i woke up before max and made a lovely bowl of oatmeal with fresh strawberries he picked the day before. woke up late because we were up so late the previous night. he picked a ton of strawberries and they were in a big bucket, so i felt inclined to seperate out the good and bad ones and get them in a tupperware in the fridge so they wouldnt spoil. he is set up with WWOOF because he is super friendly with a couple strawberry farmers who are his neighbors, and he has room in his amazing home to host volunteers to work on the farm. i guess now is a good time to say, after being here a week i’ve realized this is not your typical wwoof experience. i imagine in the spring and summer there is plenty more work to do on the farm, but right now there is very little, and the farmers have not asked for my help! i’ve been trying to stay busy around here to “earn my keep”. i’m the official dish-washer, and i’ve been doing a little landscaping around his house and weeding his little herb garden. we planted some native trees, one type of which is a canelo tree whose seeds are dried and used as a type of (black) pepper. its soooo good and i put it on almost everything. i’ve also cooked dinner at least 3 times now. otherwise, he’s basically been an amazing tour guide! feeding me great food, introducing me to his local friends and taking me to amazing scenic spots. we stay up pretty late most nights drinking wine and talking about all sorts of stuff. he’s had quite a life thus far, all kinds of ups and downs and ups again. he seems to be in a great spot in life now though. he is one of the kindest and most generous people ive ever met, and its hard to believe some of the stuf that’s happened to him. he told me the 2010 earthquake/tsunami down here was the turning point in how selective he’s become in who he lets enter his beautiful home, so i feel pretty lucky and special to be here and have his world shared with me. he has a dog, Nia, and a cat, Felippa, who are both super affectionate.
