren’t sure if it would work. But 30 minutes of turning the pizzas cautiously so as they didn’t slip through the grill, we pulled them out and took a crunchy hot bite! It was a great success and my mouth was so pleased to taste bbq sauce (honestly anyone would think I’ve been deprived of all food the amount I’m missing certain flavours and meals – I saw a photo of my friend with a sandwich and she had mayo around her face, and it really made me miss mayo!!! Honestly….). It was a nice evening chatting to the French couple and the latest we had stayed out (it was like 8.30pm!!).

Friday came and we got to do a new job, watering the coffee plants. It felt nice to help the plants grow, rather than ripping them away from life which is what we had been doing all week.

When we had finished, Allysio and I were in the kitchen and we heard something that sounded like huge velcro ripping and a thunder clap. We walked down to the bottom of the land, and sure enough a huge tree (the one my hammock WAS attached to) had plummeted to the ground. It was a windy day, but I didn’t know it was THAT windy. Hopefully us sitting in the hammock days before hadn’t unearthed the tree….. It was a quite a sad sight as it was a big ole tree.

Hopefully the wind doesn’t prevent us from heading into Santiago via boat at the weekend… Hollie and I are excited to have a few drinks after a week of manual labour and becoming dust people.

This week has been a challenge for sure, trying to figure out emotions, and realising that putting pressure on yourself to feel a certain way is not helpful. Feeling guilty for being unsure and unhappy in a place of beauty, when this should be everything you’ve ever wanted.

It has been confusing to me as to why I’ve not felt overwhelming elation doing one of my favourite things… camping, in one of my favourite places… Outdoors…. It’s made me realise that maybe I am more of a homely person than I thought I was. Maybe sometimes when we think an experience is here to help us grow, it infact helps us to realise the person that we really are, that we couldn’t always see. Surely by getting to know that person more, this is powerful and assists with future development to allow for clarity, assertive decision making and most of all…happiness!

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2 Comments

  1. Well done hun, you should be proud of yourself and what fantastic memories, I wish happiness and enjoy it
    Love, joy and blessings 🙌

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